WINONA, Minn. — if the Saint Mary's University women's tennis team was feeling an ill effects from Friday's season-opening loss to Bethel on Friday, they certainly didn't show it on Saturday.
Less than 24 hours after falling to Bethel 8-1 in their season- and Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference-opener, the Cardinals bounced back in a big way, rolling to a 7-2 nonconferece win over Loras at the Winona Tennis Center.
"This was a solid win for the ladies," said Saint Mary's coach
Jeff Halberg. "Loras has greatly improved since last year, and I'm very pleased with our performance."
The Cardinals jumped out to a quick start, getting an 8-1 win from
Colleen Lois (Green Bay, Wis.) and
Natalie Peterson (St. Cloud, Minn.) at No. 1 doubles, and an 8-2 victory at No. 3 doubles from
Maggie Frye (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and
Emily Henderson (Jordan, Minn.).
And Saint Mary's continued to roll in singles, as Lois, Peterson, Frye, Becker and Henderson all posted straight set victory — dropping a just a combined nine games, including a perfect 6-0, 6-0 win from Becker at No. 5.
The Cardinals (1-1 overall) are back in action next weekend with a pair of home matches at the Winona Tennis Center. Saint Mary's will play host to St. Catherine in a 5:30 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup on Friday, before entertaining Wartburg in a 12:30 p.m. nonconference contest the following day.
