ORLANDO, Fla. — The Saint Mary's University women's tennis team gave Calvin all it could handle in the teams' nonconference match Monday afternoon at the USTA National Campus, but the Cardinals' first outdoor match of the season did not end quite the way they had hoped.
 
Calvin jumped out to a 2-1 lead after the three doubles matches and held off a furious Cardinal rally in singles to post the 5-4 victory in the teams' first-ever meeting.
 
"It was a fantastic match," said Saint Mary's coach Jeff Halberg. "The ladies played really well — especially considering it was our first outdoor match of the season. It was a match that easily could have gone in our favor, which just came up a bit short."
 
Emily Henderson (Jordan, Minn.) and Maddie Dosser (South St. Paul, Minn.) teamed up for a 8-3 win at No. 2 doubles, but Natalie Peterson/Kennedy Morgan (Green Bay, Wis.) and Zoie Becker (St. James, Minn.)/Kailee Johnson (Rochester, Minn.) were as fortunate, dropping 8-6 and 8-7 (6) decisions at No. 1 and No. 3, respectively.
 
Peterson, Becker and Ashley Renwick (Farmington, Minn.) delivered straight-set singles wins, but the Knights would take the other three matches to seal the victory.
 
The Cardinals (5-3 overall) continue their spring trip schedule on Tuesday, squaring off against both Houghton (9 a.m. EST) and Piedmont (3:30 p.m. EST) at the USTA National Campus.
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