WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary's University women's tennis coach Jeff Halberg summed up his Cardinals' performance Sunday afternoon in just one word: "Wow."
 
And that was an understatement.
 
For the second match in a row, the Cardinals found themselves staring at a 4-2 deficit with three singles matches to play. And for the second match in a row, Zoie Becker (St. James, Minn.), Kailee Johnson (Rochester, Minn.), and Emily Henderson (Jordan, Minn.) were up to the challenge and got the job done.
 
Fresh off a come-from-behind 5-4 win over Macalester on Saturday, Saint Mary's won those final three singles matches — including two in a third-set tiebreaker — as the Cardinals dropped Bethel 5-4 in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match Sunday afternoon at the Winona Tennis Center.
 
"I'm at a loss for words," said Halberg. "Wow, just wow. We were staring at a 4-2 deficit for the second day in a row and the ladies came through — again. It was just another amazing comeback."
 
Saint Mary's jumped out to a 2-1 lead after the three doubles matches, getting wins from Kennedy Morgan (Green Bay, Wis.) and Maggie Frye (Colorado Springs, Colo.) at No. 2 and Johnson and Maddie Dosser (South St. Paul, Minn.) at No. 3.
 
Bethel answered with straight-set wins at No. 1, No. 2, and No. 4 singles to grab a 4-2 advantage — but in reality, the Cardinals had the Royals right where they wanted them.
 
Henderson delivered a 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 6 singles, and Becker and Johnson both rallied from a set down — Becker winning 2-6, 6-2, 10-4 at No. 3 and Johnson chipping in a 2-6, 7-6 (6), 10-4 victory at No. 5 — to seal the victory.
 
The Cardinals (3-3 MIAC, 10-5 overall) are back in action next Saturday, heading to St. Paul, Minn., for a 1 p.m. conference matchup against St. Catherine.
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