SARTELL, Minn. — Coming off a convincing 7-2 win over Concordia on Saturday — a victory that included a 3-0 sweep in the three doubles matches — Saint Mary's University men's tennis coach
Jeff Halberg knew another strong start would be key in the Cardinals' matchup against Saint John's on Sunday.
And another fast start there was.
Unfortunately, it was the Johnnies with the doubles-sweeping start, as SJU jumped out to the early advantage — and survived three, three-set singles marathons — in dealing Saint Mary's a 9-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at Sta-Fit.
'"We just could not catch a break today," Halberg said. "So many of the matches were well-contested, tight matches — we just couldn't get the ball to bounce in our favor."
The Johnnies took control in the doubles portion of the event, posting wins of 8-2, 8-6, and 8-1 to ride into the six singles matches with a commanding 3-0 lead.
Saint Mary's, however, wasn't about to go down without a fight, as
Evan Huemoeller (Owatonna, Minn.),
E.J. Hietala (Duluth, Minn.), and
Matt Besek (Winona, Minn.) all pushed their singles matches to a third set.
The Johnnies, however, were up to the task.
Huemoeller rallied from a set down with a 6-4 win the second set, but it was not enough, as the junior dropped a 6-2, 4-6, 10-6 decision at No. 1 singles. It was more of the same at No. 6 singles, where Besek also posted a 6-4 second-set win, only to fall short in a 6-1, 4-7, 10-2 decision.
Hietala won the opening set in his No. 2 singles match, only to have Peyton Fischer rally to win the second set 6-4, and then outlast the SMU senior 12-10 in the third-set super-breaker.
The Cardinals (1-4 MIAC, 8-7 overall) are back in action next Saturday, when they welcome Hamline to the Winona Tennis Center for a 1:30 p.m. conference match.
