SARTELL, Minn. — Playing against a team the quality of Saint Benedict is tough enough. Having to do so with three of your starters out with injuries was just too tall an order for the Saint Mary's University women's tennis team.
Saint Benedict won all six singles matches — including five, straight-set victories — in dealing the depleted Cardinals an 8-1 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback Sunday afternoon at Sta-Fit.
"The ladies put up a gallant effort, under tough circumstances" said Saint Mary's women's tennis coach
Jeff Halberg. "Saint Benedict is a very deep and talented team, and I was proud of the way everyone stepped up and gave it all they had."
The Cardinals picked up their lone win at No. 2 doubles, where
Zoie Becker (St. James, Minn.) and
Ella Boomgaarden (St. Peter, Minn.) teamed up to post an 8-4 victory CSB collected 802 and 8-7 (4) wins at the other two doubles positions to grab an 8-1 lead, and added straight-set wins in five of the six singles contests to seal the victory.
Emily Henderson (Jordan, Minn.) — who collected her team-leading seventh singles win of the season in Saturday's 5-4 loss to Concordia — had an epic battle with CSB's Greta Nesbit at No. 3 singles, only to fall in three sets, 1-6, 6-1, 10-6.
The Cardinals (0-5 MIAC 5-7 overall) are back in action next Saturday, when they play host to Hamline in a 1:30 p.m. conference contest and square off against UW-River Falls in a nonconference match at 6 p.m. Both matches will be played at the Winona Tennis Center.
