DULUTH, Minn. — The Saint Mary's men's tennis team took the courts on Saturday coming off a grueling match against Bethel just two days earlier.
 
St. Scholastica, meanwhile, had not played since April 2 — a span of 20 days.
 
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the Saints showed no signs of rust.
 
The Saints jumped out to an early lead, and despite some stellar singles play from E.J. Hietala (Duluth, Minn.) and Tucker Stene (Fridley, Minn.), the Cardinals were unable to recover, falling to St. Scholastica 7-2 at the Duluth Indoor Sports Center.
 
"I'm really proud the effort the guys put forth today," said Halberg. "We took on another playoff-caliber team and gave them a great run."
 
St. Scholastica grabbed the early 3-0 lead after doubles, but the Cardinals certainly didn't make it easy, as the Saints outlasted SMU 8-2, 8-5, and 8-4 to head into the singles portion with all the momentum.
 
CSS picked up straight-set wins at four of the six singles matches, with Hietala and Stene picked up marathon wins for the Cardinals — each rallying from a set down. Hietala — playing in his final match as a Cardinal — won 3-6, 6-2, 10-7 at No. 2, while Steven collected his team-leading 12th singles win with a 5-7, 6-4, 10-3 victory at No. 4.
 
The Cardinals close out the year 9-11 overall, including 2-7 in MIAC play.
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