WIONNA, Minn. — The streak continues.
The Saint Mary's University women's tennis team took the courts Saturday afternoon against Martin Luther having beaten the Knights in each of the teams' last 17 meetings.
And the visiting Knights were no match for the Cardinals, as Saint Mary's collected straight-set wins in all six singles matches in coasting to an 8-1 nonconference win at the Winona Tennis Center.
"The ladies played solid tennis from top to bottom," said Saint Mary's coach
Jeff Halberg. "I thought this was the best Martin Luther team we've faced in my 26 years, so it was a nice win for us."
Saint Mary's, which is now 19-1 all-time against Martin Luther — jumped out to a 2-1 lead after the doubles portion, with
Natalie Peterson (St. Cloud, Minn.) and
Elena Ruzevich (Chicago, Ill.) teaming for an 8-0 win at No. 1, while
Peyton Buerman (Shawano, Wis.) and
Lillian Kimber (Duluth, Minn.) adding an 8-5 triumph at No. 2.
Once in the singles portion of the nonconference matchup, the Cardinals flexed their muscles, posting six straight-set victories — including a 6-0, 6-1 win by Peterson at No. 1, a 6-1, 6-1 victory by
Ella Boomgaarden (St. Peter, Minn.) at No. 4, and a 6-1, 6-0 victory by Ruzevich — her first collegiate singles win — at No. 5.
The Cardinals (2-0 overall) are back in action next weekend, when they host Northwestern (Minn.) in a 5 p.m. nonconference match at the Winona Tennis Center on Saturday, before heading to Dubuque, Iowa, for a 4 p.m. match against the University of Dubuque the following day.
