WINONA, Minn. — For the second straight day, the Saint Mary's University men's tennis team got off to a sluggish start, and that slow start proved costly — again.
The Cardinals, coming off a 6-3 loss to Loras — in which the Cardinals dropped two of the three doubles matches — found themselves staring at a 3-0 deficit following doubles play on Saturday in their nonconference match against Northwestern.
And, once again, try as they might, that 3-0 hole was just too deep to climb out of, as the Cardinals suffered their second straight 6-3 setback at the Winona Tennis Center.
"We have started too slow in doubles in our matches, and that is something we have to rectify," said Saint Mary's coach
Jeff Halberg. "But I'm very pleased with our fighting spirit. We almost came from 3-0 down against a very good team – and you have to be happy about that fighting attitude."
After winning just six games in dropping the three doubles matches, the Cardinals put up a tough fight in singles action, getting wins at No. 3, No. 5, and No. 6 — including three-set marathon victories by
Tucker Stene (Fridley, Minn.) at No. 3 and
Philip Apel (North Oaks, Minn.) and No. 5.
Matt Besek (Winona, Minn.) delivered a consistent 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 6, with Stene and Apel rallying for a set down to win 3-6, 6-1, 11-9 at No. 3 and 2-6, 6-1, 10-5 at No. 5.
The Cardinals (1-3 overall) are back in action next weekend, when they square off against Lawrence (Friday), Ripon (Saturday), and St. Norbert (Sunday) in Green Bay, Wis.)
