GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University men's tennis team kicked off a daunting three-day, three-match weekend Friday afternoon — and the Cardinals made quick work out of their first opponent.
 
The Cardinals breezed through the three doubles matches and never looked back, cruising to a 7-2 nonconference win over Lawrence at the Green Bay Tennis Center.
 
"Lawrence gave us a great battle," said Saint Mary's coach Jeff Halberg. "But the guys played great tennis and came away with a huge win."
 
Saint Mary's set the tone for the afternoon in doubles play, sweeping through all three matches to grab the early 3-0 advantage.
 
Evan Huemoeller (Owatonna, Minn.) and Brendon Raabolle (Andover, Minn.) teamed for an 8-5 win at No. 1, with Trevor Smiley (Minnetonka, Minn.) and Caden Rodning (Mason City, Iowa) winning 8-4 at No. 2, and Matt Besek and Philip Apel (North Oaks, Minn.) teaming for an 8-5 win at No. 3.
 
Things proved to be a little more difficult in the singles portion of the nonconference matchup, with four of the six matches going to at least one tiebreaker — and another needing a third set.
 
Raabolle, Apel, and Tucker Stene (Fridley, Minn.) all posted straight-set wins — with Raabolle winning his second set 7-6 (7-5) — while Huemoeller was extended to a third set before claiming a marathon 6-3, 3-6, 12-10 victory at No. 1.
 
The Cardinals (2-3 overall) are right back in action on Saturday, returning to the Green Bay Tennis Center in Green Bay, Wis., for a 10:30 a.m. nonconference match against Ripon.