ST. PAUL, Minn. — As if facing a tough Macalester team wasn't tough enough for the Saint Mary's University men's tennis team, the injury bug made things that much more difficult for the Cardinals.
 
Macalester had the upper hand from start to finish, as the Scots picked up three doubles victories and added straight-set wins in all six doubles matches in dealing Saint Mary's a 9-0 setback Thursday afternoon at the Macalester courts.
 
"Macalester is a tough team," said Saint Mary's coach Jeff Halberg. "It didn't help that we had to leave a couple of our regulars out of the lineup due to injuries — but Zak (Farley) and Mike (Johnson) did a great job of stepping up in their place.
 
"I could not have asked for a better effort from the squad."
 
Evan Huemoeller (Owatonna, Minn.) and Brendon Raabolle (Andover, Minn.) came up just short in a marathon battle at No. 1 doubles, falling 8-7 (2), while the Scots added 8-3 and 8-1 wins at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles to grab the early 3-0 lead.
 
And the Scots maintained the momentum in singles play, winning all six matches in straight sets.
 
The Cardinals (0-7 MIAC 5-12 overall) are now off until April 19-20, when they close out their regular-season schedule with conference matches against Saint John's and St. Olaf. SMU will host Saint John's in a 2 p.m. MIAC match at the Winona Tennis Center on April 19, before heading to Northfield, Minn., to take on Northfield in a 1 p.m. matfch the following afternoon.