WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's tennis team closed out its 2024 regular-season home schedule on Friday, but Saint John's refused to give the Cardinals a proper send off.
 
The Johnnies started strong and never took their foot off the accelerator, as the Johnnies opened with convincing wins in all three doubles matches, before complete the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference sweep of the Cardinals in singles, rolling to a 9-0 win Friday at the Winona Tennis Center.
 
"Saint John's is a very talented team," said Saint Mary's coach Jeff Halberg. "We got behind the eight ball a bit in doubles and couldn't make up any ground in singles. We fought hard and gave them everything we can from start-to-finish, it just wasn't enough."
 
The Johnnies got off to a quick start, dropping just seven games in sandwiching a pair of 8-3 wins around an 8-1 victory at No. 2 to grab a quick 3-0 advantage.
 
And SJU did not slow down once the match turned to doubles, picking up five straighgt0set wins. Evan Huemoeller (Owatonna, Minn.) forced a third set at No. 1 singles for the Cardinals, but falling 6-4, 3-6, 10-3 to complete Saint John's conference sweep.
 
The Cardinals (0-8 MIAC, 5-13 overall) close out their regular-season schedule on Saturday, heading to the Owatonna Indoor Courts in Owatonna, Minn., for a 12:30 p.m. MIAC showdown against St. Olaf.