WINONA, Minn. – The Saint Mary's men's and women's tennis programs are ready to dive into a busy 2026 season, returning to competition after a lengthy layoff. While the Cardinals technically opened the year in the fall, it has been 129 days since they last took the court.
Saint Mary's most recent action came Sept. 13, 2025, against Bethany Lutheran. The women's team delivered a dominant 7–0 sweep of the Vikings, while the men battled in a tightly contested 5–2 setback.
Now, the Cardinals are eager to settle into the heart of their schedule, which features weekly matches for both programs.
"I am looking forward to the opportunities this season affords both the men's and women's tennis programs," said head coach Jeff Halberg, who enters his 27th season. "On the men's side, we literally have no seniors, so it is a chance to grow and improve as a team, setting both short and long term goals that are attainable, both this year and leading into next season and on the women's side, the road to the conference playoffs is within our reach, but in all my years of coaching I have never seen such a wide open field."
"The players are totally committed and working hard every day, and it makes our practices great fun to be a part of."
Saint Mary's opens the spring portion of its schedule at home this Saturday, Jan. 24, hosting Martin Luther College at 1:30 p.m. The men's team will stay busy with a second match that evening, welcoming Lawrence for a 6:00 p.m. contest, before closing out the weekend by opening conference play against Carleton on Sunday, Jan. 25, at 4:00 p.m.
Both teams will remain at home for the remainder of the month before moving in and out of non-conference play through Mar. 1, when they wrap up the regular season with an 11:00 a.m. match at Elmhurst.
Conference play then takes center stage leading into the conference tournament, which is set to begin Tuesday, April 28.
Halberg believes the pieces are in place for a strong season.
"The improvement I see from last year to this year in the entire squad gives me the belief that we can get it done, but it is not a given and we will have to work hard and persevere in the face of a challenging schedule."
With a full slate ahead, the Cardinals are ready to return to action in what promises to be an exciting season for Saint Mary's tennis.
