WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's tennis coach Jeff Halberg knew the importance of getting off to a good start in his team's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener against Carleton.
 
Unfortunately, so did the Knights.
 
Carleton raced out to a 3-0 lead after the doubles portion, and rode that momentum to an 8-1 win over the Cardinals at the Winona Tennis Center.
 
"We came out a little slow out of the blocks—and you can't do that against a team like Carleton," said Halberg, whose team had opened the season with a 9-0 win over Bethany Lutheran on Friday. "I thought we rebounded (from the doubles portion) and put together a really good effort."
 
Laura Sonday (West St. Paul, Minn.) collected the Cardinals' lone victory, outlasting the Knights' Alana Danieu 7-5, ,1-6, 10-8. Haley Jorgensen (Fallon, Nev.) also went to a third set, but suffered a three-set, 6-4, 2-6, 10-6 setback.
 
The Cardinals (0-1 MIAC, 1-1 overall) are now off until Feb. 12-13, when they entertain North Central (Minn.), Saint Benedict, and Martin Luther. Saint Mary's and North Central will square off on Friday, Nov. 12 at 6 p.m. The following day, the Cardinals will entertain Saint Benedict at noon and Martin Luther at 5:30 p.m. All three matches will be played at the Winona Tennis Center.