WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's tennis coach Jeff Halberg knew how important Saturday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match against Saint Benedict was.
 
And his Cardinals proved to be cool under pressure, rallying from a 2-1 deficit after the doubles play to record a clutch 5-4 win over the Blazers at the Winona Tennis Center.
 
"That was a huge win for us," said Halberg. "Everyone battled hard and played so very well. It was a great team effort."
 
The Cardinals' doubles team of Laura Sonday (West St. Paul, Minn.) and Kirsten Hoffman (Apple Valley, Minn.) recorded an 8-4 win at No. 1 doubles, but the Blazers came away with 9-5 and 8-4 wins at Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, to grab the early 2-1 advantage.
 
Sonday posted a 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 1 singles, while Megan Vandenberg (De Pere, Wis.) added a 6-4, 6-3 victory at No. 3 and Julia Boeve (St. James, Minn.) outlasted CSB's Taylor Kramer 6-0, 1-6, 10-5 at No. 4. But the singles performance of the day came from Haley Jorgensen (Fallon, Nev.) at No. 5, as the junior opened with a 6-4 victory and rallied from a 5-0 deficit to complete the straight-set victory, 7-5.
 
The Cardinals (1-1 MIAC, 2-1 overall), who played Martin Luther later in the evening on Saturday, head south on Feb. 27-28, taking on Webber International, Otterbein, and Adrian during their spring break trip to Florida.