COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. — It wasn't the end result Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's tennis coach Jeff Halberg was hoping for in the Cardinals' regular-season finale Saturday afternoon, but it certainly wasn't for lack of effort.
 
The Cardinals fell behind 3-0 after the three doubles matches of their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown against Saint John's, and despite collecting three singles wins, the deficit was too great, as the Johnnies held on for a 6-3 victory.
 
"This team was united to the end," said Halberg, whose team closed out the season with a 2-7 record in conference play, while going 9-8 overall. "We spotted them too big of a lead after the doubles, but the guys really put themselves out there in singles and gave (SJU) a great match.
 
"It was a solid season all around."
 
Brett Giesen (Cato, Wis.), Bobby Tiedemann (Euclid, Minn.) and Robbie Sobczak (Cloquet, Minn.) collected the Cardinals three wins against the Johnnies, with Tiedemann and Sobczak posted straight-set wins at No. 2 and No. 6 singles, while Giesen rallied from a set down to win 3-6, 6-4, 10-3 at No. 2.