OWATONNA, Minn. – The St. Olaf College women's tennis team won its third-straight Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) match by defeating the College of Saint Benedict, 5-4, on Saturday afternoon at West Hills Tennis and Fitness Center.

St. Olaf (3-2, 3-1 MIAC) got wins at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles and straight-set victories at No. 1, No. 3, and No. 5 singles to hand Saint Ben's (6-3, 2-1 MIAC) its first conference loss of the season and pick up its second-straight 5-4 win in conference play. The win was also the Oles' fourth in a row in the series and their 13th in the last 14 meetings between the two programs since 2008.

In doubles, St. Olaf got off to a strong start by winning the first two matches to finish thanks to an 8-4 win from first year Olha Zubarieva and sophomore Anna Secor at No. 1 doubles and an 8-6 victory from first years Jane Spading and Sarah Clark at No. 3 doubles. The win was Clark and Spading's fourth in as many matches as a tandem to start their careers.

The Bennies avoided a doubles sweep by winning a tiebreaker at the No. 2 spot to go into singles trailing 2-1. Needing just a split of the six singles matches to claim the win, St. Olaf got straight-set wins in the first three singles matches to finish to get the necessary five points before Saint Ben's won the other three singles matches in super tiebreakers.

Clark recorded her third consecutive victory – all in MIAC play – with a 6-0, 6-4 win at No. 3 singles, Zubarieva logged a 6-3, 6-4 triumph at No. 1 singles, and senior Teresa Fawcett earned her first singles win of the season by a 6-3, 6-3 score at No. 5 singles for St. Olaf.

With the team outcome already determined, the Bennies won three tightly-contested super tiebreakers at the even-numbered singles spots, winning by 10-8 margins at No. 2 and No. 6 singles and a 13-11 margin at No. 4 singles.

St. Olaf heads to Hilton Head Island, S. C. for two matches during Spring Break, as the Oles take on DePauw University and Randolph College on Monday, March 28.