COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – The St. Olaf College women's tennis team suffered its second Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) setback in as many days with a 7-2 loss to the College of Saint Benedict on Saturday at Saint John's University's Chang Tennis Complex.
Saint Ben's (6-5, 4-1 MIAC) swept the three doubles matches and won all three of the super tiebreakers in singles to snap its five-match losing streak in the series with St. Olaf (9-5, 3-3 MIAC). The Oles had won by 5-4 or 6-3 scores in each of the last five seasons.
The Bennies took a commanding 3-0 lead with the doubles sweep that included a tiebreaker victory at No. 2 doubles. In singles, Saint Ben's won super tiebreakers at No. 1, No. 2, and No. 6 singles and picked up a straight-set win at No. 5 singles to complete the 7-2 victory.
Sophomore
Alexandra Berns and junior
Fiona O'Flaherty logged straight-set wins at No. 3 and No. 4 singles, respectively, for St. Olaf. Berns leveled her MIAC leger at 3-3 with a 7-5, 6-3 win at the third spot, while O'Flaherty took a pair of tight sets for a 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) triumph at the fourth spot. O'Flaherty's win ran her record to 12-1 this season and she has lost just one set in her 12 singles victories.
The Oles will look to end their three-match skid with a home match against Saint Mary's University on Saturday, April 20 at 1 p.m. at Carlson Courts. Weather permitting, St. Olaf's final four regular-season matches will all come at home.