OWATONNA, Minn. – The St. Olaf College women's tennis team remained in the thick of the race for a spot in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs with a 6-3 victory over Saint Mary's University on Saturday afternoon at West Hills Tennis and Fitness Center.

St. Olaf (10-5, 4-3 MIAC) claimed two of the three doubles matches and four of the six singles matches to down Saint Mary's (9-10, 2-8 MIAC) for the fourth year in a row and the 33rd time in 37 matches in the series. The win kept the Oles in a three-way tie for fifth in the MIAC standings with St. Catherine University and Macalester College with three matches remaining.

In doubles, St. Olaf eased to wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots to carry a lead into singles, although the lead was just 2-1 after Saint Mary's won a tiebreaker at the No. 1 spot. The tandems of sophomore Alexandra Berns/junior Fiona O'Flaherty and junior Jane Spading/senior Anna Secor combined to lose just three games in their wins for the Oles, with both pairs improving to 4-2 in conference play in the process.

St. Olaf secured straight-set wins at No. 1, No. 2, No. 4, and No. 6 singles to wrap up the victory, while the Cardinals picked up super-tiebreaker victories at No. 3 and No. 5 singles. O'Flaherty improved to a team-best 5-1 in MIAC play and 13-1 overall with a 6-1, 6-1 win at the fourth spot, while Spading recorded a 7-6 (7-2), 6-0 triumph for her first win at No. 2 singles.

First year Mads Hockmuth added a 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 6 singles, while junior Olha Zubarieva registered a 6-2, 6-2 victory atop the lineup. The win was the first MIAC victory of Hockmuth's young career in her second conference match.

St. Olaf's final three matches are all against potential MIAC Playoff squads, starting with a meeting with nationally-ranked Gustavus Adolphus at home on Tuesday, April 23 at 4:30 p.m.