NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College women's tennis team saw its undefeated start to the season come to an end with a 9-0 loss to No. 24-ranked Carleton College in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play on Wednesday afternoon at Carlson Courts.

Carleton (11-2, 6-0 MIAC) leapfrogged St. Olaf (9-1, 6-1 MIAC) into first place in the conference standings after dropping just four games in doubles and winning five of the six singles matches in straight sets. The loss halted the Oles' best start to a season since at least 1989-90.

After handing Bethel University its first MIAC loss of the season on Saturday, the Knights recorded 8-2, 8-2, and 8-0 victories in the three doubles matches to take control. Carleton went on to drop just one set across the six singles matches, which came when senior Fiona O'Flaherty won the opening set of her match at No. 3 singles.

O'Flaherty took the first set by a 6-1 margin before Miriam Shteyman rallied for a 1-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-8) victory in a super tiebreaker. The next closest margin came at No. 4 singles, where Carleton's Kiley Pickens defeated junior Alexandra Berns by a 6-4, 6-1 score. O'Flaherty, Berns, and senior Jane Spading all suffered their first losses of the season in dual matches, as O'Flaherty and Spading both entered the day at 9-0 and O'Flaherty was 7-0.

St. Olaf will look to bounce back when it travels to Bethel University on Saturday, April 12 for a 12 p.m. start.