DULUTH, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict tennis team earned a 4-3 MIAC road victory over St. Scholastica on Sunday to improve to 5-7 overall and 3-4 in conference play.
The win marked the Bennies' third in their last five matches, as they have settled into a strong stretch with a 2-2 mark in MIAC competition during that span.
Saint Benedict set the tone early by claiming the doubles point with wins in two of the three matches. After
Ellie Huber (Sioux Falls, S.D.) and
Marie Labenski (Northfield, Minn.) dropped a 6-2 decision at No. 1, the Bennies responded. At No. 2,
Ella Marohl (St. Cloud, Minn.) and
Allyson Yahn (Pequot Lakes, Minn.) controlled play in a 6-1 win over Claire Rewertz and Chloe Hasbargen. The point was secured at No. 3, where
Lila Collins (Brainerd, Minn.) and
Claire Erdal (Brainerd, Minn.) edged Melanie Gravdahl and Lilianna Holmberg in a tight 7-6 (7-5) battle.
In singles play, Saint Benedict split the six matches but made their wins count, capturing three in straight sets to clinch the team victory. Yahn delivered at No. 3 with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Rewertz, while Collins continued her strong season at No. 4, cruising to a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Renata Sosa for her sixth win of the year.
Kaitlyn Rahne (Hutchinson, Minn.) added the deciding point at No. 6, earning a 6-3, 6-4 win over Hasbargen.
Huber fell, 6-2, 6-3, to Sophia Cosgrove at No. 1, and Marohl battled through a three-set match at No. 2 before coming up short in a match tiebreaker, 2-6, 7-5, 0-1 (10-0), against Paula Sendele. At No. 5, Labenski was defeated 6-0, 6-1 by Bella Vincent.
The Bennies will remain on the road this week with matches at Macalester on April 23 and Bethel on April 25 in St. Paul before returning home to host Carleton on April 26 in their regular-season finale.
