The men’s and women’s tennis team traveled Saturday to participate in the 2010 MIAC playoffs at Gustavus.

The No. 3 Tommie men lost to No. 6 Macalester 5-4. With a 7-2 MIAC regular season record, the Tommies were favored to win the match. The Tommies trailed 2-1 after doubles, but they later won the first set in five of the singles matches. But this wasn’t enough to secure the match against the Scots.

The Tommies ended their season 11-6, with Macalester going on to face No. 1 Gustavus.

“We got a little unlucky this year with one of our best players breaking his ankle, but we look forward to having him in the playoffs next year,” freshman Brendan O’Connell said.

The No. 4 Tommie women (7-3 MIAC, 11-6 overall) were upset by No. 5 St. Benedict 5-0. Because of the rain, teams were forced to play indoors. The Blazers took the doubles and then won a close first singles match to secure the win.

“We all worked really hard, especially not having courts,” senior Allison Bruflodt said. “That was the most difficult thing this year, but it made us all closer [as a team]. We were really successful; we had some really good wins. Obviously we didn’t end it the way we wanted to, but we all tried our hardest, so we can’t be too upset.”

The Tommie women ended their season 11-6, with St. Benedict going on to face No. 1 Gustavus.

“A lot of matches could have gone either way, so I’m just really proud of the team,” senior Hadley Syverud said. “It was a great last season, and I’m going to miss everybody.”

Senior Suzanne Brophy reflected Syverud’s sentiments.

“I’m really happy with the way the season turned out,” Brophy said. “We had a good year aside from this last match.”

As for next year, both St. Thomas teams have high hopes as star recruits plan to join the Tommies.

“We’re really young, but really good,” senior Drew Carlson said. “We got third in the conference, so we’re really looking forward to next year. We have a lot of good recruits coming in, so we’re going to be really strong.”

Although Brophy moves on after this season, she said her pride won’t.

“We will definitely be here to show our support and cheer on the rest of the team,” she said. “We have heard rumors of some pretty good players that want to join the team, so we look forward to see what the younger girls have in store for the future.”

Meg Tvrdik can be reached at tvrd0386@stthomas.edu.