St. Peter, Minn. -- Carleton saw its MIAC perfection ended by the nation's ninth-ranked team, as conference power Gustavus Adolphus College beat the Knights, 9-0.

It marked the first MIAC defeat of the year for Carleton, as the Knights had won its first eight conference matches of 2004.

Gustavus, ranked first in the Central region and ninth nationally, displayed strength from top to bottom. While the Knights (13-5, 8-1 MIAC) challenged Gustavus in many matches, victory was elusive. First-year player Meredith Klekotka and Shelley Getzendanner played solid doubles in the swirling winds, but were unable to break serve in the final games.

In singles play, junior Lisa Olsson was on the short end of a 6-1, 6-3 slugfest. Junior captain Diane Danforth, sophomore Eryn Koch and first-year player Christina Walker, despite the final scores, played outstanding points throughtout their matches.

The women face another conference rival, College of St. Catherine, on Tuesday April 20, at 4 p.m.

Gustavus 9, Carleton 0 Doubles

1) Tara Houlihan/Lyndsey Palen (GAC) def. Genevieve Philp/Abby Beggs (CC) 8-1

2) Kara Smiley/Lauren Hom (GAC) def. Diane Danforth/Eryn Koch (CC) 8-0

3) Jaime Gaard/Marla Menne (GAC) def. Meredith Klekotka/Shelley Getzendanner (CC) 8-6

Singles

1) Tara Houlihan (GAC) def. Genevieve Philp (CC) 6-2, 6-2

2) Lauren Hom (GAC) def. Abby Beggs (CC) 6-1, 6-0

3) Lyndsey Palen (GAC) def. Diane Danforth (CC) 6-3, 6-3

4) Marla Menne (GAC) def. Eryn Koch (CC) 6-2, 6-3

5) Jaime Gaard (GAC) def. Christina Walker (CC) 6-4, 6-1

6) Kara Smiley (GAC) def. Lisa Olsson (CC) 6-1, 6-3