WINONA &045; How do you walk up to an opposing coach, whose team you’ve just defeated, and ask him exactly when was the last time he lost to your squad?

Don’t ask third-year Albert Lea High School girls’ tennis coach Sean Gillam. He hasn’t done it yet. But the thought has crossed his mind lately.

Gillam’s Tigers defeated Winona 4-3 Thursday, their first victory over the Winhawks in several years. Two days earlier they beat Rochester John Marshall for the first time in recent memory.

&uot;I know it was at least six years for JM and maybe even longer for Winona, I’d say since Tom (Dyrdal) was coaching, eight to 10 years,&uot; said Gillam, whose team improved to 3-1 in the Big Nine and 4-3 overall.

For perspective, the Winhawks blanked the Tigers 7-0 two years ago and won 6-0 in a rain-shortened meet last year.

&uot;Winona has had a great program for a long, long time,&uot; said Gillam. &uot;I think JM was surprised to lose to us. I think Winona was surprised to lose to us. But I don’t think this group is satisfied yet with where we are. We can’t take ourselves too seriously because of these two wins.&uot;

Ashley Helgerson and Nicole Rafdal continued their strong play at No. 1 singles, rallying for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 victory to imp-rove their record to 5-1. The girls they beat were 3-0 in the Big Nine.

Anne Trebil and Marisa Christopherson won 7-6 (7-4 tiebreaker), 6-2 at No. 3 doubles. Amanda Rose and Kristin Wulff lost 6-1, 6-2 at No. 2.

Karen Leonard ran her record to 4-2 with a 6-0, 6-0 triumph at No. 2 singles.

The final player on the court for the Tigers was eighth-grader Dezeray Jacobs, who prevailed 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 after trailing 4-1 in the third set.

Becky Birkhofer was defeated 6-2, 6-4 at No. 1 singles and Elizabeth Thompson lost 6-3, 6-3 at No. 3.

&uot;Again, it was great to get doubles wins, especially against this team, and it was great to see the singles players step up,&uot; said Gillam. &uot;We’re playing pretty well, but with these two wins we’ll maybe have a target on our back too. Looking into the future, we have a lot of work to do.&uot;

The Tigers face Rochester Century Tuesday at 4:30 on the Southwest Middle School courts.