Here’s another trivia question for followers of Albert Lea High School girls’ tennis: When was the last time the Tigers won seven consecutive dual meets?

&uot;Tom Dyrdal is always my reference on things like that,&uot; said coach Sean Gillam, referring to the Tigers’ former longtime coach. &uot;The highest one of his teams was at the end of the year was third (in the Big Nine).&uot;

As for the streak? Gillam doesn’t care. He and the Tigers hope to add to it. They made it seven in a row Tuesday with a 5-2 triumph over Mankato East on the Southwest Middle School courts, running their record to 6-1 in the Big Nine and 9-3 overall.

The Tigers swept the doubles, with Ashley Helgerson and Nicole Rafdal winning 6-2, 6-2, to improve to 7-0 in the conference and 10-2 overall. Amanda Rose and Kristin Wulff rallied from a 3-1 first-set deficit to win 6-4, 6-1 at No. 2. Anne Trebil and Marisa Christopherson rolled 6-1, 6-3 at No. 3; they’re now 7-0 in the Big Nine, 8-1 overall.

Karen Leonard prevailed 6-0, 6-1 at No. 2 singles, running her record to 7-1 in the Big Nine and 9-2 overall. Dezeray Jacobs (3-1, 5-2), won at No. 4 doubles, dropping the first set 6-1, winning the second 7-5 and taking the &uot;super tiebreaker&uot; 10-3. Becky Birkhofer lost 6-2, 6-3 at No. 1 while Elizabeth Thompson fell 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 at No. 3.

&uot;East played tough tennis tonight,&uot; said Gillam. &uot;They pushed us at a lot of spots. They’ve been pulling off a lot of wins at doubles, but that’s definitely not the spot where you want to attack our team.&uot;

The Tigers have what Gillam expects to be a tough meet at Austin Thursday. Rochester Mayo, unbeaten in the Big Nine, comes to Albert Lea next Tuesday.

(Jim Lutgens can be reached at sports@albertleatribune.com or 379-3437.)