The Saint Mary's University tennis teams are back in action on Saturday, as the SMU men square off against St. Thomas, while the Cardinal women face Northwestern (at Lifetime Fitness in Lakeville, Minn.) and St. Thomas (at U of M Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis, Minn.).






The Teams:
SMU Cardinal Women (0-1 MIAC / 2-2 Overall)
vs. St. Thomas Tommies (0-0 MIAC / 1-0 Overall)
vs. Northwestern Eagles (0-1 Overall)

SMU Cardinal Men (1-0 Overall)
vs. St. Thomas Tommies (1-0 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinal teams both dropped their MIAC opener last Sunday against Carleton, as the SMU men fell 9-0, while the SMU women suffered an 8-1 setback. Both matches were played at Lifetime Fitness in Lakeville, Minn. … Both St. Thomas teams picked up their second straight wins of the season on Feb. 13, as the UST men blanked St. Cloud State 9-0, and the UST women were 7-2 winners over St. Cloud State in St, Paul, Minn. … Northwestern is still searching for its first win, as Macalester dealt the Eagles a 9-0 setback in St. Paul, Minn., last Saturday.

Last Meeting:
SMU Women vs. St. Thomas — March 14, 2010: The SMU women opened with wins in two of the three doubles matches, but St. Thomas got the better of them in singles, winning four of the six matches to beat SMU 5-4 at the Winona Tennis Center.

SMU Women vs. Northwestern — February, 26, 2010: After a 27-day layoff, the Cardinals were finally back on the court — and rust-free — as SMU cruised to a 9-0 nonconference win over Northwestern at the Winona Tennis Center.

SMU Men vs. St. Thomas — March 14, 2010: With Sam Puff (Eden Prairie, Minn.) out with an injury and Pawel Szczepkowski (Opolskie, Poland) unable to compete in singles due to illness, the short-handed Cardinals were no match for high-powered St. Thomas, as the Tommies rolled to a 9-0 conference win at the Winona Tennis Center.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
The Cardinals did not have an answer for Carleton in the teams' conference opener, as the Knights won all six singles matches in straight sets and swept the doubles matches by losing just 12 games. … Mike Lunka (Eagan, Minn.)-Bobby Steingraeber (La Crosse, Wis.) — who finished 10-6 at No. 1 doubles a year ago — are 1-1 this season. … Lunka, Sam Puff (Eden Prairie, Minn.) and Gavin Smith (Woodbury, Minn.) collected singles wins vs. St. Scholastica in the Cardinals' season-opener on Feb. 5. … Smith's win at No. 6 singles was the first of his collegiate career. … The SMU women's doubles team of Abby Voigt (Burnsville, Minn.)-Grace Zachman (Elk River, Minn.) picked up the Cardinals' win vs. nationally ranked Carleton last Sunday, winning 9-8 (4). … Voigt-Zachman have teamed up three times at No. 3 doubles this season, going 2-1. … Voigt is also 2-2 in singles play, with both wins coming at No. 4. … Bailey Edwards (Fond du Lac, Wis.) and Rebecca Snyder (Eden Prairie, Minn.) both suffered their first singles losses of the season vs. Carleton. The duo enter their matches against St. Thomas and Northwestern Saturday with 3-1 records at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, respectively. … Edwards came into the season ranked No. 14 in the Central Region in singles, while the doubles team of Lunka-Steingraeber are ranked 14th in the Central Region in doubles | 2011 Men's Overall Statistics | 2011 Women's Overall Statistics

St. Thomas Tommies News and Notes:
Last Saturday's 9-0 women's win over Southwest Minnesota State and 5-4 men's victory over UW-La Crosse were UST's first on-campus tennis competitions in 23 months. They also were the inaugural tennis matches contested in the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex. St. Thomas played all 35 matches in 2010 off campus. … The UST women finished 11-6 last season in dual meets, including a 2-3 record in matches decided by a 5-4 score. … The 2011 Tommie women's team returns four of their top seven players — including All-MIAC Alex Frank and Madeline Gail. The 14-player roster also includes seven freshmen. … Injuries took a toll last season as the Tommie men started their season 8-0 but eventually finished 11-6. … UST returns six of its top eight players from 2010 — including Andy Michels, a two-time All-MIAC doubles honoree who went 12-3 in doubles and 6-9 in singles last spring. … The UST men, playing without three top players due to injuries and a family emergency, swept the doubles with close victories and won at Nos. 5-6 singles to beat UW-L in its season opener | 2011 Men's Overall Statistics | 2011 Women's Overall Statistics

Northwestern Eagles News and Notes:
Northwestern finished 2nd in the UMAC last season with an 8-2 conference mark. The Eagles were 9-10 overall in 2010. … No. 1 singles player Dana Smith was 8-13 in 2010, mostly at the No. 3 singles position. … No. 2 singles player Amy Knight was 8-11 in 2010, playing mostly at No. 4 singles. … The Eagles' 2011 roster includes eight returning players and five newcomers | 2011 Women's Overall Statistics