MILWAUKEE, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University men's tennis team hits the road this weekend for a pair of nonconference matches. SMU squares off against Concordia (Wis.) at 7 p.m., on Friday, then heads to Ripon for a 3 p.m. contest against the Red Hawks.



The Matchups:
Friday, February 24 | 7 p.m.
SMU Cardinals (3-2 Overall) at Concordia (Wis.) Falcons (0-2 Overall)
Saturday, February 25 | 3 p.m.
SMU Cardinals (3-2 Overall) at Ripon Red Hawks (0-4 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals had their two-match winning streak snapped last Sunday, as SMU dropped a heartbreaking 5-4 decision to St. Scholastica in a nonconference match at the Winona Tennis Center. … Concordia (Wis.) dropped its second straight contest to open the season last Friday, falling to Lawrence 8-1 at the Paley Tennis Center in Milwaukee, Wis. … Ripon struggled against Carthage and UW-La Crosse last Sunday in Fond du Lac, Wis. , falling to Carthage 9-0, then dropping an 8-1 decision to UW-La Crosse.

SMU vs. Concordia (Wis.) — Their Last Meeting:
February 26, 2011: The Cardinals made it look easy against Concordia (Wis.), sweeping all six singles matches in straight sets en route to an 8-1 nonconference victory at the Pleasant Valley Tennis Center in Jackson, Wis.

SMU vs. Ripon — Their Last Meeting:
March 13, 2010: Coming off a heartbreaking 5-4 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference loss to Saint John's earlier in the day, the Cardinals took out its frustrations on visiting Ripon, as SMU rolled to a 9-0 nonconference win at the Winona Tennis Center.

Up Next:
The Cardinals are off until March 5, when they kick off their four-match spring trip to Orlando, Fla., with a pair of nonconference matches against Marywood University and King's College. … Concordia (Wis.) returns to action on March 2, hosting St. Scholastica in an 8:30 p.m. contest at the Paley Tennis Center in Milwaukee, Wis. … Ripon is back in action on March 10, when the Red Hawks begin their eight-day spring break trip.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2012 Roster | 2012 Schedule | 2012 Statistics | Media Guides
Sunday's 5-4 loss vs. St. Scholastica snapped the Cardinals' two-match winning streak. … Last Sunday's match against St. Scholastica was the fifth straight home match for the Cardinals, who play their next six matches on the road. SMU does not return to the Winona Tennis Center until their March 16 match against Bethel. … Friday's match against Concordia (Wis.) is the seventh of 11 straight nonconference matches for the Cardinals, who kick off their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference schedule on March 16 against Bethel at the Winona Tennis Center. … Bobby Steingraeber (La Crosse, Wis.) had his season-opening four-match singles winning streak snapped with a 7-6, 6-3 loss to CSS's James Mack last Sunday. … Steingraeber did improve to 5-0 at No. 1 doubles, teaming with Micheal Lunka (Eagan, Minn.) for an 8-1 victory. … SMU won all 12 singles matches against Edgewood and Martin Luther on Feb. 12 in straight sets. … Lunka and Sam Puff (Eden Prairie, Minn.) pushed their singles winning streaks to three straight with victories over St. Scholastica last Sunday. … Steingraeber, Lunka and Puff enter this weekend's matches against Concordia (Wis.) and Ripon with a team-leading four singles wins. … As a team, SMU is 20-10 in its 30 singles matches and 11-4 in its 15 doubles matches.

Concordia (Wis.) Falcons News and Notes:
2012 Roster | 2012 Schedule
Friday's match against Saint Mary's is the second of four straight home matches for the Falcons. … Skip Turner — who was 18-7 in singles play a year ago — has accounted for Concordia's lone win in their first two matches, as the sophomore recorded a three-set, 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 win over Lawrence's Max Zievor last Friday. … The Falcons are coming off a 17-12 season a year ago in which they were a perfect 9-0 in Northern Athletics Conference play. … Concordia reached the NCAA Division III national tournament a year ago, falling to Gustavus 5-0 in the opening round. … Brian Tresedder returns for his senior year after winning conference titles at No. 1 singles and No. 2 doubles en route to being named NAC Player of the Year a year ago.

Ripon Red Hawks News and Notes:
2012 Roster | 2012 Schedule | 2012 Statistics
The Red Hawks enter Satuday's match with SMU looking for their first win of the season. … Three of Ripon's four losses thus far this season by 8-1 counts. … Saturday's neutral-site match against Saint Mary's is the first road contest of the season for Ripon, as the Red Hawks played their first four contests at Center Court in Fond du Lac, Wis. … Sam Ewig and Derrick Winterhack have picked up Ripon's two singles wins this season, while Eric Seiler and Alex Tande notched the Red Hawks' first doubles win of the season with their 8-6 win over UW-La Crosse at No. 1 last Sunday. … Ripon entered the 2012 season with its fourth different head coach in the last five years, as Craig Klatt assumes the helm. … Four of Ripon's eight players are making their collegiate debuts in 2012. … Ripon is coming off a 1-11 season in 2011.