DE PERE, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University women's tennis team kicks off a busy weekend on Saturday, taking on both Michigan Tech and St. Norbert in De Pere, Wis. SMU then travels to Stevens Point, Wis., for a Sunday nonconference match vs. UW-Stevens Point.



The Matchups:
Saturday, April 14, 2012 | De Pere, Wis.
Saint Mary's Cardinals (8-8 Overall) at
Michigan Tech Huskies (3-14 Overall), 1 p.m.
St. Norbert Green Knights (12-4 Overall), 4 p.m.
Sunday, April 15, 2012 | Stevens Point, Wis.
Saint Mary's Cardinals (8-8 Overall) at
UW-Stevens Point Pointers (2-9 Overall), 10:30 a.m.

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Last Action:
The Cardinals are coming off back-to-back conference losses at the Winona Tennis Center, as SMU dropped a 6-3 decision to Saint Benedict on March 31 and fell 5-4 to St. Thomas a day later. … Michigan Tech has not played since March 8, when the Huskies closed out their spring trip to Hilton Head, S.C., with a 5-4 loss to Ashford. … St. Norbert kicks off its spring season vs. Michigan Tech and Saint Mary's. The Green Knights finished 12-4 during their 2011 fall regular-season. … UW-Stevens Point is also beginning its spring season this weekend against UW-Oshkosh and Saint Mary's. The Pointers finished 2-9 during their 2011 fall regular season.

SMU vs. Michigan Tech — Their Last Meeting:
Saturday's match between the Cardinals and the Huskies is the first in program history.

SMU vs. St. Norbert — Their Last Meeting:
April 30, 2011: Andrea Allis and Abby Voigt (Burnsville, Minn.) picked up SMU's lone doubles win against St. Norbert, as the duo — making their first appearance at No. 1 doubles — coasted to an 8-0 victory. Voigt followed that up with a three-set, 6-2, 1-6, 10-6 victory at No. 2 singles, but it was all St. Norbert after that, as the Green Knights cruised to a 7-2 nonconference win at the Winona Tennis Center.

SMU vs. UW-Stevens Point — Their Last Meeting:
April 2, 2006: After winning three nailbiters in doubles, the Cardinals made it look easy in singles play against UW-Stevens Point, as SMU won all six singles matches in straight sets — dropping just seven games in the process — en route to a 9-0 nonconference win in Winona, Minn.

Cardinals' Up Next:
The Cardinals return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play next Saturday, traveling to Owatonna, Minn., for a 4 p.m. match against St. Olaf.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2012 Roster | 2012 Schedule | 2012 Statistics | 2012 Media Guide
Saturday's matches against Michigan Tech and St. Norbert are the first of four straight road contests for the Cardinals, who close out their regular season playing six of their final seven matches away from the Winona Tennis Center. … The Cardinals are 5-5 at home this season and 3-3 on the road. … With SMU's win over Hamline on Match 28, the Cardinals' last four wins have all been by 7-2 scores. … SMU has lost just 11 individual matches in seven of their eight wins this season — winning three matches by 8-1 scores, while adding four 7-2 victories. … Bailey Edwards (Fond du Lac, Wis.) and sister McKennah Edwards (Fond du Lac, Wis.) enter the weekend's matches vs. Michigan Tech, St. Norbert and UW-Stevens Point ranked No. 9 in the latest ITA Central Regional rankings. It's the highest regional ranking by an SMU doubles team in coach Jeff Halberg's 14-year tenure. … Bailey Edwards is also ranked No. 18 in singles play, while McKennah is ranked No. 19. … As a team, the Cardinals are holding down the No. 25 spot in the ITA Central Region, while Bailey Edwards is ranked No. 18 in the Central Region in singles play, while McKennah Edwards is 19th. … Bailey and McKennah Edwards enter the weekend as the hottest players on the SMU team. Both have won their last three singles matches, while teaming to win nine of their last 10 matches at No. 1 doubles — including the last five in a row. … Fueled by their five-match winning streak, Bailey and McKennah Edwards improved to 12-2 in dual matches and 14-3 overall at No. 1 doubles. … With her most recent singles wins vs. Saint Benedict and St. Thomas, Bailey Edwards pushed her school-record career singles and doubles wins total to 53. … Fueled by her wins over Saint Benedict and St. Thomas, McKennah Edwards improved to a team-leading 17-5 overall in singles play — including five vicrtories at the USTA-ITA Midwest Regional Tournament, in which she placed second. … McKennah Edwards's 17 singles wins move her into a tie with Bailey for the program's single-season singles wins record. … Bailey Edwards, Deanne Weber (Reedsburg, Wis.) and Lindsey Reinisch (Hastings, Minn.) are tied for second on the team in singles wins with nine each. … SMU is 41-43 in singles play this season, while boasting a 26-16 mark in doubles action. … As a team, the Cardinals are 46-50 in singles and 28-20 in doubles. … Coach Halberg has used 13 different doubles combinations this season.

Michigan Tech Huskies News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Schedule | 2011-12 Statistics
The Huskies have been off since March 8, when they closed out a 1-3 showing in Hilton Head, S.C. … Natalia Lebedeva was named All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference First Team following the Huskies fall season, while Ploy Suthijindawong earned All-GLIAC Second Team and Chelsea Uganski was selected as All-GLIAC Honorable Mention. … Lebedeva played No. 1 singles for the Huskies in all but one match last fall, and enters the weekend with a 12-5 dual-match record. … Suthijindawong closed out her GLIAC career with her third straight All-GLIAC award. The Huskies' No. 2 player notched an 8-4 mark in conference play and heads into this weekend at 12-5. … Suthijindawong and Uganski have also teamed for a 12-5 dual-match record at No. 2 doubles, accounting for 12 of the team's 15 doubles wins.

St. Norbert Green Knights News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Schedule | 2011-12 Statistics
Saturday's matches against Michigan Tech and Saint Mary's are the first of six spring matches for the Green Knights, who closed out their fall season with a 12-4 record — including a second-place finish in the Midwest Conference Team Championships. … The Green Knights had a one singles player and one doubles tandem reach the finals but finish as conference runner-ups, as St. Norbert also placed third at the Midwest Conference Singles and Doubles Championships. St. Norbert's Nancy Chybowski reached the finals at No. 2 singles, falling to Grinnell's Constanza Alarcon in three sets, 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 score. SNC's Maria Slusarek and Laura Michel teamed up to reach the finals at No. 2 doubles, but lost 6-0, 6-2 to Alarcon and Clothilde Thirouin of Grinnell in the title match. … St. Norbert's 5-1 loss to Grinnell in the title match of the MWC Team Championships snapped the Green Knights' seven-match winning streak. After opening the season with back-to-back losses to UW-Oshkosh and Augustana, St. Norbert went 12-2 in its final 14 matches. … Chybowski enters Saturday's matches owning a team-best 13 singles wins. She is one of four Green Knights with 10 or more singles wins — Anna Reardon (12), Slusarek (11) and Ariel Bloniarz (10) are the others. … In dual matches, St. Norbert owns a 60-29 singles record. … Slusarek-Michel and Maggie Berens-Callie Schroeder are the Green Knights' top doubles teams, with both teams compiling 12 wins. Chybowski-Kelly Van Handel have chipped in 10 doubles wins for St. Norbert this season.

UW-Stevens Point Pointers News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Schedule | 2011-12 Statistics
The Pointers finished 2-9 in during their fall season, including a fifth-place showing in the WIAC Tournament. … Rachel Brown was the only Pointer to win a match during the WIAC Tournament, winning her first-round match in the No. 1 singles flight against UW-La Crosse's Jenny Maruyama 6-3, 6-3. In the second round, Brown was defeated 6-1, 6-2 by the top-seeded Kalla Schaefer of UW-Whitewater. … Four of UW-Stevens Point's nine losses have been by 9-0 scores, including their last two matches of the fall season. … The Pointers enter Sunday's home matches against Saint Mary's and UW-Oshkosh still searching for their first home contest of the season (0-6). … Rachel Brown leads the team with six singles wins, going 6-4 at No. 1 singles. … Allison Fortier and Taylor Weuve are second on the team in wins with three each. … UW-Stevens Point is still searching for its first win at No. 6 singles (0-10). … The Pointers have used the same three doubles combinations all season — Brown-Weuve at No. 1, Fortier-Monica Presig at No. 2 and Molly Hendries-Katelyn Presitat No. 3.