WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's tennis team steps out of conference play for a pair of home matches this weekend, as the Cardinals host Northwestern on Saturday and Loras on Sunday.
The Matchups:
Saturday, February 23, 2013 | Winona Tennis Center * Winona, Minn. | 1 p.m.
Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-2 Overall) vs. Northwestern Eagles (0-1 Overall)
Saturday, February 23, 2013 | Winona Tennis Center * Winona, Minn. | 6:30 p.m.
Saint Mary's Cardinals vs. Loras Duhawks (0-2 Overall)
GameDay Live On The Web:
Video Preview | Northwestern GameDay Program | Loras GameDay Program
Last Action:
The Cardinals faced two of the top teams in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference last weekend, as SMU dropped a 7-2 decision to Carleton last Friday at the Winona Tennis Center, then fell to defending conference champion Gustavus 9-0 at the Swanson Tennis Center in St. Peter, Minn., on Saturday. … Northwestern kicked off its 2013 schedule last Saturday, falling to Macalester 9-0 in St. Paul, Minn. … Loras enters the weekend coming off a 5-4 loss to the University of Dubuque in Dubuque, Iowa, last Saturday.
SMU vs. Northwestern — A Year Ago:
April 20, 2012: The Eagles jumped out to a 2-1 lead after the doubles competition, and picked up wins in five of the six singles matches — with four of those wins coming in three sets — to seal the 7-2 win over SMU in St. Paul, Minn.
SMU vs. Loras — Their Last Meeting:
March 8, 2008: Walter Mannino (Chicago, Ill.) blanked Loras' Steve Nesteby 6-0, 6-0, while Steve Clements (La Crosse, Wis.), Justin Loeffler (Winona, Minn.) and Tony Clafton (Grand Rapids, Minn.) also won in straight sets as the Cardinals cruised to an 8-1 nonconference win over the Duhawks at the Winona Tennis Center.
Up Next:
The Cardinals are now off until March 4, when they kick off their spring trip to Orlando, Fla., with nonconference matches against Ursinus College (8:30 a.m.) and Kings' College (7 p.m.). … After their second match of the day against Loras Saturday at the Winona Tennis Center, Northwestern returns to the court on March 2, squaring off against Macalester in a 9 a.m. match in St. Paul, Minn., while the Duhawks also return to action on March 2, taking on UW-Eau Claire (10:30 a.m.) and St. Ambrose (1 p.m.) in Davenport, Iowa.
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013 Roster | 2013 Statistics | 2013 Schedule
With their wins over Wisconsin Lutheran, Concordia (Wis.) and Carroll, the Cardinals opened the season 3-0 for the first time under 15-year head coach Jeff Halberg. … The Cardinals did not drop a set in beating both Wisconsin Lutheran and Concordia (Wis.) by identical 9-0 scores on Feb. 8. … SMU's 5-4 win over Carroll on Feb. 9 was Halberg's 100th collegiate coaching victory. … Collin Kaczorowski (Suamico, Wis.) — who recorded his first collegiate singles win against Bethany Lutheran in the team's season-opener on Feb. 8 — enters the weekend boasting a team-best four singles wins. … Bobby Steingraeber (La Crosse, Wis.) and Blake Olmscheid (Farmington, Minn.) both own three singles wins in five matches. … Like Kaczorowski, Olmscheid collected his first collegiate singles win against Wisconsin Luther on Feb. 8. … Steingraeber and Michael Lunka (Eagan, Minn.) — who earned their second All-MIAC doubles honor in 2012 — improved to 22-3 in their last 25 doubles matches with a 1-1 showing against Carleton and Gustavus last weekend. … Andrew Rangitsch (Oakdale, Minn.) set a single-day school record with five wins during the opening day of the Gustavus Midwest Open last fall, reaching the quarterfinals, as he dropped a two-and-a-half hour, three-set, 7-6, 4-6, 6-2 decision to Saint John's Alex Weigmann.
Scouting the Northwestern Eagles:
2013 Roster | 2013 Statistics | 2013 Schedule
Saturday's match against Saint Mary's is the Eagles' second straight against a team from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. NWC dropped a 9-0, season-opening decision at Macalester last Saturday. … Northwestern was picked to finish second among conference teams in the 2013 UMAC Coaches' Poll. NWC received 21 points, including one first-place vote, and finished behind preseason favorite St. Scholastica. … The Eagles are coming off a 2012 season in which they recorded the second-most wins in school history, finishing 14-13. … David Knight — the 2011 UMAC Player of the Year and a two-time all-conference selection who went 8-1 in UMAC singles matches last season — lost both of his season-opening matches vs. the Scots in tiebreakers. Knight suffered a 5-7, 6-4, 10-4 setback at No. 1 singles, then teamed with Keagan Blancke in a 9-8 (7-4) loss at No. 1 doubles. … Blancke is coming off a stellar 2012 season, in which he garnered All-UMAC honors after posting a 16-5 overall record and 10-0 showing in UMAC play. … Blancke has lost just one conference singles match in the last two years.
Scouting the Loras Duhawks:
2013 Roster | 2013 Statistics | 2013 Schedule
The Duhawks enter Saturday's matches still searching for their first win of the 2013 season. … Both of Loras' losses this season have been by 5-4 counts. … Brian Falvey and Jon Moore have both started the season 2-0 in singles play, accounting for four of the Duhawks' six singles wins. … Both of Moore's wins have come from the No 1 position, while Falvey is 2-0 at No. 2. … Moore and Falvey are also a perfect 2-0 at No. 1 doubles and are the only Duhawks with a doubles win this season. … Falvey is coming off a team-leading six singles wins a year ago, while Moore and Jon Steines were second with four. … Loras' first nine matches will be played on the road — the Duhawks do not open the home portion of their 2013 schedule until April 12 against Coe. |
