OWATONNA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's tennis team hits the road this weekend, as the Cardinals take on Bethany Lutheran in a 4 p.m. nonconference match in Owatonna, Minn., before moving on to Fitness Evolution in Sartell, Minn., on Sunday for a 6 p.m. MIAC showdown with Saint John's.

The Matchups:
Saturday, April 13, 2013 | Owatonna, Minn. | 4 p.m.
Saint Mary's Cardinals (13-5 Overall) Bethany Lutheran Vikings (0-12 Overall)
Sunday, April 14, 2013 | Fitness Evolution * Sartell, Minn. | 6 p.m.
SMU Cardinals (2-4 MIAC | 13-5 Overall) at Saint John's Johnnies (2-1 MIAC | 2-9 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals have been off since last Saturday, when SMU jumped out to a 3-0 lead over St. Olaf and went on to a 7-2 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over the Oles at the Winona Tennis Center. … Bethany Lutheran came up empty on Monday, as the Vikings dropped a 9-0 decision to Martin Luther in a UMAC contest in Mankato, Minn. … Saint John's, which hosts St. Olaf on Saturday, has been off since March 27, when the Johnnies concluded their spring trip to Florida with an 8-1 loss to Hamilton College.

SMU vs. Bethany Lutheran — Their Last Meeting:
March 29, 2008: After losing out on most of its matches during their spring trip to Texas due to inclement weather, SMU knew the importance of its nonconference match against Bethany Lutheran — and the Cardinals delivered, cruising to a 9-0 victory over the Vikings at the Winona Tennis Center.

SMU vs. Saint John's — Their Last Meeting:
March 17, 2012: Less than 24 hours earlier, SMU coach Jeff Halberg watched as his Cardinals came from behind to win all three doubles matches en route to a 5-4 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over Bethel. Saint John's gave Halberg and the Cardinals a taste of their own medicine, as the Johnnies' No. 2 doubles team of Zack Shriwise and Connor Rust rallied from a 6-1 deficit to beat Sam Puff (Eden Prairie, Minn.) and Andrew Rangitsch (Oakdale, Minn.) 9-8. It was a win that gave SJU a 2-1 lead — an advantage the Cardinals would never recover from, as the Johnnies dealt SMU an 8-1 conference setback at the Winona Tennis Center.

Up Next:
The Cardinals are back in action next Saturday, as SMU hosts Concordia in a noon Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match, before hosting North Central (Minn.) in a 4 p.m. nonconference showdown. Both matches will be played at the Winona Tennis Center. … Bethany Lutheran is off until next Saturday, when the Vikings square off against St. Scholastica in a UMAC match in Duluth, Minn. … Saint John's is right back in conference action on Wednesday, as the Johnnies travel to St. Paul, Minn., for a 4 p.m. MIAC match against Hamline.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013 Roster | 2013 Statistics | 2013 Schedule
The Cardinals head into the weekend having one four of their last five matches and six of their last eight. … The Cardinals have lost back-to-back matches just once this season, while putting together winning streaks of two, three (twice) and four straight matches. … With their 9-0 victory over Milwaukee School of Engineering on April 3, the Cardinals improved to 11-1 in nonconference play this season. SMU's 6-3, spring trip-opening loss to Ursinus is its lone non-league loss this season. … Collin Kaczorowski (Suamico, Wis.) had his season-high 10-match winning streak snapped with a 6-1, 6-1 loss to Bethel's Luke Palmquist on April 4. … Kaczorowski rebounded with a three-set against St. Olaf last Saturday and enters this weekend's matches against Bethany Lutheran and Saint John's with 15 dual-match singles wins this season. … Fellow freshman Warren Lawrenz (Rochester, Minn.) is unbeaten in his six singles matches. … Kaczorowski's 15 singles wins are a team high, while Sam Puff (Eden Prairie, Minn.) is second with 12 and Andrew Rangitsch (Oakdale, Minn.) — riding a five-match winning streak — is third with 11. … Kaczorowski and Blake Olmscheid (Farmington, Minn.) each recorded their first collegiate singles win against Wisconsin Lutheran in the team's season-opener on Feb. 8, while Lawrenz notched his first win as a Cardinal against Northwestern on Feb. 23. … The doubles team of Michael Lunka (Eagan, Minn.)-Steingraeber — who earned their second All-MIAC doubles honor in 2012 — improved to 30-6 in their last 36 doubles matches with their 11-4 start to the season. … Steingraeber boasts a team-leading 13 doubles wins, with Kaczorowski and Lunka sharing second with 12. … Rangitsch and Kaczorowski are 7-2 at No. 3 doubles. … As a team, the Cardinals — who have used 12 different doubles combinations — are 37-17 in doubles play this season. … Rangitsch 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. … 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. … SMU's 5-4 win over Carroll on Feb. 9 was Halberg's 100th collegiate coaching victory.

Scouting the Bethany Lutheran Vikings:
2013 Roster | 2013 Statistics (NA) | 2013 Schedule
Bethany Lutheran heads into Saturday's match against Saint Mary's searching for their first win of the season — the Vikings are in the midst of a season-opening 12-match losing streak. … Bethany Lutheran dropped its last two matches of the 2012 season, leaving the Vikings 0-14 in their last 14 matches. … During their current 14-match winless streak, the Vikings have been swept 9-0 in 13 of them. … Tim Wildauer has had a hand in two of Bethany Lutheran's three match wins this season — picking up the Vikings' lone singles win, while also teaming with Paul Riediger for one of BLU's two doubles wins. … Troy Hoyord and Jason Buechler have accounted for the Vikings' other win this season.

Scouting the Saint John's Johnnies:
2013 Roster | 2013 Statistics | 2013 Schedule
The Johnnies entered their weekend matches against St. Olaf and Saint Mary's looking to break out of a seven-match losing streak. SJU has now won since posting back-to-back 7-2 wins over Bethel (Feb. 24) and Concordia (March 9) to kick off its conference schedule. … Fabricio Moncada heads into the weekend boasting a team-leading seven singles wins in the Johnnies' 11 matches this season — all at No. 1 singles. … Zach Shriwise is second on the team with four singles wins, while Joe Laue is third with three. … Andrew Nagel and Jack Hansen share the team lead for doubles wins with five each, one more than Shriwise. … Nagel and Hansen, who make up one of the 11 different doubles combinations used by the Johnnies, have teamed to go 5-3 at No. 3 doubles this season. … Saturday's match against Saint Mary's is the second straight home match for the Johnnies, who play six of their last nine matches on their home courts.