WINONA, Minn. — It's another busy weekend for the Saint Mary's University men's tennis team, as the Cardinals open conference play by entertaining Carleton in a 6 p.m. match on Friday, before hosting Wartburg (noon) and Bethany Lutheran (7 p.m.) in a pair of nonconference matches on Saturday.

The Matchups:
Friday, February 14, 2014 | 6 p.m. | Winona Tennis Center * Winona, Minn.
Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-0 MIAC | 5-0 Overall) vs. Carleton Knights (0-0 MIAC
| 1-1 Overall)
Saturday, February 15, 2014 | Noon | Winona Tennis Center * Winona, Minn.
Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-0 Overall) vs. Wartburg Knights (1-0 Overall)
Saturday, February 15, 2014 | 7 p.m. | Winona Tennis Center * Winona, Minn.
Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-0 Overall) vs. Bethany Lutheran Vikings (0-2 Overall)

GameDay Live On The Web:
Video Preview | Carleton Program | Wartburg Program | BLC Program

Last Action:
The Cardinals picked up four nonconference wins last weekend in the Milwaukee, Wis., area, beating Concordia (Wis.) (8-1), Carroll (5-4), Wisconsin Lutheran (7-2) and St. Norbert (5-4). … Carleton opened its season with a nonconference split last Sunday in Virginia, Minn., beating Ripon 9-0, before falling to St. Scholastica 5-4. … Wartburg has not played since Feb. 2, when the Knights recorded a 7-2 win over Edgewood in Waverly, Iowa. … Bethany Lutheran dropped both of its season-opening matches in Owatonna, Minn., last Saturday, falling to Ripon (5-4) and Simpson (8-1).

SMU vs. Carleton — Their Last Meeting:
February 15, 2013: Carleton, runner-up in the MIAC race a year ago — with its only loss coming to conference-champion Gustavus — proved to be rather ungracious guests, as the Knights handed SMU a 7-2 setback in the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener at the Winona Tennis Center.

SMU vs. Bethany Lutheran — Their Last Meeting:
April 13, 2013: SMU didn't waste any time picking up a 9-0 victory over Bethany Lutheran — 64 minutes to be exact. Injuries and illnesses forced Bethany Lutheran to forfeit two of the three doubles matches and three of the singles matches, making life that much easier for SMU.

Up Next:
The Cardinals return to conference play next Saturday, as the Cardinals host Saint John's (noon) and Gustavus (4 p.m.) in a pair of MIAC matches at the Winona Tennis Center. … Carleton is back in action on Sunday, squaring off against Grinnell in a 9:30 a.m. nonconference match in Owatonna, Minn. … Like SMU, Bethany Lutheran does not return to action until next Saturday, when the Vikings head to St. Peter, Minn., for a 5 p.m. contest against Buena Vista. … Wartburg hits the road next Saturday, traveling to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for matches against Carthage and Coe.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014 Roster | 2014 Statistics | 2014 Schedule
Friday's match against Carleton is the first of four straight home matches for the Cardinals, who are 9-1 on their home court over the past two seasons. … With their 4-0 sweep last weekend, the Cardinals improved to 5-0 overall — the longest season-opening winning streak in coach Jeff Halberg's 16 years as SMU's head coach. … With their 9-0 win over Martin Luther on Feb. 1, the Cardinals have now won their last four season openers. … Gavin Smith (White Bear Lake, Minn.) enters this weekend's matches against Carleton and Bethany Lutheran riding a pair of five-match winning streaks — the senior is a perfect 5-0 in both singles and doubles play this season. … Collin Kaczorowski (Suamico, Wis.)— who set a single-season school record with 20 singles victories a year ago as a freshman — is also unbeaten in singles play at 5-0. … As a team, the Cardinals have lost just two of 15 doubles matches, while going 21-9 in singles play. … Thanks in part to their 5-0 start, the Cardinals improved to 32-9 in nonconference play over the past four seasons — including an 18-2 run in the last two years. …

Scouting the Carleton Knights:
2014 Roster | 2014 Statistics | 2014 Schedule
The Knights head into the 2014 season having graduated three of their four 2013 All-MIAC performers — including Austin Jiang, a four-year all-conference performer, who went 60-22 in doubles in his four seasons, the most doubles wins by a Knight over the last decade. … The Knights reached the MIAC Tournament finals for the ninth time in the last 10 seasons a year ago, and has finished in the top two in the regular-season standings every year since 2003. … The Knights went 10-2 in singles play — with 10 different singles players accounting for the 10 victories — but were just 3-3 in doubles action in their season-opening matches against Ripon and St. Scholastica.

Scouting the Bethany Lutheran Vikings:
2014 Roster | 2014 Statistics | 2014 Schedule
The Vikings head into Saturday's matches against Saint Mary's and Wartburg still searching for their first win of 2014, having dropped 5-4 and 8-1 decision to Ripon and Simpson, respectively, last Saturday. … With their two season-opening setbacks, Bethany Lutheran saw its losing streak climb to 23 straight, dating back to a 5-4 win over North Central on April 25, 2012. … Paul Riedinger picked up back-to-back wins at No. 6 singles in the Vikings' first two matches, while Jason Buechler accounted for Bethany Lutheran's other singles win. … Buechler and Riedinger also had a hand in both BLC doubles wins last Saturday, as Buechler teamed with Troy Hoyard for a win at No. 2, and Riedinger paired up with Zach Carlson for a win at No. 3.

Scouting the Wartburg Knights:
2014 Roster | 2014 Statistics | 2014 Schedule
The Knights won two of the three doubles matches and five of the six singles matches in beating Edgewood in their season opener on Feb. 8. … Two of Wartburg's five singles matches vs. Edgewood went the maximum three sets. … Eric Hilpert — who finished with 13 singles wins a year ago, the most by any Knight returner — picked up one of Wartburg's five singles wins vs. Edgewood on Feb. 8. Luke Benna, Andrew Greene, Brandon Hornback and Koo Miyake posted the other wins. … Hornback-Miyake and Andrew Green-Coy Wiegmann teamed for the Knights' two doubles wins vs. the Eagles on Feb. 8. … The Knights are coming off a 14-9 season in 2013 — including a 4-2 conference record and a berth in the IIAC Tournament. … The Knights entered the 2014 season without the services of graduated senior Blayne Willadsen, who posted a team-best 16 singles wins a year ago. … Wartburg boasted four players with at least 10 singles wins a year ago ¬— but only Hilpert is on the Knights' 2014 roster. … As a team, Wartburg finished 74-57 in singles play, while posting a 36-35 record in doubles. … Wartburg compiled a 5-1 mark on its home court in 2013, while finishing 9-9 on the road.