MILWAUKEE, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University men's tennis team kicks off a busy nonconference weekend on Friday, as the Cardinals square off against Concordia (Wis.) in a 7 p.m. match. From there, SMU heads to New Berlin, Wis., to take on Carroll (8 a.m.) and Wisconsin Lutheran (12:30 p.m.) on Saturday, before ending the trip with a 9 a.m. match against St. Norbert on Sunday in Green Bay, Wis.

The Matchups:
Friday, February 7, 2014 | 7 p.m. | Paley Tennis Center * Milwaukee, Wis.
Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-0 Overall) at Concordia (Wis.) Falcons (2013: 16-12 Overall)
Saturday, February 8, 2014 | 8 a.m. | Moorland Tennis Center * New Berlin, Wis.
Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-0 Overall) at Carroll Pioneers (0-2 Overall)
Saturday, February 8, 2014 | 12:30 p.m. | Moorland Tennis Center * New Berlin, Wis.
Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-0 Overall) at Wisconsin Lutheran Warriors (0-0 Overall)
Sunday, February 9, 2014 | 9 a.m. | Four Seasons Tennis Center * Green Bay, Wis.
Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-0 Overall) at St. Norbert Green Knights (0-0 Overall)

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Last Action:
Saint Mary's kicked off its 2014 season in impressive fashion, as the Cardinals cruised to a 9-0 nonconference win over Martin Luther last Saturday at the Winona Tennis Center. … Saturday's match against SMU is the season-opener for both Concordia (Wis.) and Wisconsin Lutheran. … Carroll opened its season last weekend with a pair of losses to Carthage (8-1) and Elmhurst (8-1). … St. Norbert kicks off its 2014 season with matches against Augustana and Luther on Saturday, before facing Saint Mary's on Sunday.

SMU vs. Concordia (Wis.) — Their Last Meeting:
February 8, 2013: The Cardinals were unstoppable against Concordia (Wis.), sweeping all six singles matches in straight sets, while dropping just nine games in winning the three doubles matches in a 9-0 win over the Falcons in Glendale, Wis.

SMU vs. Carroll — Their Last Meeting:
February 9, 2013: Thanks to a victory by Michael Lunka (Eagan, Minn.) and Bobby Steingraeber (La Crosse, Wis.) at No. 1 doubles, and a win-clinching, three-set marathon win by Sam Puff (Eden Prairie, Minn.) at No. 2 singles, the Cardinals rallied from a 4-3 deficit to hand Carroll a 5-4 nonconference setback in New Berlin, Wis.

SMU vs. Wisconsin Lutheran — Their Last Meeting:
February 8, 2013: The Cardinals were perfect in their season-opening match against Wisconsin Luther — sweep all six singles matches in straight sets, while breezing to wins in all three double matches en route to a 9-0 nonconference victory in New Berlin, Wis.

SMU vs. St. Norbert — Their Last Meeting:
February 13, 2010: Michael Lunka (Eagan, Minn.) and Sam Puff (Eden Prairie, Minn.) picked up straight-set singles wins, and Lunka also won at No. 1 doubles, but it was not enough, as SMU fell to St. Norbert 6-3 in nonconference play in Jackson, Wis.

Cardinals Up Next:
The Cardinals kick off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play next Friday, hosting Carleton in a 6 p.m. match at the Winona Tennis Center.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014 Roster | 2014 Statistics | 2014 Schedule
With their 9-0 win over Martin Luther last Saturday, the Cardinals have now won their last four season openers. … SMU lost just seven games against the Knights in their season-opening win — including three straight 8-0 doubles wins and straight-set 6-0 victories at No. 1, No. 2 and No. 6 singles. … Collin Kaczorowski (Suamico, Wis.), who set a single-season school record with 20 singles wins a year ago, picked up win No. 1 of 2014 vs. Martin Luther. … Tim Wolford (Maple Grove, Minn.), who missed the last two seasons due to injury, returned with a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 1 singles vs. MLC. … Gavin Smith (White Bear Lake, Minn.), Andrew Johnson (Rochester, Minn.), Blake Olmscheid (Farmington, Minn.) and Warren Lawrenz (Rochester, Minn.) also opened the season with straight-set singles wins vs. Martin Luther. … With last Saturday's win over Martin Luther, the Cardinals improved to 9-1 on their home court over the last two seasons. …

Scouting the Concordia (Wis.) Falcons:
2014 Roster | 2013 Final Statistics | 2014 Schedule
The Falcons are coming off a 16-10 season a year ago — including a perfect 9-0 mark in winning the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference regular-season and tournament titles. … The Falcons have won six of seven regular-season NAAC championships, including three straight, and are the only team to win the NACC Tournament, which began in 2011. … CUW enters the 2014 season having won 27 regular-season conference matches in a row. … The Falcons return a bevy of talent in 2014, led by 2013 NACC Player of the Year Russell Johnson. Johnson went 9-0 in conference matches a season ago, playing as the Falcons top singles player. … Along with his 9-0 showing in NACC matches, Johnson also led the team in overall singles wins with 20, going 20-6 overall. … First-Team All-NACC selection Skip Turner also returns, after going 15-12 overall and 7-0 in conference singles matches a year ago. … The Falcons used 15 different doubles combinations a year ago, with Turner and Taylor Shaffer joining forces for a team-best 14 doubles wins, while Johnson and Terry Jones were second with 12. … Concordia went 9-3 on its home court a year ago, while finishing 7-7 on the road in 2013.

Scouting the Carroll Pioneers:
2014 Roster | 2014 Statistics | 2014 Schedule
The Pioneers, who went 12-7 overall a year ago, dropped back-to-back 8-1 decisions to Carthage and Elmhurst to open their 2014 season. … Jack Michael returns for his junior season, after finishing 14-4 at No. 1 singles a year ago. … Michael — who picked up Carroll's two wins in their losses to Carthage and Elmhurst last weekend — enters the 2014 season ranked fourth in the central region and 17th nationally by the ITA. … Michael became the first Pioneer to advance to the finals of the USTA/ITA Midwest Regional Championship last fall, falling in three sets to UW-Whitewater's Jake Humphreys. … Michael was one of four Pioneers to win 10 or more singles matches a year ago. Ryne Fertitta (11), Matt Joost (11) and Franie Fiuffre (10) were the other three. … Michael and Fertitta teamed for a team-best nine doubles wins, with Giuffre and Kevin Rasmussen finishing second on the squad with seven.

Scouting the Wisconsin Lutheran Warriors:
2014 Roster | 2013 Final Statistics | 2014 Schedule
The Warriors are coming off their best season in program history, finishing 7-9 overall and 6-3 in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play. … Wisconsin Lutheran went 6-5 to open the season a year ago, before slumping to just one win in its final five matches. … The Warriors return six letterwinners from last season's lineup, including the reigning NACC Freshman of the Year Zach Birner. … Also back for the Warriors are All-NACC performers Lee Johnson and Ryan Sallmann. … Birner notched a team-best 12 singles wins during his freshman campaign a year ago, while Johnson was second on the team with 10. … Johnson played all 15 matches a year ago at No. 1 singles, while Birner notched eight of his 12 singles wins at No. 3. … Johnson and Ryan Sallmann combined to go 11-7 in doubles play — including 8-1 in the Warriors' nine conference matches. … Wisconsin Lutheran picked up four of its seven wins at home a year ago.

Scouting the St. Norbert Green Knights:
2014 Roster | 2013 Final Statistics | 2014 Schedule
The Green Knights head into their season-opening weekend coming off a 6-9 season a year ago, including a 2-2 mark in Midwest Conference play. … Travis Buechel returns after collecting a team-best 13 singles wins a year ago. … Buechel played four of the six singles positions a year ago, finding the most success at No. 5, where he finished 5-3. … Nate Gosz also eclipsed the 10-win plateau in singles play in 2013, finishing 11-9. … Buechel and Gosz also combined for a team-best 12 doubles victories. … St. Norbert finished 3-5 on its home court a year ago, while posting a 3-6 record on the road.