WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's tennis team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play this weekend at the Winona Tennis Center, as the Cardinals host Bethel in a 4 p.m. match on Saturday, before entertaining St. Thomas in an 11 a.m. matchup on Sunday.
 
The Matchups:
Saturday, April 5, 2014 | Winona Tennis Center * Winona, Minn. | 4 p.m.
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-1 MIAC | 12-3 Overall) vs. Bethel Royals (1-3 MIAC | 5-9 Overall)
Sunday, April 6, 2014 | Winona Tennis Center * Winona, Minn. | 11 a.m.
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-1 MIAC | 12-3 Overall) vs. St. Thomas Tommies (4-1 MIAC | 8-3 Overall)
 
Last Action:
The Cardinals had little trouble getting past Loras last Saturday, as SMU cruised to a 9-0 nonconference win over the Duhawks in Dubuque, Iowa. … Bethel came out on the short end of a 6-3 decision in its nonconference match against UW-La Crosse last Sunday at the U of M Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis, Minn. … St. Thomas has not played a dual match since March 24, when the Tommies fell 7-2 to 25th-ranked Colby.
 
SMU vs. Bethel — A Year Ago:
April 4, 2013: In a match that included a pair of marathon doubles matches and two singles contests that went the maximum three sets, it was a match that could not have been much closer. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, it was the Royals who came out on top, as Bethel took advantage of a 3-0 lead after the doubles matches and handed SMU a 7-2 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback in Arden Hills, Minn.
 
SMU vs. St. Thomas — A Year Ago:
March 16, 2013: SMU was good — St. Thomas, however, was better. The Tommies, among the top teams in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference this season, proved to be too much for the Cardinals to handle, handing the Cardinals an 8-1 conference setback at the Winona Tennis Center.
May 3, 2013: SMU coach Jeff Halberg knew exactly what the key would be to his Cardinals' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament-opener against St. Thomas in St. Peter, Minn. — a quick start. And a quick start is exactly what transpired at the Swanson Tennis Center on the campus of Gustavus. Unfortunately for Halberg, it was the Tommies who got off to the roaring start, winning all three doubles matches en route to the 5-0 victory.
 
Up Next:
After their two conference matches against Bethel and St. Thomas this weekend, the Cardinals step out of MIAC play on Wednesday, traveling to St. Paul, Minn., for a 4 p.m. nonconference match against Northwestern. … 
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014 Roster | 2014 Statistics | 2014 Schedule
The Cardinals pushed their winning streak to three straight with last Sunday's 9-0 nonconference win over Loras. … SMU has now won seven of its last eight matches and has not lost back-to-back matches all season. … The Cardinals have put together a pair of three-match winning streaks, as well as a season-high five-match win streak. … With their win over Loras last Sunday, the Cardinals improved to 23-4 in nonconference play over the past two seasons and 37-11 vs. non-MIAC foes over the past four years. … Thanks to an 8-1 win over Concordia on March 16, SMU pushed its record to 14-3 on its home court over the past two seasons. … Gavin Smith (White Bear Lake, Minn.) picked up his team-leading 13th singles win with a straight-set victory against Loras last Sunday. … Smith's 13 singles wins are one more than Collin Kaczorowski (Suamico, Wis.). … Kaczorowski set a single-season school record with 20 singles victories a year. … Smith also leads the team with 11 doubles wins, again one more than Kaczorowski, and two better than Tim Wolford (Maple Grove, Minn.). … As a team, the Cardinals are 29-16 in doubles matches, while going 52-35 in singles play. … SMU's 9-0 loss to Carleton on Feb. 14 snapped the Cardinals' season-opening five-match winning streak — 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. 
 
Scouting the Bethel Royals:
2014 Roster | 2014 Statistics | 2014 Schedule
The Royals' 6-3 loss to UW-La Crosse last Sunday dropped Bethel to 1-8 in its last nine matches. … Three of Bethel's five wins this season have come at home — the Royals are 2-7 on the road. … Matt Schull enters the weekend with a team-leading five singles wins, one more than Kolin Kiekhoefer and Steve Schull. … Schull has collected a team-best five doubles wins, while Kiekhoefer has four and Brett Lizotte has three.
 
Scouting the St. Thomas Tommies:
2014 Roster | 2014 Statistics | 2014 Schedule
The Tommies' 7-2 loss to 25th-ranked Colby on March 24 snapped their season-high six-match winning streak. … Five of St. Thomas' eight wins this season have been by a 6-3 outcome. UST owns a pair of 9-0 sweeps and one 5-4 victory. On the flip side, two of UST's three losses were 7-2 setbacks. … Scott Wall enters the weekend owning a team-leading nine singles wins, one more than Burke Anderson. … Anderson and Matt Kavanagh have each collected a team-leading eight doubles wins. … UST is 40-26 in singles play through 11 matches, while going 20-13 in doubles play.