WINONA, Minn.  — The Saint Mary's University women's tennis team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play this weekend at the Winona Tennis Center, hosting Bethel on Saturday at 1 p.m., while entertaining St. Thomas at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday.
 
The Matchups:
Saturday, April 5, 2014 | Winona Tennis Center * Winona, Minn. | 1 p.m.
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-3 MIAC | 7-5 Overall) vs. Bethel Royals (0-5 MIAC | 3-10 Overall)
Sunday, April 6, 2014 | Winona Tennis Center * Winona, Minn. | 9 a.m.
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-3 MIAC | 7-5 Overall) vs. St. Thomas Tommies (5-0 MIAC | 11-1 Overall), 1 p.m.
 
Last Action:
The Cardinals have been off since last Saturday in Ashwaubenon, Wis., when SMU dropped a 7-2 nonconference decisoin to St. Norbert, before bouncing back with a 7-2 victory over UW-River Falls later in the afternoon. … Bethel came up short in its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match against Saint Benedict Monday, falling to the Blazers 6-3 at the U of M Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis, Minn. … St. Thomas headed into the weekend having completed a perfect 5-0 run during its spring trip to Hilton Head, S.C., including a trip-ending 9-0 win over Colby on March 27.
 
SMU vs. Bethel — A Year Ago:
February 28, 2013: SMU found itself staring at a rather deep hole after the doubles portion of its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match against Bethel. And no matter how hard they tried, the Cardinals just couldn't find a way to dig themselves out, as Bethel turned a 3-0 lead after the doubles competition into a 7-2 victory at the Lakeville Lifetime Fitness.
 
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 loss in St. Paul, Minn.
 
Up Next:
After this weekend's matches against Bethel and St. Thomas, the Cardinals are off until next Saturday, when SMU travels to Northfield, Minn., for a 1 p.m. conference showdown against St. Olaf. … Bethel xxxx. … St. Thomas xxxxx.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014 Roster | 2014 Statistics | 2014 Schedule
The Cardinals enter the weekend having won two of their last three and five of their last eight. … SMU's last three matches have all been decided by 7-2 outcomes — wins over Morningside (Iowa) and UW-River Falls sandwiched around a setback vs. St. Norbert. … SMU has recorded three 9-0 sweeps among its seven victories this season. … Megan Vandenberg (De Pere, Wis.), who had her season-opening seven-match singles winning streak snapped with a 6-0, 6-1 loss to St. Catherine's Mikinzee Salo on March 21, picked up her ninth singles win of the season against UW-River Falls last Saturday. … Vandenberg shares the team lead in singles wins with Haley Jorgensen (Fallon, Nev.) — who is riding a three-match singles winning streak. …  Lindsey Reinisch (Hastings, Minn.) enters this weekend's matches against Bethel and St. Thomas with eight singles wins. … Jorgensen's three-set, 2-6, 6-3, 10-7 win at No. 6 singles clinched SMU's 5-4 win over Hamline on March 15. … Reinisch owns a team-leading eight doubles wins, one more than Grace Zachman (Elk River, Minn.). … The Cardinals are 40-32 in singles play. … SMU, which is 21-14 in doubles play, has used 14 different doubles combinations this season. … Four of the Cardinals' seven wins have come on their home court — SMU is 3-2 away from the Winona Tennis Center. 
 
Scouting the Bethel Royals:
2014 Roster | 2014 Statistics | 2014 Schedule
Bethel's 6-3 loss to Saint Benedict Monday was its second straight, while also extending its 2014 MIAC losing streak to five in a row. … Four of BU's five conference losses have come against the top four teams in the MIAC standings. … After opening the season with wins over UW-Stout (8-1) and St. Scholastica (5-4), the Royals have dropped 10 of their last 11 matches — the lone exception a 5-4 victory over Oglethrope College during their spring trip to Orlando, Fla. … Kourtney Jakubic leads the Royals with three singles wins, while Kristin Vivian and Maddy Simpson boast a team-best two doubles wins.
 
Scouting the St. Thomas Tommies:
2014 Roster | 2014 Statistics | 2014 Schedule
The Tommies headed into the weekend riding a 10-match winning streak. … UST's lone blemish this season was a 6-3 loss to Cardinal Stritch on Feb. 8. … The Tommies' five wins during their spring trip to Hilton Head, S.C., were all 9-0 victories. … Nine of UST's 11 wins this season have been 9-0 sweeps. … The Tommies, who are 64-8 in singles play, boast a pair of players who have not lost a singles match this season — Shelby Henderson is a perfect 11-0 at No. 1 singles, while Bridget Noack is 10-0 (9-0 at No. 2 and 1-0 at No. 3). … After dropping their first matches, Kara Lefsrud and Rachel Wright are both riding a nine-match winning streak. … The Tommies are 31-5 in doubles action, led by Lefsrud-Noack, who have teamed to go 10-1 at No. 1 doubles — including wins in each of their last nine matches.