WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's tennis team kicks off its 2015 season at home Saturday, as the Cardinals entertain Carleton in a 12:30 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match at the Winona Tennis Center.
 
The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2014: 2-7 MIAC | 13-9 Overall) vs. Carleton Knights (8-1 MIAC | 16-9 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
Video Preview | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Today's match is the season-opener for both the Cardinals and the Knights
 
Saint Mary's vs. Carleton—A Year Ago:
• February 14, 2014: Saint Mary's season-opening five-game winning streak came to a screeching halt, as Carleton handed the Cardinals a 9-0 setback in the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener at the Winona Tennis Center | Recap
 
Up Next:
•  Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back on their home Winona Tennis Center courts next weekend for four nonconference matches, hosting Bethany Lutheran in a 5 p.m. match on Friday, entertaining Luther (11 a.m.) and St. Norbert (5 p.m.) on Saturday, and closing out the weekend with a home match against Martin Luther (3 p.m.) on Sunday.
• Carleton: After a second match on Saturday against UW-La Crosse, the Knights head to Lifetime Fitness in Lakeville on Sunday, squaring off against St. Scholastica in a 12:30 p.m. nonconference match.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015 Roster | 2015 Schedule | 2015 Statistics
The Cardinals finished with an 11-2 record against nonconference opponents last season. Saint Mary's is now 24-4 in nonconference matches over the past two seasons and moved to 38-11 vs. non-MIAC foes over the past four years. … Saint Mary's compiled a pair of three-match winning streaks in 2014, while also opening the season with a season-high five-match win streak. … The Cardinals' season-opening five-match winning streak was the longest season-opening winning streak in coach Jeff Halberg's 16 years as SMU's head coach. … Gavin Smith (White Bear Lake, Minn.) closed out his senior season as the team-leader in both singles (14) and doubles (14) wins. … Smith's 14 singles and 14 doubles wins were both career highs. … Collin Kaczorowski (Suamico, Wis.), who set a single-season school record with 20 singles victories in 2013, equaled Smith's 14 singles wins last season, while also finishing with 12 doubles wins. … As a team, the Cardinals finished 35-31 in doubles matches, while going 61-61 in singles play. … With their 9-0 win over Martin Luther on Feb. 1, the Cardinals have now won their last four season openers.
 
Scouting The Carleton Knights:
2015 Roster | 2015 Schedule | 2015 Statistics
Carleton heads into Saturday's match against Saint Mary's coming off a second-place showing in the MIAC a year ago. … The Knights—who fell to St. Olaf 5-2 in the MIAC Tournament semifinals last season—return a trio of All-MIAC performers from last year's squad, as Erik Johnson and Christian Nagy were named all-conference in both singles and doubles, while Mauricio Gonzalez was All-MIAC in singles. … Carleton, which went 99-49 in singles play in dual matches last season, boated four players with 10 or more singles wins—Patton McClelland (13-7), Ezra Frankel (13-5), Gonzalez (12-8), and McCoy Becker (10-4). … Nelson Wolf closed out 2014 with a perfect 9-0 singles record—winning at least one match at every singles position but No. 1. … Carleton used 31 different doubles combinations en route to a 40-35 doubles record in 2014. … Frankel-Nagy posted a team-leading six doubles wins, one more than Becker-Johnson and Hwang-Johnson. … Twelve of Carleton's 16 wins last season came on the road—the Knights finished the year 4-2 on their home court and 12-7 on the road.