WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's tennis team is back on its home court this weekend, hosting Bethany Lutheran (5 p.m.) on Friday and Martin Luther (3 p.m.) on Sunday in a pair of nonconference matches at the Winona Tennis Center.
 
The Matchups:
Friday, February 6, 2015 | Winona Tennis Center
Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-1 Overall) vs. Bethany Lutheran Vikings (1-4 Overall), 5 p.m.
Sunday, February 8, 2015 | Winona Tennis Center
Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-1 Overall) vs. Martin Luther Knights (0-0 Overall), 3 p.m.
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: Saint Mary's kicked off its 2015 season last Sunday—against defending Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion Carleton. And the Knights—ranked No. 26 in the ITA preseason poll—appeared to be in perfect form, handing Saint Mary's a 9-0 conference setback at the Winona Tennis Center | Recap
• Bethany Lutheran: Friday's match against Saint Mary's is the first match of the 2015 season for the Vikings, who went 1-4 during the fall portion of their schedule.
• Martin Luther: Friday's match against Macalester and Sunday's showdown with Saint Mary's are the season openers for the Knights.
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethany Lutheran—Their Last Meeting:
• February 15, 2014: Saint Mary's made it look easy, as the Cardinals cruised to a 9-0 nonconference victory over Bethany Lutheran at the Winona Tennis Center | Recap
Saint Mary's vs. Martin Luther—Their Last Meeting:
• February 1, 2014: The 2014 season didn't get off to quite the start Saint Mary's coach Jeff Halberg was hoping for — but the Cardinals ended Day 1 on a much higher note. Saint Mary's suffered an 8-1 decision to two-time reigning Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular-season champion Carleton Knights to open its day, before rebounding with an impressive 9-0 nonconference victory over the Martin Luther Knights later in the day at the Winona Tennis Center | Recap
 
Up Next:
•  Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Friday, as Saint Mary's entertains St. Catherine in a 6 p.m. match at the Winona Tennis Center.
• Bethany Lutheran: The Vikings are now off until Feb. 14, when they travel to St. Paul, Minn., for a nonconference match against Macalester.
• Martin Luther: Following this weekend's matches with Macalester and Saint Mary's, the Knights head to St. Paul, Minn., on Friday for an 8 p.m. nonconference match against Hamline.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015 Roster | 2015 Schedule | 2015 Statistics
The Cardinals head into this weekend's nonconference matches against Bethany Lutheran and Martin Luther boasting a 14-4 record against non-MIAC opponents over the past two seasons—including a 6-2 mark year ago. … Saint Mary's matches this weekend are the second and third of four straight home matches for the Cardinals. Saint Mary's recorded seven of its 10 wins a year on its home court. … Megan Vandenberg (DePere, Wis.)—who opened the 2014 season with seven straight singles victories—finished with a team-leading 14 singles wins last season, one more than Haley Jorgensen (Fallon, Nev.). … Jorgensen collected the decisive, match-clinching win at No. 6 singles in two of Saint Mary's four 5-4 victories last season — with both of those victories going the maximum three sets. … Vandenberg also finished 2014 with a team-leading 11 doubles wins, one more than Reinisch. … Saint Mary's used 14 different doubles combinations a year ago.
 
Scouting The Bethany Lutheran Vikings:
2015 Roster | 2015 Schedule | 2014 Final Statistics
Beginning with Friday's match against Saint Mary's, Bethany Lutheran plays three of its first four spring matches against teams from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Vikings also have Macalester and Hamline on their schedule. … After going 2-18 a year ago—including 2-8 in conference play—the Vikings were picked to finish fourth in the UMAC preseason coaches poll. … Alicia Kranz has accounted for four of the Vikings' eight singles wins this season, going 1-0 at No. 2, 2-0 and No. 3 and 1-1 at No. 4. … Kranz is the only Viking with more than one singles wins in BLU's first five matches. … Kranz and Taylor Nordhausen own the Vikings' two doubles wins, going 2-3 at No. 2.
 
Scouting The Martin Luther Knights:
2015 Roster | 2015 Schedule | 2014 Final Statistics
The Knights—coming off a 4-6 campaign in 2014—kick off their season with three straight nonconference matches against Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference foes—Macalester, Saint Mary's, and Hamline. … Martin Luther plays its first three matches, and five of its first six, on the road. … Elizabeth Broring recorded a team-leading six singles wins a year ago, one more than Rebekah Johnston and two in front of Charis Goelzer. … Melissa Stibb and Nicole Wood led the team in doubles wins with five each, while Goelzer and Mateja Epple both earned four doubles wins. … As a team, Martin Luther was 24-53 in singles play and 11-27 in doubles competition. … Seven of Martin Luther's nine losses were decided by 9-0 sweeps. … Martin Luther finished 2-3 in its five home matches in 2014, while going 2-6 on the road.