WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's tennis team is set for a busy nonconference weekend, as the Cardinals host Bethany Lutheran on Friday (5 p.m.), Luther (11 a.m.) and St. Norbert (5 p.m.) on Saturday, and Martin Luther (3 p.m.) on Sunday. All four matches will be held at the Winona Tennis Center.
 
The Matchups:
Friday, February 6, 2015 | Winona Tennis Center
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-1 Overall) vs. Bethany Lutheran Knights (0-2 Overall), 5 p.m.
Saturday, February 7, 2015 | Winona Tennis Center
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-1 Overall) vs. Luther Norse (0-0 Overall), 11 a.m.
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-1 Overall) vs. St. Norbert Green Knights (0-0 Overall), 5 p.m.
Sunday, February 7, 2015 | Winona Tennis Center
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-1 Overall) vs. Martin Luther (0-0 Overall), 3 p.m.
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
Video Preview | BLC GameDay Program | Luther/SNC GameDay Program | MLC GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: Saint Mary's entered its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match against Carleton having won its season-opener in each of the last four seasons. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, Carleton proved to play the role of streak-killers, as the Knights handed Saint Mary's an 8-1 setback at the Winona Tennis Center | Recap
• Bethany Lutheran: Saturday's match against Saint Mary's is the first of the spring season for the Vikings, who dropped an 8-1 decision to the University of Dubuque and suffered a 9-0 setback to Grand View in their two matches last fall
• Luther: Saturday's matches against Saint Mary's and St. Norbert are the season openers for the Norse
• St. Norbert: Saturday's matches against Saint Mary's and Luther are the season openers for the Green Knights
• Martin Luther: The Vikings' matches against Macalester on Friday and Saint Mary's on Sunday are their first of the 2015 season
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethany Lutheran—Their Last Meeting:
• February 15, 2014: The Cardinals complete a busy afternoon in convincing fashion, as Saint Mary's cruised to an 8-1 win over Bethany Lutheran in its second match of the day at the Winona Tennis Center | Recap
Saint Mary's vs. Luther—Their Last Meeting:
• March 15, 2014: Luther took advantage of its depth in handing the Cardinals a 9-0 nonconference setback at the Winona Tennis Center | Recap
Saint Mary's vs. St. Norbert—Their Last Meeting:
• February 9, 2014: Saint Mary's capped its Wisconsin Weekend in come-from-behind style, as the Cardinals rallied from a 4-3 deficit with wins at No. 1 and No. 2 singles to seal a 5-4 nonconference win over St. Norbert at the Four Seasons Tennis Center in Green Bay, Wis. | Recap
Saint Mary's vs. Martin Luther—Their Last Meeting:
• February 1, 2014: Saint Mary's made it look easy in their 2014 season-opener on Saturday, as the Cardinals cruised to a 9-0 nonconference win over Martin Luther at the Winona Tennis Center | Recap
 
Up Next:
•  Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are off until Saturday, when they return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play, traveling to the University of Minnesota Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis, Minn., for a 7:30 p.m. match against Bethel.
• Bethany Lutheran: The Vikings are right back in action on  Saturday, traveling to Owatonna, Minn., for a 4 p.m. nonconference match against UW-Eau Claire.
• Luther: After their matches against Saint Mary's and St. Norbert, the Norse are off until next Saturday, when the square off in a 1 p.m. nonconference match against St. Olaf in Owatonna, Minn.
• St. Norbert: After their matches against Saint Mary's and Luther, the Green Knights head to Mequon, Wis., on Friday, for a 7 p.m. match against Concordia (Wis.).
• Martin Luther: The Vikings are back on the road on Friday, heading to St. Paul, Minn., for an 8 p.m. nonconference match against Hamline.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015 Roster | 2015 Schedule | 2015 Statistics
The Cardinals, who had won their previous four season openers, dropping an 8-1 decision to Carleton in their first match of the 2015 season last Saturday. … The Cardinals head into the weekend owning an 11-2 record against nonconference opponents last season. Saint Mary's is 24-4 in nonconference matches over the past two seasons and 38-11 vs. non-MIAC foes over the past four years. … Brett Giesen and Andrew Johnson (Rochester, Minn.) teamed for the Cardinals' lone win against Carleton last Saturday, as the duo teamed for an 8-1 win at No. 2 doubles. … Collin Kaczorowski (Suamico, Wis.), who set a single-season school record with 20 singles victories in 2013, shared the team lead with 14 singles wins last season, while also finishing with 12 doubles wins. … The Cardinals' season-opening five-match winning streak a year ago was the longest season-opening winning streak in coach Jeff Halberg's 16 years as SMU's head coach.
 
Scouting The Bethany Lutheran Vikings:
2015 Roster | 2015 Schedule | 2015 Statistics
The Vikings are coming off their most successful season in their NCAA Division III era, finishing 6-12 overall a year ago. … Bethany Lutheran returns a pair of all-conference performers in Jacob Kubler and Troy Hoyord. Kubler and Hoyord were two of three Vikings to win five singles matches a year ago. … Paul Riediger posted a team-best 10 singles wins last season, including a 9-6 record at No. 6 singles. … Hoyord and Jason Buechler teamed to go 7-9 in doubles play a year ago, while Riediger and Zach Carlson were second with a 6-9 doubles record. … Riediger and Brent Hefin picked up the Vikings' lone win in their two fall matches, collecting an 8-6 win at No. 3 doubles.
 
Scouting The Luther Norse:
2015 Roster | 2015 Schedule | 2014 Final Statistics
The Norse, who closed out the 2014 season with a 23-7 record, head into the 2015 season ranked No. 15 in the ITA Central Region Poll. … Luther kicks off 2015 without the services of graduated seniors James Ayer and Ramesh Karki. Karki was a four-time All-Iowa Conference singles selection—becoming just the second play in Luther history to be named all-conference in singles four times—while also earning all-conference honors in doubles his sophomore, junior and senior years. … Ayer also earned all-conference honors in both singles and doubles last season. … Ayer led the team with 18 dual-match singles wins a year ago, two more than Kyle Appel. … Led by Ayer and Appel, Luther boasted five players with 10 or more singles wins last season. … Ayer and Appel also teamed up to posted a team-high 13 doubles wins, with Karki and Quinn Foley close behind with 10 doubles victories. … Luther went 124-46 in singles play last season, while owning a 65-25 doubles record. … The Norse finished 5-1 on their home court last season, while going 18-6 away from home—including 13-1 in matches played on a neutral court.
 
Scouting The St. Norbert Green Knights:
2015 Roster | 2015 Schedule | 2014 Final Statistics
The Green Knights —who closed out the 2014 season winning two of their final three regular-season matches—head to Winona, Minn., coming off a 4-12 season a year ago—including a fourth-place finish at the MWC Championships. … Nate Gosz owned the team lead in singles wins with 12—including nine in dual matches. … As a team, St. Norbert went 33-88 in singles play a year ago. … Casey Brice finished with a team-leading 10 doubles wins a year ago—going 5-7 with Gosz as a partner, and 5-2 when teaming up with Josh Sweere. … St. Norbert finished 22-37 in doubles play in 2014. … St. Norbert owned a 2-8 home record last season, while going 2-4 on the road.
 
Scouting The Martin Luther Vikings:
2015 Roster | 2015 Schedule | 2014 Final Statistics
Martin Luther heads into its season openers against Macalester and Saint Mary's on the heels of a 3-10 season a year ago. … Five of the Vikings' 10 losses—including their first three of the season—were 9-0 sweeps. … Two of Martin Luther's three wins were 6-3 decisions, while the other was a 7-2 victory. … Justin Marshall picked up a team-leading seven singles wins for the Vikings a year, while Kris Kuschel chipped in five wins. … As a team, Martin Luther finished 23-55 in singles play in 2014. … Marshall and Philip Schroeder teamed to account for seven of the team's 11 doubles wins a year ago.