ST. PETER, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's tennis team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play this weekend, traveling to Gustavus for a noon showdown with the powerhouse Gusties on Saturday, before heading to St. Joseph, Minn., for a 1 p.m. matchup with Saint Benedict on Sunday.
 
The Matchups:
Saturday, April 11, 2015 | St. Peter, Minn. | Noon
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-4 MIAC | 8-5 Overall) at Gustavus Gusties (4-0 MIAC | 8-12 Overall)
Sunday, April 12, 2015 | St. Joseph, Minn. | 1 p.m.
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-4 MIAC | 8-5 Overall) at Saint Benedict Blazers (2-2 MIAC | 5-8 Overall)
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals jumped out to a 2-1 lead after the three doubles matches and never looked back in dropping UW-Stout 6-3 in a nonconference match Wednesday at the Winona Tennis Center | Recap | Recap
• Gustavus: After facing two teams ranked in the Central Region's top 15 during the opening day of the Midwest Invitational in Madison, Wis., last Friday, Gustavus' path did not get any easier during Day 2, as GAC fell to UW-Whitewater (No. 6 in region, No. 29 in nation) 6-3, before falling to Hope College (No. 4 in region and No. 22 nationally) 5-2 | Recap
• Saint Benedict: The Blazers have been off since March 29, when they breezed to a 9-0 conference win over Macalester at Fitness Revolution in Sartell, Minn. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Gustavus—Their Last Meeting:
• March 22, 2014: A day after dropping a 9-0 conference decision at defending regular-season champion St. Catherine, the Cardinals went up against perennial conference power Gustavus—with a similar outcome. The Gusties dropped just one game in sweeping through the three doubles matches and picked up straight-set wins in all six singles matches in handing SMU a 9-0 conference setback at the Winona Tennis Center | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Saint Benedict—Their Last Meeting:
• April 13, 2014: For coach Jeff Halberg, the difference in Saint Mary's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match between his Cardinals and Saint Benedict could be summed up in one word: Depth. And the Blazers' depth proved to be too much, as Saint Benedict handed the Cardinals a 7-2 conference setback at the Winona Tennis Center | Recap
 
Up Next:
•  Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in action next weekend, as they host St. Olaf in a 5 p.m. conference match on Friday, before stepping out of MIAC play to entertain St. Norbert at 3 p.m. on Saturday. Both matches will take place at the Winona Tennis Center.
• Gustavus: After Saturday's matches against Saint Mary's and St. Olaf, the Gusties are off until next Saturday, when they travel to Northfield, Minn., for a 2 p.m. conference match against Carleton.
• Saint Benedict: Following this weekend's matches against Bethel and Saint Mary's, the Blazers return to the court next weekend, hosting St. Olaf in a noon match in St. Joseph, Minn., on Saturday, before heading to St. Paul, Minn., for a 10:30 a.m. conference showdown with St. Catherine.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015 Roster | 2015 Schedule | 2015 Statistics
Wednesday's 6-3 win over UW-Stout was the first of three matches in a five-day span for the Cardinals—who travel to Gustavus and Saint Benedict on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. … With Wednesday's win over UW-Stout, the Cardinals have now won back-to-back matches—both by 6-3 scores. … Three of the Cardinals' eight wins this season have been 9-0 sweeps. … The Cardinals' 9-0 loss to unbeaten St. Thomas on March 21 was just their second setback in their last seven matches. … Haley Jorgensen (Fallon, Nev.)—who won three matches at the Gustavus Fall Invitational in September—enters this weekend's matches against Gustavus and Saint Benedict owning a team-high 12 singles wins, one more than Megan Vandenberg (De Pere, Wis.)—who also won three singles matches at the Gustavus Fall Invitational in September. … Jorgensen and Hoffmann share a team-best nine doubles wins, one more than Vandenberg, Stacey Buss (Chicago, Ill.), and Ashley Syed (Lewisville, Texas). … Saint Mary's has played eight of its 13 matches at home this season. The Cardinals have collected 13 of their 18 wins over the past two seasons on their home court. … With their 6-3 win over UW-Stout Wednesday, the Cardinals improved to 5-1 in nonconference play this season—and 19-5 in non-MIAC matches over the past three seasons. … The Cardinals' 8-1 nonconference loss to Morningside (Iowa) on March 4 snapped their season-high three-match winning streak. … Saint Mary's surrendered just nine games in its 9-0 win over Bethany Lutheran on Feb. 5, before dropping only 10 games in sweeping Martin Luther 9-0 two days later.
 
Scouting The Gustavus Gusties:
2015 Roster | 2015 Schedule | 2015 Statistics
Gustavus heads into this weekend's matches having lost three straight. It's the second time this season GAC has lost three or more matches in a row—the Gusties dropped four straight on Feb. 14-15. … Gustavus has been dominating in its first four conference matches this season, beating both Macalester and Hamline by 9-0 scores, while dropping Bethel 8-1 and St. Catherine 7-2. … Michaela Schulz owns a team-high 14 singles wins—including nine in dual matches—and is one of six Gusties with at least 10 singles wins on the season. … As a team, GAC is 22-2 in singles matches in their its four conference matches—including 4-0 records by Schulz and Laurel Krebsbach. … Gustavus has used 17 different doubles combinations, led by Schulz-Lizzy Stanczyk, who have put teamed up to post a 10-2 record—2-0 at No. 1 and 8-2 at No. 2. … The Gusties' last three matches have all been against teams ranked in the Central Region, while their last two matches—vs. UW-Whitewater and Hope—were nationally ranked.
 
Scouting The Saint Benedict Blazers:
2015 Roster | 2015 Schedule | 2015 Statistics
The Blazers head into this weekend's matches riding a three-match winning streak—including back-to-back 8-1 wins in their last two contests. … Daley Ruiper owns a team-leading five singles wins, one more than Laura Finn and Ellen Stensrud. … Taylor Kraemer heads into the weekend riding a three-match singles winning streak, while Finn, Rupar and Stensrud have won two in a row. … Saint Benedict has used 14 different doubles combinations this season. … Rupar and Rachel Raden have teamed for a team-leading six doubles wins, going 2-0 at No. 1 and 4-2 at No. 2. … Finn and Victoria Beach owns five doubles wins—three at No. 1 (3-5) and two at No. 2 (2-0). … CSB heads into the weekend with a 2-2 record on its home court, the Blazers are 3-6 on the road this season.