ST. PETER, Minn.  — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's tennis team has a busy weekend of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action, as the Cardinals travel to Gustavus' Swanson Tennis Center for a noon conference showdown vs. the Gusties, before heading to St. Joseph, Minn., for a 1 p.m. MIAC matchup with Saint John's on Sunday.
 
The Matchups:
Saturday, April 11, 2015 | St. Peter, Minn. | Noon
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-3 MIAC | 13-4 Overall) at Gustavus Gusties (x-x MIAC | 11-8 Overall)
Sunday, April 12, 2015 | St. Joseph, Minn. | 1 p.m.
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-3 MIAC | 13-4 Overall) at Saint John's Johnnies (2-2 MIAC | 6-5 Overall)
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: Saint Mary's got off to a solid start in its key Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match against Macalester on March 28.  The Scots, however, had a better finishing kick, rallying from a 2-1 deficit after the doubles matches to lift Macalester to a 5-4 conference win over the Cardinals at the University of Minnesota Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis, Minn. | Recap
• Gustavus: The Gusties came up empty in its nonconference match against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps—the nation's top-ranked team—as the Stags handed GAC a 9-0 nonconference setback on April 4 in Claremont, Calif. | Recap
• Saint John's: The Johnnies evened their conference record at 2-2 with a hard-fought, 5-4 victory over Macalester on March 29 at Fitness Evolution in Sartell, Minn. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Gustavus—A Year Ago:
• April 13, 2014: Saint Mary's learned first-hand just how good high-powered Gustavus was, as the Gusties dealt the Cardinals a 8-1 conference setback at the Winona Tennis Center | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Saint John's—A Year Ago:
• April 25, 2014: Saint Mary's put together one of its best overall performances of the season against Saint John's Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the ball just couldn't get the ball to bounce their way, as the Johnnies—fueled by three, three-set singles wins and a doubles victory that needed a tie-breaker to decide—dropped SMU 8-1 in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match at the Winona Tennis Center | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals close out the regular-season portion of their 2015 schedule on Friday, hosting St. Olaf in a 5 p.m. conference matchup at the Winona Tennis Center
• Gustavus: Following their Saturday matches vs. Saint Mary's and Macalester, the Gusties are back in action next weekend, squaring off against DePauw in a 5 p.m. nonconference match on Friday in Jackson, Wis., before battling the University of Chicago in a 10:30 a.m. nonconference showdown on Saturday in Elkhorn, Wis.
• Saint John's: The Johnnies return to the courts on Wednesday, entertaining Hamline in a 4 p.m. MIAC match at Fitness Evolution in St. Joseph, Minn.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015 Roster | 2015 Schedule | 2015 Statistics
The Cardinals' matches against Gustavus and Saint John's are the second and third straight road matches. Saint Mary's owns an 8-2 record away from the Winona Tennis Center. … Saint Mary's heads into the weekend having won 12 of its last 15 matches. … Two of the Cardinals' five losses—including their most recent setback at Macalester on March 28—have been 5-4 decisions. … The Cardinals had their 11-match winning streak—the longest in coach Jeff Halberg's 15 years at the helm—snapped with a loss to St. Thomas on March 21. … Saint Mary's owns six 9-0 sweeps this season, while also recording four 8-1 wins. … Tim Wolford (Maple Grove, Minn.) collected his 11th straight singles win with a 6-4, 4-6, 10-5 win at No. 1 singles vs. Macalester on March 28. … Wolford has now played 10 three-set matches this season—including six of his last seven outings. Wolford is now 9-1 in three-setters. … Brett Giesen (Cato, Wis.) had his team-leading 13-match winning streak come to a screeching halt against UW-La Crosse on March 25. … Brenden Amiotte (Rapid City, S.D.) and Alex Holm (Red Wing, Minn.) both had their singles winning streaks snapped vs. St. Thomas on March 21—Amiotte had won 11 straight and Holm nine. … Wolford—who kicked off his season by winning a pair of matches at the Gustavus Midwest Open last fall—leads the team with 16 singles wins, one more than Giesen and two in front of Amiotte. … Wolford and Collin Kaczorowski (Suamico, Wis.), who had their 12-match unbeaten streak at No. 1 doubles snapped against St. Thomas on March 21, picked up their third straight win against Macalester on March 28 and improved to 15-2 at No. 1 doubles this season. … As a team, the Cardinals own an impressive 77-31 singles record in dual matches, while going 40-14 in doubles play. … Saint Mary's has used 15 different doubles combinations through 18 matches. … Saint Mary's loss to UW-La Crosse on March 25 was just the second nonconference setback of the season for the Cardinals, who are 10-2 vs. non-MIAC foes. … Saint Mary's owns a 21-4 record against nonconference opponents over the past two seasons, and is 34-7 in nonconference action over the past three years. … Eight of the Cardinals' 13 wins have come on the road, where Saint Mary's is 8-2. The Cardinals are 5-3 on their home court this season.
 
Scouting The Gustavus Gusties:
2015 Roster | 2015 Schedule | 2015 Statistics
Gustavus enters Saturday's conference matches against Saint Mary's and Macalester ranked No. 16 in the latest ITA national poll. … The Gusties saw their season-high losing streak climb to three straight with their 9-0 nonconference loss to top-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. … Seven of the Gusties' eight losses this season have come against nationally ranked opponents. … Gustavus is 4-5 vs. regionally ranked teams, while going 0-7 vs. teams ranked the ITA's national poll. … The Gusties have used 24 different singles players this season. … Zach Ekstein leads the team with nine dual-match singles wins, one more than Mohanand Al-Houni and two in front of Andres Saenez. … As a team, the Gusties are 9-10 at No. 1 singles, 12-7 at Nos. 2, 3 and 5, 14-5 at No. 4 and 13-6 at No. 6. … Taylor Parr heads into Saturday's matches riding a five-match winning streak, while Matt Baker and David Hagberg have won four in a row. … Gustavus, which has used 26 different doubles combinations this season, has not dropped a doubles match in conference play—going 12-0. … GAC boasts six players—Monhanand Al-Houni, Motasem Al-Houni, Saenz, T. Connor Shives, Brad Entwistle, and Mitch Elofson—who own a team-best eight dual-match doubles wins. … Motasem Al-Houni-Saenz and Mohanad Al-Houni-Brad Entwistle have each teamed for a team-leading eight dual-match victories. … Nine of Gustavus' 11 wins have come on the Gusties' home court—GAC is 9-3 at home and 2-5 on the road this season.
 
Scouting The Saint John's Johnnies:
2015 Roster | 2015 Schedule | 2015 Statistics
The Johnnies pushed their winning streak to three straight with their 5-4 victory over Macalester on March 29. … SJU's 5-4 win over Macalester marked the sixth straight time the Johnnies and Scots have played to a 5-4 decision—both teams have won three of those six matches. … Saint John's 8-1 win over Northwestern on March 21—which prompted the Johnnies' current three-game winning streak—snapped SMU's season-high three-match losing streak. The Johnnies lost 6-3 in all three matches during that season-high slide. … Jack Hansen, Ben Lahren, and Steven Wirtz share the team lead with six dual-match doubles victories. … Hansen—unbeaten in four conference matches at No. 1 singles—enters the weekend riding a five-match singles winning streak, while Wirtz has won three straight. … Lahren boasts a team-best nine doubles wins, one more than Larson. … Lahren and Larson have teamed to go a perfect 5-0 at No. 2 doubles. … As a team, Saint John's is 33-33 in singles duals, while going 21-12 in doubles action. … Four of the Johnnies' six wins have come on the road—SJU is 2-3 at home, while going 4-2 away from home.