WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's tennis team gets back into action on Saturday, hosting Gustavus in a noon Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match, before entertaining Martin Luther in a nonconference matchup at 3 p.m. Both matches will take place at the Winona Tennis Center.
 
The Matchups:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-1 MIAC | 4-2 Overall) vs. Gustavus Gusties (1-0 MIAC | 3-0 Overall), Noon
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-2 Overall) vs. Martin Luther Knights (0-0 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Video Preview | Gustavus GameDay | Martin Luther GameDay
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals have been off since Feb. 7, when they completed a 3-1 weekend with a 7-2 nonconference win over UW-Oshkosh in Fond du Lac, Wis. | Recap
• Gustavus: The Gusties posted a pair of 9-0 victories over UW-Eau Claire and Saint John's last Saturday | Recap
• Martin Luther: Saturday's match against Saint Mary's is the season-opener for the Knights
 
Saint Mary's vs. Gustavus—Their Last Meeting:
• April 11, 2015 * St. Peter, Minn.: Gustavus picked up 8-3 wins at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles, before adding an 8-0 victory at No. 3 to take a 3-0 lead into the singles portion. The Gusties dropped just 14 games in posting straight-set wins in all six singles matches to seal the 9-0 victory | Recap
Saint Mary's vs. Martin Luther—Their Last Meeting:
• February 8, 2015 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinal men dropped just seven games in coasting to a 9-0 nonconference win over Martin Luther on Sunday at the Winona Tennis Center | Recap
 
Up Next:
•  The Cardinals are off until next Saturday and Sunday, when they square off against Webber International, Ohio Northern, and Adrian as part of their Florida spring trip.
• Gustavus: The Gusties return home for a tripleheader next Saturday, hosting Bethel, Concordia, and Morningside at the Swanson Tennis Center in St. Peter, Minn.
• Martin Luther: The Knights are right back on the court on Sunday, traveling to West Hills Center in Owatonna, Minn., for a match against Simpson.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016 Roster | 2016 Schedule | 2016 Statistics
• With their wins over Carroll, Concordia (Wis.), and UW-Oshkosh on Feb. 5-7, the Cardinals improved to 4-1 in nonconference play this season. Saint Mary's owns a 22-4 record against nonconference foes over the past three seasons, and is 38-7 in non-MIAC contests over the past four years. … With their 9-0 win over Bethany Lutheran last Friday, the Cardinals improved to 4-1 in their last five season-openers. … Brenden Amiotte (Rapid City, S.D.), Brett Giesen (Cato, Wis.), and Warren Lawrenz (Rochester, Minn.) share the team-lead with four dual-match victories this season. The trio also all won a pair of matches at the Gustavus Invitational last fall, to share the team's overall lead with six singles match wins. … Saint Mary's is 21-15 in singles play through six matches this season. … Lawrenz and Alex Holm (Red Wing, Minn.) are 4-2 in doubles play through six matches—and thanks to a 3-1 run at last fall's Gustavus Invitational—own eight doubles wins. … The Cardinals put together an 11-match winning streak in 2015—the longest in coach Jeff Halberg's 15 years at the helm. … Brett Giesen (Cato, Wis.) owned a team-leading 13-match winning streak last season, while Brenden Amiotte (Rapid City, S.D.) and Alex Holm (Red Wing, Minn.) boasted 11- and nine-match singles winning streaks last season.
 
Scouting The Gustavus Gusties:
2016 Roster | 2016 Schedule | 2016 Statistics
• Gustavus heads into Saturday's match against Saint Mary's ranked No. 18 in the ITA national poll. … The Gusties are riding a season-opening three-match winning streak—with all three matches be decided by 9-0 decisions. … Gustavus has not dropped a set in its 18 singles matches this season. … Zach Ekstein, Mitch Elofson, Tommy Entwistle, Andrew Saenz, and Gabe Steinwand have all opened the spring season with perfect 3-0 singles records. … Mohanand Al Houni went 7-0 during last fall's USTA/ITA Midwest Regional, while Elofson went 7-2. … Elofson-David Hagberg and Ekstein-Entwistle lead the way in doubles with unblemished 3-0 marks. … Gustavus captured its 27th-straight regular-season conference championship in 2015. The Gusties also won their fifth-straight MIAC Playoff title, and finished with a 19-11 overall record, a perfect 9-0 mark in conference play, and an 11-0 record against MIAC opponents.
 
Scouting The Martin Luther Knights:
2016 Roster | 2016 Schedule | 2015 Statistics
• Saturday's match against Saint Mary's is the season-opener for the Knights, who are coming off a 2-11 season a year ago. … Martin Luther, picked to finish fourth in the UMAC Preseason Coaches Poll, returns four of its top six players from a year ago. … Ethan Schultz and Nathanael Jensen shared the team lead in singles wins with five each, while Justin Marshall and Justin Steinke each chipped in three. … Ten of MLC's 17 singles wins came at Nos. 5-6, where the Knights were 6-6 and 4-8, respectively. … Marshall, Schultz, Yaffet Gabayehu and Philip Schroeder all owned a team-leading four doubles wins a year ago. … MLC snapped a season-opening 10-match losing streak a year ago with a 7-2 win over UM-Morris. The Knights closed the season winning two of its final three matches. … Martin Luther opened the 2015 season with three straight matches against opponents from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference—falling to Macalester (9-0), Saint Mary's (9-0) and Hamline (8-1).