WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's tennis team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, hosting Bethel in a 2 p.m. showdown at the Winona Tennis Center
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-5 MIAC, 7-9 Overall) vs. Bethel Royals (1-2 MIAC, 14-3 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals have been off since March 20, when they dropped a heartbreaker, falling to Concordia 5-4 in an MIAC matchup at Courts Plus in Fargo, N.D. | Recap
• Bethel: The Royals are coming off a perfect 7-0 showing during their spring trip to Orlando, Fla.
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel—Their Last Meeting:
• February 14, 2015 * Minneapolis, Minn.: Saint Mary's picked up its first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Saturday evening—but it was anything but easy. The Cardinals got three set wins from Brenden Amiotte (Rapid City, S.D.) and Andrew Johnson (Rochester, Minn.) to seal conference win No. 1, a 5-4, come-from-behind victory over Bethel at the University of Minnesota Baseline Tennis Center | Recap
 
Up Next:
•  Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in action next Saturday, traveling to Northfield, Minn., for a 2 p.m. conference match against St. Olaf
• Bethel: The Royals kick off their home schedule next Saturday, hosting Saint John's in a 3 p.m. MIAC matchup at Ona Orth Athletic Complex.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016 Roster | 2016 Schedule | 2016 Statistics
• The Cardinals' 5-4 loss to Concordia on March 20 was just its third road loss of the season. Saint Mary's is 5-3 on the road this season, while going 2-6 on its home court. … Saint Mary's will play two of its final four matches at home, sandwiching home contests against Bethel and Macalester around road contests at St. Olaf and Hamline. … Saint Mary's win over Adrian on Feb. 28 was its first 5-4 victory of the season—the Cardinals also own two 9-0 sweeps, three 7-2 victories and an 8-1 triumph. … Warren Lawrenz (Rochester, Minn.) collected his team-leading eighth dual-match singles win against Concordia on March 20 and heads into the Cardinals' match against Bethel having won eight of his last 12 singles matches. … Thanks to a pair of victories at the Gustavus Invitational last fall—Lawrenz has a team-best 10 overall singles wins. … Brenden Amiotte (Rapid City, S.D.), Brett Giesen (Cato, Wis.), and Alex Holm (Red Wing, Minn.) are all second to Lawrenz in both dual-match singles wins (6) and overall singles wins (8). … Kyle Swanson (Oak Grove, Minn.) collected his first collegiate singles win with a straight-set victory against Martin Luther on Feb. 20. … Saint Mary's is 41-55 in singles play through 15 matches this season. … With their No. 3 doubles win vs. Concordia on March 20, Amiotte and Giesen improved their team lead in dual-match doubles wins to nine each, two more than Lawrenz and Holm. … Holm and Lawrenz, who enjoyed a 3-1 run at last fall's Gustavus Invitational—join Amiotte with 11 overall doubles wins. … The Cardinals finished 7-4 in nonconference play this season. Saint Mary's owns a 25-7 record against nonconference foes over the past three seasons, and is 41-10 in non-MIAC contests over the past four years. … With their 9-0 win over Bethany Lutheran on Jan. 29, the Cardinals improved to 4-1 in their last five season-openers. … The Cardinals put together an 11-match winning streak in 2015—the longest in coach Jeff Halberg's 15 years at the helm. … Giesen owned a team-leading 13-match winning streak last season, while Amiotte and Holm boasted 11- and nine-match singles winning streaks last season.
 
Scouting The Bethel Royals:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• Bethel heads into Saturday's match against Saint Mary's riding a season-high seven-match winning streak—having beaten Saint Francis, Saint Ambrose, Franklin Pierce, Illinois Wesleyan, UW-La Crosse, University of Dubuque, and Calvin during their spring trip to Orlando, Fla. … Nine of BU's 14 wins have been 9-0 sweeps, while the Royals' win over UW-La Crosse on March 16 was their first 5-4 victory. … Saturday's match against Saint Mary's will be the Royals' 18^th straight road match—BU will not play its first home match until next Saturday, when it entertains Saint John's at Ona Orth Athletic Complex. … Kolin Kiekhofer enters Saturday's match at Saint Mary's riding a nine-match winning streak—and is the team's singles wins leader with 16. … Kiekhofer is unbeaten (5-0) at No. 1 singles, while going 11-1 at No. 2. … Hunter Fernelius (13), Luke Palmquist (10), and Matt Schull (10) have also recorded 10 or more singles wins this season. … Brett Lizotte owns a team-high 12 doubles wins, one more than Fernelius, Palmquist, and Schull. … As a team, the Royals are 80-21 in singles matches and 41-10 in doubles play. … BU is 15-2 and Nos. 1 and 2 singles, and No. 3 doubles.