OWATONNA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's tennis team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action on Saturday, heading to the Owatonna Tennis Center for a 4 p.m. showdown with the St. Olaf
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-6 MIAC | 8-10 Overall) at St. Olaf Oles (1-1 MIAC | 6-3 Overall)
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals closed out their nonconference schedule in impressive fashion Thursday evening, as Saint Mary's dropped just 15 games in rolling to a 9-0 win over North Central (Minn.) at the Winona Tennis Center | Recap
• St. Olaf: The Oles closed out a four-match stay in Hilton Head, S.C., on March 24, beating Millikin 6-3 | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Olaf—Their Last Meeting:
• April 17, 2015 * Winona, Minn.:  It wasn't quite the way Saint Mary's coach was hoping the Cardinals' regular-season would come to an end. The Cardinals entered their regular-season finale against St. Olaf still clinging to hopes of earning one of the five spots in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Playoffs—but a win over the Oles was crucial. Unfortunately, the Oles weren't in a very "giving" mood, as St. Olaf jumped out to a 2-1 lead after the doubles competition and posted five, straight-set singles wins to hand the Cardinals a 7-2 conference setback | Recap
 
Up Next:
•  Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are now off until next Saturday, when they hit the road for the final time this season, traveling to St. Paul, Minn., for a 3 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference road match against Hamline.
• St. Olaf: The Oles hit the road on Wednesday, traveling all the way across town to Carleton for a 4 p.m. conference match between the cross-town rivals.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016 Roster | 2016 Schedule | 2016 Statistics
• Thursday's 9-0 win over North Central (Minn.) snapped the Cardinals' season-high six-match losing streak. … The Cardinals' sweep of the Rams was their third 9-0 victory of the season. Saint Mary's also owns three 7-2 wins, an 8-1 victory, and a 5-4 triumph. … Saint Mary's dropped just 15 games in its win over North Central Thursday—including just 11 in its six singles victories combined. … Warren Lawrenz (Rochester, Minn.) collected his team-leading eighth dual-match singles win against Concordia on March 20—one more than Brenden Amiotte (Rapid City, S.D) and Brett Giesen (Cato, Wis.)—and heads into the Cardinals' match against St. Olaf having won eight of his last 13 singles matches. … Thanks to a pair of victories at the Gustavus Invitational last fall—Lawrenz has a team-best 10 overall singles wins, one better than both Amiotte and Giesen. … 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 47-61 in singles play and 26-28 in doubles action through 18 matches this season. … Amiotte and Giesen lead the team with nine dual-match doubles wins, while Lawrenz and Alex Holm (Red Wing, Minn.)—who enjoyed a 3-1 run at last fall's Gustavus Invitational—are the team-leaders with 12 overall doubles wins. … With their win over North Central Thursday, the Cardinals finished with an 8-4 record against nonconference opponents this season. Saint Mary's owns a 26-7 record against nonconference foes over the past three seasons, and is 42-10 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 St. Olaf Oles:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• The Oles headed into their weekend conference matches against Gustavus and Saint Mary's riding a three-game winning streak, having dispatched of Buena Vista (9-0), North Central (7-2), and Millikin (6-3) in the final three matches of their spring trip. … After going 2-2 in their first four matches of the season, St. Olaf is 4-1 in its last five. … Christian Beck and Ben Carlson head into the weekend leading the team with six singles matches, one more than Joey Kronzer, and two in front of Mike Schroeder. … After starting the season 2-4 at No. 1 singles, Kronzer has won his last three singles matches to improve to 5-4. … All six of Carlson's singles wins have come at No. 2, while Beck has won all six of his singles matches at No. 3. … Beck and Kronzer have been virtually unstoppable as a doubles combination, teaming up to post a team-best 7-1 record at No. 1. … Carlson/Jordan Dull and Schroeder/Keenan Gladd-Brown are second on the team with three doubles wins each. … As a team, St. Olaf is 27-27 in singles play, while going 19-7 in doubles action.