WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's tennis team kicks off its 2017 season this weekend at the Winona Tennis Center, hosting Martin Luther in a 5:30 p.m. nonconference match on Friday, before opening MIAC play on Saturday with a 3 p.m. showdown with Carleton.
 
The Matchups:
Friday, January 27, 2017 | Winona Tennis Center | 5:30 p.m. | GameDay Program
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2016: 9-12 Overall) vs. Martin Luther Knights (2016: 3-14 Overall)
Saturday, January 28, 2017 | Winona Tennis Center | 3 p.m. | GameDay Program
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2016: 1-8 MIAC | 9-12 Overall) vs. Carleton Knights (2016: 8-1 MIAC | 17-8 Overall)
 
Last Action:
• This weekend's matches are the season openers for Saint Mary's, Martin Luther, and Carleton
 
Saint Mary's vs. Martin Luther—A Year Ago:
• February 20, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's was good in its 7-2 loss to 27-time conference defending champion Gustavus. The Cardinals were downright dominating in their second match of the day, rolling to a 9-0 nonconference victory over Martin Luther at the Winona Tennis Center | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Carleton—A Year Ago:
• January 30, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's kicked off its 2016 season in impressive fashion, blanking Bethany Lutheran 9-0 in a nonconference match. A day later, the Cardinals were once again opening a season—this time their 2016 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference campaign. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the end result was not quite as favorable, as the Knights—who finished 8-1 in conference play a year ago en route to a 23-3 overall record—handed Saint Mary's an 8-1 setback at the Winona Tennis Center | Recap
 
Up Next:
•  Saint Mary's: The Cardinals take to the road for the first time this season on Feb. 5, traveling to the U of M Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis, Minn., for a 4:30 p.m. conference matchup against St. Thomas.
• Martin Luther: The Knights are back in action next Saturday, Feb. 4, heading to Macalester's Leonard Center in St. Paul, Minn., for a 5:30 p.m. nonconference match against the Scots.
• Carleton: Following their matches against Saint Mary's and UW-La Crosse Saturday, head to Milwaukee, Wis., on Feb. 4, squaring off against Carthage and Carroll.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017 Roster | 2017 Schedule | 2016 Final Statistics
• Three of the Cardinals' nine wins in 2016 were 9-0 sweeps. Saint Mary's also owned three 7-2 wins, a pair of 5-4 triumphs, and an 8-1 victory. … The Cardinals rallied from a 4-0 deficit to beat Hamline 5-4 on April 16. … The Cardinals finished with an 8-4 record against nonconference opponents last 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. … Collin Kaczorowski (Suamico, Wis.) closed out his collegiate tennis career collecting seven singles and seven doubles wins in 2016. … Kaczorowski—who set a single-season school record with 22 wins during his freshman campaign in 2013—left Saint Mary's ranked No. 2 all-time in singles wins with 52. … With his seven doubles wins, Kaczorowski also climbed to No. 3 all-time in doubles wins with 53. … Warren Lawrenz (Rochester, Minn.), Brenden Amiotte (Rapid City, S.D.), and Brett Giesen (Cato, Wis.) all finished with a team-leading eight dual-match singles wins last season. … Lawrenz, Amiotte and Giesen also all went 2-1 at the 2015 Gustavus Invitational, giving the trio a team-best 10 overall singles wins. … Lawrenz, Amiotte, Giesen, and Alex Holm (Red Wing, Minn.) all shared the top spot in dual-match doubles victories with nine. … Holm and Lawrenz enjoyed a 3-1 doubles run during the 2015 Gustavus Invitational, pushing their overall doubles wins total to 13—two more than Amiotte and three in front of  Giesen. … Kyle Swanson (Oak Grove, Minn.) collected his first collegiate singles win with a straight-set victory against Martin Luther on Feb. 20. … As a team, Saint Mary's finished 52-74 in singles play and 27-36 in doubles action in 2016. … Coach Jeff Halberg used nine different doubles combinations. … With their 9-0 win over Bethany Lutheran on Jan. 29, the Cardinals improved to 4-1 in their last five season-openers
 
Scouting The Martin Luther Knights:
2017 Roster | 2017 Schedule | 2016 Final Statistics
• The Knights are coming off a 3-14 season in 2016—including a 3-7 effort in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC). … Martin Luther closed out 2016 dropping its last four matches—falling to Northwestern (9-0), Bethany Lutheran (8-1 and 7-2), and St. Scholastica (9-0). … Nicolas Gartner, Josh Koelpin, and Ethan Schultz all led the team with five singles wins, combining for 15 of the team's 19 singles victories. … Seventeen of the Knights' 19 singles wins came from the Nos. 4-5-6 singles spots. MLC was 0-16 at No. 1 and No. 3, while going 2-14 at No. 2. … Gartner and Schultz teamed to win five doubles matches—going 5-7 at No. 3. … Marti Luther used 10 different doubles combinations last season.
 
Scouting The Carleton Knights:
2017 Roster | 2017 Schedule | 2016 Final Statistics
• The Knights enter the 2017 season on the heels of another highly success campaign last season, compiling a 17-8 overall record that including an 8-1, second-place showing in the MIAC. … Carleton reached the MIAC Playoff finals for the sixth time in the last seven seasons, falling to nationally ranked Gustavus 5-0. … Carleton equaled a school record with six players named All-MIAC—not one of which was a senior. Patton McClelland earned his second straight All-MIAC honor in singles, while Kevin Mei and rookies Jordon O'Kelly and Andrew Qi (earned their first singles award. Both Ezra Frankel and Aaron Goodman secured their first all-conference recognition for doubles. … The six  Knights to earn All-MIAC recognition matched Gustavus for most in the conference last season and equals the Carleton College record achieved six previous times (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, and 2011). … Carleton boasted six players with 10 or more singles wins in 2016—led by McClelland (16) and Goodman (15). … McClelland finished 8-1 in conference play last season, while Goodman finished a perfect 7-0. … Frankel and Goodman teams to post a team-best 12 doubles wins a year ago. … Carleton used 18 different doubles combinations last season. … Carleton won six of its last seven regular-season matches a year ago, before beating St. Thomas (6-2) and falling to Gustavus (5-0) in the MIAC Playoffs.