WHITE BEAR LAKE, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's tennis team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Friday, as the Cardinals head to Lifetime Fitness for a 6:30 p.m. showdown with Macalester.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-3 MIAC, 6-3 Overall) at Macalester Scots (0-2 MIAC, 4-5 Overall), 6:30 p.m.
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—March 19, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals picked up their second conference win of the season, dominating Concordia in a 9-0 MIAC victory at the Winona Tennis Center | Recap
• Macalester—March 16, 2017 * Orlando, Fla.: The Scots closed out a 1-3 spring trip with an 8-1 loss to the University of Mobile (Ala.) | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Macalester—Their Last Meeting:
• April 17, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: It took Saint Mary's a little while to get on track, but once they did, the Cardinals were unstoppable. And thanks to their come-from-behind 5-4 win over Macalester Sunday, the Cardinals' hopes of earning a berth in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Playoffs are still alive | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in action next weekend, as Saint Mary's entertains St. Catherine in a 4:30 p.m. conference matchup at the Winona Tennis Center on Friday, before heading to the University of Minnesota Baseline Tennis Center for a 6:30 p.m. showdown with Bethel the following day.
• Macalester: The Scots are right back in action on Saturday, heading to Lifetime Fitness in Lakeville, Minn., for a 2:30 p.m. conference contest against Concordia.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017 Roster | 2017 Schedule | 2017 Statistics
• Beginning with Friday's match at Macalester, the Cardinals play five of their next six Contests on the road. Saint Mary's has played just three of its first nine matches away from the Winona Tennis Center. … Saint Mary's is 5-1 on its home court this season, while going 1-2 away from the Winona Tennis Center. … The Cardinals have collected 23 of their 36 wins over the past three seasons on their home court. … The Cardinals' loss to Gustavus on March 11 snapped their season-high four-match winning streak. … Saint Mary's three conference losses this season have come against the top three teams in the conference standings—St. Thomas, Gustavus, and Carleton. … All six of the Cardinals' wins—and all three of their losses—have been 9-0 decisions. … Thanks to their 9-0 victory over UW-Stevens Point on Feb. 26, the Cardinals improved to 39-12 in nonconference action since 2012. … Saint Mary's dropped just seven games in sweeping North Central (Minn.) on Feb. 10, and followed that up by losing just eight games in its 9-0 win over Bethany Lutheran a week later. … With their win over Martin Luther on Jan. 27, the Cardinals have now opened the season with a 9-0 victory in back-to-back seasons. … The Cardinals improved to 10-0 in their last 10 meetings with Martin Luther and are 9-0 against Bethany Lutheran. … The Cardinals have dropped just one set in their six wins this season—that coming at No. 3 singles against Hamline on March 10, where Cassandra Barr (Eau Claire, Wis.) rallied from a set down to win 2-6, 6-4, 10-0. … Barr, Julia Boeve (St. James, Minn.), Laura Sonday (West St. Paul, Minn.), and Megan Vandenberg (De Pere, Wis.) all head into Friday's match against Macalester sharing the team lead with six dual-match singles wins—one more than Sheyenne Bauer (Cannon Falls, Minn.) and Haley Jorgensen (Fallon, Nev.). … Barr's 6-2, 6-2 loss at No. 5 singles against Carleton on Jan. 29 snapped the freshman's five-match singles winning streak. Barr kicked off her collegiate career in impressive fashion at the 2016 Gustavus Invitational, going a perfect 4-0 in singles play. … Emily Strezishar's (East Grand Forks, N.D.) 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 6 singles against North Central (Minn.) on Feb. 10 was her first collegiate singles win. … Vandenberg, who owned a season-high six-match winning streak a year ago, posted a season- and career-high 17 singles wins in 2016. … Vandenberg's 17 singles wins rank No. 2 all-time, five wins shy of McKenna Edwards' 22-win total in 2012. … Vandenberg is also sitting No. 2 all-time in career singles wins with 49, while Jorgensen is third with 47. … Marissa Kinzer (Aitkin, Minn.) owns a team-leading six dual-match doubles wins, one more than Vandenberg, Sonday, and Ashley Syed (Lewisville, Texas). … As a team, the Cardinals are 36-18 in dual-match singles matches, while going 18-9 in doubles play.
 
Scouting The Macalester Scots:
2017 Roster | 2017 Schedule | 2017 Statistics
• Following this weekend's home matches against Saint Mary's and Concordia, the Scots will play their next four matches on the road—at Saint Benedict, Hamline, St. Catherine, and Bethel. … The Scots enter Friday's match against Saint Mary's 3-1 in home matches, while going 1-4 on the road. … Claire Buehler, Jessica Ilc, and Lily Stein have all amassed a team-leading five singles wins.. Buehler is 5-4 at No. 3 singles, while Ilc is 1-0 at No. 4 and 4-4 at No. 5, and Stein is 1-0 at No. 3 and 4-4 at No. 4. … Buehler/Deila Brown is the Scots' top doubles team, boasting four wins—all at No. 2. Jen Koehler/Lily Stein and Camila Bendetti/Maegan O'Herin are second with three wins each—Koehler/Stein boasting a 3-4 mark at No. 1, while Bendetti/O'Herin are 3-1 at No. 3. … As a team, the Scots are 26-28 in singles play—including 6-3 at No. 3, and 5-4 at Nos. 4, 5, and 6. … In doubles play, Macalester owns a 12-14 record—going 3-5 at No. 1, 4-5 at No. 2, and 5-4 at No. 3.