ST. JOSEPH, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's tennis team closes out the regular-season portion of its schedule on Saturday, as the Cardinals travel to Saint Benedict on Saturday for an 11 a.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown with the Blazers.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-5 MIAC, 11-6 Overall) at Saint Benedict Blazers (2-5 MIAC, 9-11 Overall), 11 a.m.
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—April 19, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals had their four-match winning streak halted, as Northwestern rallied from a 4-2 deficit—winning three, three-set singles matches—to hand Saint Mary's a 5-4 nonconference setback at the Winona Tennis Center | Recap
• Saint Benedict—April 11, 2017 * St. Paul, Minn.: The Blazers picked up a pair of singles wins and a victory at No. 3 doubles, but it was not enough, as CSB dropped a 6-3 nonconference decision to Northwestern | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Saint Benedict—Their Last Meeting:
• February 13, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's coach Jeff Halberg knew how important his squad's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match against Saint Benedict was. And his Cardinals proved to be cool under pressure, rallying from a 2-1 deficit after the doubles play to record a clutch 5-4 win over the Blazers at the Winona Tennis Center | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: Saturday's match against Saint Benedict is the regular-season finale for the Cardinals. However, a Saint Mary's win over the Blazers would assure the Cardinals of the No. 6 seed in the upcoming MIAC Playoffs. A loss, the Cardinals are still alive, but will need some outside help to reach the conference post-season tournament for the first time since 2010.
• Saint Benedict: The Blazers are right back in action on Sunday, traveling to St. Peter, Minn., for a 3 p.m. MIAC showdown with Gustavus.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017 Roster | 2017 Schedule | 2017 Statistics
• Wednesday's matchup against Northwestern was the third straight home contest for the Cardinals, who finished 7-3 on their home court this season. … The Cardinals have collected 25 of their 42 wins over the past three seasons on their home court. … After opening the season 1-2, the Cardinals enter Saturday's match against Saint Benedict having won 10 of their last 14. … Saint Mary's 5-4 loss to UMAC co-champion Northwestern Wednesday snapped their four-match winning streak. … Saint Mary's has put together two, four-match winning streaks to account for eight of its 11 wins this season. … Saint Mary's 6-3 win over Macalester on March 24 snapped a streak of nine straight matches decided by a 9-0 score. … Haley Jorgensen (Fallon, Nev.) suffered a three-set, 3-6, 7-5, 10-1 setback at No. 5 singles against Northwestern Wednesday, snapping her career-high eight-match winning streak. … Jorgensen's eight-match winning streak was two more than the season-best six-match win streak teammate Megan Vandenberg (De Pere, Wis.) posted a year ago. … Vandenberg enters Saturday's match against Saint Benedict owning a team-leading 13 dual-match singles wins, one more than Jorgensen and Julia Boeve (St. James, Minn.), and two in front of Cassandra Barr (Eau Claire, Wis.). … With a victory on Saturday against Saint Benedict, Vandenberg would tie the Cardinals' career record for singles wins with 57—a record currently held by Bailey Edwards. … Vandenberg posted a season- and career-high 17 singles wins in 2016. Her 17 singles wins rank No. 2 all-time, five wins shy of McKenna Edwards' single-season 22-win total in 2012. … Jorgensen will close out her collegiate career No. 3 all-time in singles wins. The senior heads into Saturday's match against Saint Benedict with 54 singles victories during her four-year Cardinal career. … 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. …  Marissa Kinzer (Aitkin, Minn.) owns a team-leading 12 dual-match doubles wins, three more than Sonday and Jorgensen. … As a team, the Cardinals are 69-33 in singles matches, while going 33-18 in doubles play. … Despite their 5-4 loss to Northwestern Wednesday, the Cardinals boast a 42-13 record 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.
 
Scouting The Saint Benedict Blazers:
2017 Roster | 2017 Schedule | 2017 Statistics
• Saturday's match against Saint Mary's is the final home match for the Blazers, who close out the season with conference matches at Gustavus (Sunday) and Hamline (April 29). … Five of CSB's nine victories have come in neutral-site matches. The Blazers are 2-4 at home and 2-5 on the road this season. … The Blazers' 6-3 loss to Northwestern on April 11 was their fourth straight setback. … Saint Benedict closed out the season 7-6 in nonconference play. … Ellen Stensrud enters Saturday's match against Saint Mary's owning a team-high 11 singles wins, two more than Tessa Rahrick. … Ten of Rahrick's 11 singles wins have come at No. 2, while Stensrud has won at No. 3 (4 times), No. 4 (6 times), No. 5 (once), and No. 6 (twice). … As a team, the Blazers are 57-63 in singles play, including 12-9 at No. 2, 10-10 at No. 1, and 0-11 at Nos. 3, 5 , and 6. … Rahrick and Laura Finn share the team lead with nine doubles wins, one more than Gabbie Noack and Lauren Clark. … Saint Benedict owns a 29-31 overall record in doubles play, highlighted by an 11-9 showing at No. 3 and a 10-10 mark at No. 1.