By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director

WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's tennis team kicks off its 2018 season this weekend, hosting Martin Luther on Friday in a 6 p.m. nonconference match, before opening MIAC play with a showdown against Carleton at noon on Saturday. Both matches will be held at the Winona Tennis Center.
 
The Matchups:
Friday, January 26, 2018 * Winona Tennis Center * 6 p.m.
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2017 Final: 9-8 Overall) vs. Martin Luther Knights (2017 Final: 4-10 Overall)
Saturday, January 27, 2018 * Winona Tennis Center * Noon
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2017 Final: 2-7 MIAC, 9-8 Overall) vs. Carleton Knights (2017 Final: 8-1 MIAC, 14-4 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Martin Luther GameDay Program * Carleton GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• This weekend's matches are the season-opener for Saint Mary's, Martin Luther, and Carleton.
 
Saint Mary's vs. Martin Luther—A Year Ago:
• January 27, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's kicked off the 2017 season in convincing fashion. The Cardinals dropped just nine games in cruising to six, straight-set singles wins, while winning all three doubles matches by 8-4 counts en route to a 9-0 nonconference win over Martin Luther at the Winona Tennis Center | Recap

Saint Mary's vs. Carleton—A Year Ago:
• January 28, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: Carleton outlasted the Cardinals in all three doubles matches to take a 3-0 lead, before dropping just 10 games in sweeping the six doubles matches in straight sets in dealing the Cardinals a 9-0 setback in the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener at the Winona Tennis Center | Recap
  
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: Following this weekend's matches against Martin Luther and Carleton, the Cardinals are back in action for three matches next Friday and Saturday. Saint Mary's will face Carthage in a 6 p.m. nonconference match at the Winona Tennis Center on Friday, before hitting the road on Saturday for a pair of nonconference matches. Saint Mary's will face St. Scholastica in a 2 p.m. match in Duluth, Minn., before heading to Superior, Wis., for a 7 p.m. showdown against UW-Superior.
• Martin Luther: The Knights are now off until Feb. 10, when they play a pair of matches against Bethany Lutheran (2 p.m.) and Simpson (7 p.m.) at Lifetime Fitness in Lakeville, Minn.
• Carleton: The Knights return to the Winona Tennis Center on Feb. 3, squaring off against Carthage in a 10:30 a.m. nonconference matchup.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Brenden Amiotte (Rapid City, S.D.) kicked off his senior season in impressive fashion at the ITA Midwest Regional last October, rebounding from an opening-round loss to win six straight matches in claiming the consolation title. … Saint Mary's closed out 2017 with a 5-2 record at the Winona Tennis Center. … The Cardinals' last three matches all ended in 6-3 decisions—Saint Mary's beat St. Olaf and Northwestern, before closing out the year with a 6-3 loss to Saint John's. … Four of Saint Mary's last five victories last season were all decided by 6-3 scores. … Saint Mary's loss to nationally ranked Gustavus on March 1 put an end to the Cardinals' season-high four-match winning streak. … Four of the Cardinals' eight losses last season were 9-0 decisions—the exceptions, 5-4 losses to Concordia on March 19 and Carroll on Feb. 18, and a 6-3 setbacks at Macalester on March 24 and at Saint John's on April 22. … With their wins against Saint John's in the team's season finale on April 22, Robbie Sobczak (Cloquet, Minn.) and Bobby Tiedemann (Euclid, Minn.) remained tied for the team lead in singles wins with 11. … Sobczak closed out the year having won 10 of his last 13 singles matches—which includes a season- and career-high five-match winning streak. … Alex Zuzek (Hastings, Minn.), who also put together a season-high five-match singles winning streak earlier in season a year ago, finished second to Tiedeman and Sobczak with nine dual-match singles wins. … Andrew Johnson's (Rochester, Minn.) 17-15, third-set loss at No. 4 singles against Northwestern on April 19 was the Cardinals' highest-scoring set of the season. … Saint Mary's had three players—Tiedeman, Sobczak, and Jake Allen (Winona, Minn.)—notch their first collegiate singles wins against Martin Luther on Jan. 20. … Tiedeman and Amiotte shared the team lead with 10 dual-match doubles wins. … Amiotte and Tiedemann teamed up to win seven of their last 11 matches at No. 2 doubles. … As a team, the Cardinals finished last season with a 55-47 record in singles play, while going 24-27 in doubles action. … The Cardinals dropped just nine games in cruising to six, straight-set singles wins in in their season-opening 9-0 nonconference win over Martin Luther. … With their 9-0 win over Martin Luther on Jan. 20, the Cardinals improved to 5-1 in their last six season openers. … Saint Mary's was a near-perfect 5-1 in nonconference play last season—the lone setback, a 5-4 decision at Carroll on Feb. 18. … The Cardinals are now to 48-16 in nonconference matches since 2012. … Saint Mary's put together two, 9-0 victories last season—sweeping Bethany Lutheran on Feb. 17 and Martin Luther on Jan. 20. … Saint Mary's has won nine straight against Bethany Lutheran and are 11-0 against Martin Luther—including five straight 9-0 victories.
 
Scouting The Martin Luther Knights:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• The Knights are coming off a 4-10 season a year ago, capped by a 7-2 loss to St. Scholastica in the UMAC Tennis Championships. … Martin Luther put together a pair of two-match winning streaks to account for its four wins, while nine of the Knights' 10 losses came during losing streaks of four and five matches. … After opening the season with back-to-back 9-0 losses to Saint Mary's and Macalester, the Knights were not swept in any of their 12 matches. … Ethan Schultz owned a team-leading eight singles wins last season—including wins in each of his last four matches—while Josh Koelpin chipped in five and Nicolas Gartner added four. … Schultz finished the year 3-0 at No. 5 singles and 5-4 at No. 6. … The Knights did not win a match at No. 1 singles (0-14), while going 3-11 at No. 2 and No. 3, 6-8 at No. 4 and No. 5, and 9-5 at No. 6. … Schultz and Justin Steinke shared the team lead in doubles wins a year ago with eight. The duo combined to go 7-3 as a doubles team, finishing 1-0 at No. 2 doubles and 6-3 at No. 3. … As a team, Martin Luther finished the team 27-57 in singles matches and 16-26 in doubles.
 
Scouting The Carleton Knights:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• The Knights enter Saturday's season-opening against Saint Mary's on the heels of a 14-4 season a year ago that included an 8-1 conference showing—and a heartbreaking 5-4 loss to St. Thomas in the MIAC Playoffs semifinals. … Carleton opened 2017 with seven straight wins, and closed out the year winning seven of its last nine. … The Knights' lone conference loss a year ago was a 9-0 decision to MIAC regular-season and playoff champion Gustavus. … The Knights will take the court in 2018 without the services of four graduated seniors—including three-time All-MIAC selection Patton McClelland, the program's all-time singles leader with 66 wins. … Carleton boasted three players with 10 or more dual-match singles wins last season. McClelland and Aaron Goodman shared the team lead with 14 singles wins, while Sahil Chhugani chipped in 12. … Goodman played ever singles position but No. 1 a year ago—going 1-0 at No. 2, 5-0 at No. 3, 3-2 at No. 4, 3-0 at No. 5, and 2-0 at No. 6. … McClelland, meanwhile, appeared in the Knights' lineup in every spot but No. 6, finishing 1-0 at Nos. 1 and 2, 2-2 at No. 3, 9-0 at No. 4, and 1-1 at No. 5. … McClelland, Goodman, and Chhugani all closed out the year winning their last three singles matches. … Goodman and Ezra Frankel proved to be the Knights' top doubles team, posting seven doubles wins, one more than the team of Kevin Hurley/Kevin Mei. … As a team, Carleton boasted a .704 singles winning percentage, going 76-32, while finishing 32-22 in doubles play (.593).