By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's tennis team returns to conference play on Saturday with a pair of league matches against Macalester and Gustavus. The Cardinals and Scots will square off at 12:30 p.m., before SMU faces Gustavus at 6 p.m., with both matches being held at the Winona Tennis Center
 
The Matchups:
Saturday, February 17, 2018 * Winona Tennis Center * 12:30 p.m.
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-2 MIAC, 2-3 overall) vs. Macalester Scots (0-0 MIAC, 1-0 overall)
Saturday, February 17, 2018 * Winona Tennis Center * 6 p.m.
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-2 MIAC, 2-3 overall) vs. Gustavus Gusties (0-0 MIAC, 1-3 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• GameDay Programs: Macalester * Gustavus
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's­—February 9-10, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals split their two matches last weekend at the Winona Tennis Center, falling to unbeaten Bethel 7-2 in a conference matchup on Saturday, before dropping Wartburg 8-1 in a nonconference match the following afternoon | BU Recap * Wartburg Recap
• Macalester—February 10, 2018 * White Bear Lake, Minn.: The Scots kicked off their 2018 season in impressive fashion, blanking St. Scholastica 9-0 at Lifetime Fitness | Recap
• Gustavus—February 7-8, 2018 * Florida: The Gusties finished 1-3 in tis two-day Florida trip, beating Southeastern 7-2, while falling to Palm Beach Atlantic (6-3), Florida Tech (9-0), and St. Leo (7-2) | SE/PBT Recap * FT/SL Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Macalester—A Year Ago:
• March 24, 2017 * White Bear Lake, Minn.: Saint Mary's \put together one of its best performances of the season, but it was not enough, as the Cardinals dropped a 6-3 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference decision to Macalester | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Gustavus—A Year Ago:
• March 11, 2017 * St. Peter, Minn.: The Gusties put an end to the Cardinals' four-match winning streak—while extending their own win streak to 10—with a 9-0 MIAC win over Saint Mary's at Swanson Center | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: Following Saturday's matches against Macalester and Gustavus, the Cardinals step out of conference play next Friday, heading to Madison, Wis., for a 5:30 p.m. match against Edgewood.
• Macalester: The Scots head to Owatonna, Minn., on Feb. 25 for a 10 a.m. nonconference match against Grinnell.
• Gustavus: Following their three matches on Saturday, the Gusties are back in action next weekend, taking part in the ITA National Indoor Championships in St. Peter, Minn.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Saturday's matches against Macalester and Gustavus are the sixth and seventh straight home matches for the Cardinals, who finished 5-2 at the Winona Tennis Center a year ago. … With last Sunday's 8-1 win over Wartburg, the Cardinals are now to 50-17 in nonconference matches since 2012. … Robbie Sobczak (Cloquet, Minn.) was a perfect 4-0 last weekend in the Cardinals' 7-2 loss to Bethel and 8-1 win over Wartburg. … Bobby Tiedeman (Euclid, Minn.) had his six-match singles winning streak snapped with a 7-6 (3), 6-2 loss at No. 4 against Bethel last Saturday. Tiedeman's winning streak covered wins in his last three singles matches a year ago, and the first three this season. … Sobczak and Tiedeman share the team lead with three dual-match doubles wins this season, one more than Brenden Amiotte (Rapid City, S.D.), Brett Giesen (Cato, Wis.), Alec Rudh (Hastings, Minn.), and Alex Zuzek (Hastings, Minn.). … Amiotte 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, giving him eight overall singles wins thus far this season. … Saint Mary's is 3-2 at No. 3 and No. 4 singles this season, while going 2-3 at No. 1, No. 2, No. 5, and No. 6. … The Cardinals have five players—Amiotte, Holm, Sobczak, Tiedeman, and Zuzek—who share the team lead with three dual-match doubles wins. … The Cardinals are 3-2 at all three doubles positions this season. … Saint Mary's lost just nine games in their six straight-set singles wins vs. Martin Luther on Jan. 26—including 6-0, 6-0 wins by Sobczak at No. 3 and Zuzek at No. 6. … Sobczak has won 11 of his last 15 singles matches. … Amiotte/Tiedemann, Sobczak/Holm, and Zuzek/Gabe Graves (Littleton, Colo.) combined to drop just three games in doubles play against Martin Luther on Jan. 26. …  Saint Mary's season-opening win over Martin Luther on Jan. 26 pushed its record to 12-0 vs. the Knights—including six straight 9-0 victories.
 
Scouting The Macalester Scots:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• The Scots—who opened their 2018 season with a 9-0 win over St. Scholastica—are coming off an 8-9 season in 2017 that included a 4-5 showing in conference play. … With five of their six singles players returning from last season—including three-time All-MIAC selection Josh Doyle—Macalester was picked to finish third in the MIAC Preseason Coaches' Poll. … Macalester picked up straight-set singles wins in all six matches by Doyle, Aidan Tirpack, Sam Hochberger, Ben White, Peter Willenborg, and Matthew Yang in its season-opening win over St. Scholastica last Saturday. … Tirpack finished with a team-leading 10 dual-match singles wins a year ago, one more than Willenborg and Wilson. … Doyle/Hochberger, Tirpack/White, and Ben Wilson/Michael Lockhart teamed for doubles victories vs. the Saints last Saturday. … Doyle and Yang were the team's doubles wins leaders a year ago, teaming up to go 6-7—all at No. 1 doubles.
 
Scouting The Gustavus Gusties:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• The Gusties, coming off their 29th consecutive MIAC regular-season title—not to mention their seventh straight MIAC Playoff crown—were once again picked to finish first in the MIAC Preseason Coaches' Poll. … GAC—which closed out 2017 26-9 overall and 9-0 in conference play—enters the season ranked No. 16 in thelatest Oracle/ITA Division III National Poll, while the Gusties also boast the top-ranked singles player in the nation in Mohanad Alhouni. …  After opening the season with eight striahg t  singles wins—winning his third straight ITA Midwest Regional singles title last fall—and beat Palm Beach Atlantic's Pato Zarazua in a three-set marathon on Feb. 7, Alhouni suffered his first singles loss of the season, falling to Saint Leo's Thomas Grinberg 6-1, 6-3. … Twelve different Gusties have seen action through GAC's four dual matches this season—with eight boasting 1-1 records, while the other are all 0-2. … Alhouni has not lost a doubles match this season, going 5-0 at the ITA Midwest Regional last fall, while adding wins over Palm Beach Atlantic and Saint Leo this spring. … Fourteen players have competed in doubles play this spring, Mohanad Alhouni and Patrick Whaling boasting 2-0 records, while Mouaad Alhouni is 1-0, and Lawrence Hiquiana, Michael O'Neil, and Xavier Sanga all boast one victory.