By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's tennis team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals entertain Bethel in a noon matchup at the Winona Tennis Center.
 
The Matchups:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-1 MIAC, 2-3 overall) vs. Bethel Royals (0-0 MIAC, 2-0 overall)
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—February 3-4, 2018 * Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wis.: The Cardinals dropped a pair of nonconference games last Saturday, falling to St. Scholastica 6-3 and NCAA Division II UM-Duluth 5-4 at the Arrowhead Tennis Center, before rebounding with an 8-1 nonconference win over UW-Superior the following day at the UW-Superior Fieldhouse | CSS Recap * UMD Recap * UWS Recap
• Bethel—February 3, 2018 * Owatonna, Minn.: The Royals kicked off the season with a pair of impressive nonconference wins, blanking Northwestern (Iowa) 9-0, before knocking off Minnesota State-Mankato 8-1 at the Owatonna Tennis Center | NW Recap * MS-M Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel—A Year Ago:
• April 1, 2017 * Arden Hills, Minn.: For the second day in a row, the Cardinals found themselves staring at a 4-1 deficit in their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match against Bethel. And, unfortunately for coach Jeff Halberg for the second straight day, the Cardinals' gallant come-from-behind effort fell just short, as Bethel held off the Cardinals 6-3 | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play next weekend, hosting Macalester in a noon matchup on Saturday, before entertaining Gustavus at 11:30 a.m. the following morning. Both matches will be held at the Winona Tennis Center.
• Bethel: The Royals are back on the road next Friday, returning to the Owatonna Tennis Club in Owatonna, Minn., for a 6:30 p.m. MIAC match against St. Olaf.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• After four straight road matches, Saturday's match against Bethel is the first of three straight home matches for the Cardinals. … Saint Mary's 8-1 win over UW-Superior last Sunday snapped the Cardinals' three match losing streak. … Cassandra Barr (Eau Claire, Wis.) picked up singles wins in all three of the Cardinals' matches last weekend—winning 2-6, 6-4, 10-8 against St. Scholastica, 6-3, 7-5 vs. UM-Duluth, and 6-1, 6-2 vs. UW-Superior. … Barr now owns a team-leading four dual-match singles wins—all at No. 3. … Colleen Lois (Green Bay, Wis.) and Laura Sonday (West St. Paul, Minn.) are second to Barr with three dual-match singles wins this season. … Sonday has played 43 consecutive matches at No. 1 singles for the Cardinals. … Lois and Sonday have been an unbeatable doubles combination for the Cardinals, picking up wins at No. 1 doubles in all three of the Cardinals' matches last weekend to push their dual-match winning streak to five straight. … Lois kicked off her collegiate career with five straight victories last September—winning all three of her singles matches in the Gustavus Fall Invitational, while teaming with Sonday for a pair of doubles wins at the ITA/Oracle Midwest Region Tournament. … Julia Boeve (St. James, Minn.) and Ashley Frederickson (St. James, Minn.) won their doubles draw at the Gustavus Fall Invitational last September, winning three straight matches. … The Cardinals are 16-14 in singles play this season, while owning a 9-6 record in doubles play. … With their season-opening win over Martin Luther last Friday, the Cardinals have now opened the season with a 9-0 victory in three straight seasons. … The Cardinals are now 11-0 in their last 11 meetings with Martin Luther. … The Cardinals won all six singles matches against Martin Luther in straight sets. All six Saint Mary's singles players recorded at least one 6-0 set against MLC—including a 6-0, 6-0 win by Boeve at No. 4 and a 6-1, 6-0 victory by Lois at No. 3. … The Cardinals, who went 7-1 in nonconference play a year ago, are now 44-15 in non-MIAC matches since 2012. … The Cardinals made their first MIAC Playoff appearance since 2010 a year ago, falling to third-seeded St. Thomas 5-0.
 
Scouting The Bethel Royals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• The Royals, picked to finish fourth in the MIAC Preseason Coaches Poll, enter Saturday's conference-opening match against Saint Mary's riding a season-opening two-match winning streak. … Maggie Riemann, Samantha Hindt, Mattie Kidder, and Mackenzie all won both of their singles matches last weekend against Northwestern (Iowa) and Minnesota State-Mankato, while Grace Johnson, Megan Schuler, and Jill Weinzettel accounted for the Royals' other singles victories in the two matches. … Bethel did not drop a set in its six singles wins against Northwestern (Iowa) last Saturday, losing just a combined 18 games in the 12 sets. … Two of the Royals' five singles wins vs. Minnesota State-Mankato last Saturday were extended to a third set—Riermann won 6-3, 3-6, 10-8 at No. 1, while Weinzettel collected a 6-2, 4-6, 10-4 win at No. 5. … Bethel won all three doubles matches in both of its contests last Saturday—Kidder-Riermann went 2-0 at No. 1 and Novak-Weinzettel were 2-0 at No. 2. Lubben had a hand in both No. 3 doubles wins, teaming with  Kally Peterson against Northwestern and with Hindt against Minnesota State-Mankato.