By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's tennis team has a busy weekend ahead, as the Cardinals host North Central in a 6 p.m. nonconference match at the Winona Tennis Center on Friday, before heading to Courts Plus in Fargo, N.D., for a 10 a.m. conference matchup against Concordia on Sunday
 
The Matchups:
Friday, March 16, 2018 * Winona Tennis Center, Winona, Minn. * 6 p.m.
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-8 overall) vs. North Central Rams (0-0 overall)
Sunday, March 18, 2018 * Courts Plus, Fargo N.D. * 10 a.m.
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-5 MIAC, 3-8 overall) at Concordia Cobbers (2-3 MIAC, 7-6 overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• North Central GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—March 9, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals picked up a win at No. 2 doubles, but that would not be nearly enough, as Saint Mary's dropped an 8-1 conference decision to St. Thomas last Friday at the Winona Tennis Center | Recap
• North Central—Friday's nonconference match against Saint Mary's is the season-opener for the Rams, who played just one match in 2017, falling to Northwestern 9-0.
• Concordia—March 3-4, 2018 * St. Peter, Minn./White Bear Lake, Minn.: The Cobbers went 2-1 in their three matches, falling to Gustavus 9-0, before rebounding with 8-1 and 5-3 wins over Northwestern (at Gustavus) and Bethel | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. North Central—A Year Ago:
• April 7, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's closed out its nonconference schedule in impressive fashion, as the Cardinals dropped just 15 games in rolling to a 9-0 win over North Central (Minn.) at the Winona Tennis Center | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Concordia—A Year Ago:
• March 19, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals rallied from a 4-2 deficit, but in the end, came up just short, falling to the Cobbers 5-4 in a conference match at the Winona Tennis Center | Recap 
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals have a busy weekend on tap, as Saint Mary's entertains Saint John's in a 6 p.m. MIAC matchup at the Winona Tennis Center on Friday. The Cardinals then  travel to Appleton, Wis., to take on Lawrence at 7 p.m. on Saturday, before closing out the weekend with a 9 a.m. matchup against St. Norbert in DePere, Wis., the following day.
• North Central: The Rams are right back in action on Monday, traveling to Lifetime Fitness in Lakeville, Minn., for a 7:45 p.m. matchup against Buena Vista.
• Concordia: The Cobbers return to action next Sunday, entertaining Macalester in a 2 p.m. conference match at Courts Plus in Fargo, N.D.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• After three straight road matches, Friday's showdown against North Central (Minn.) is the second of back-to-back home contests for the Cardinals, who have played eight of their first 11 contests on their home court this season. … The Cardinals head into Friday's matchup against North Central (Minn.) having beaten the Rams 9-0 in each of their last two meetings. … With their losses to both Hanover and Adrian, the Cardinals have now dropped three, 6-3 decisions this season. … Two of the Cardinals' three wins this season have been decided by 8-1 scores—beating Wartburg and Edgewood—while Saint Mary's other win was a 9-0 sweep of Martin Luther. … With their losses to Hanover and Adrian last week, the Cardinals are now to 51-19 in nonconference matches since 2012. … Robbie Sobczak (Cloquet, Minn.) and Alex Holm (Red Wing, Minn.) combined for an 8-4 win at No. 2 doubles to account for the Cardinals' lone win against St. Thomas last Friday. … Bobby Tiedemann (Euclid, Minn.) is the team's dual-match singles wins leader with six, two more than Sobczak. … Tiedeman had his six-match singles winning streak snapped with a 7-6 (3), 6-2 loss at No. 4 against Bethel on Feb. 10. Tiedeman's winning streak covered wins in his last three singles matches a year ago, and the first three this season. … 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, giving him eight overall singles wins thus far this season. … With their wins at No. 1 doubles against Hanover and Adrian during the Cardinals' spring trip, Amiotte/Tiedemann have now teamed to win three of their last four doubles matches. … Tiedemann and Amiotte share the team lead in dual-match doubles wins (6) with Alex Zuzek (Hastings, Minn.). … 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. … Fueled by their 8-1 win over Edgewood on Feb. 23, the Cardinals improved to 4-0 against the Falcons all-time—sandwiching 9-0 wins around a pair of 8-1 victories. … Saint Mary's dropped just 16 games in its five singles wins against Edgewood on Feb. 23, while the three doubles teams combined to lose to just six games. … 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 North Central Rams:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• The Rams played just one match a year ago, falling to Northwestern 9-0, before cancelling the season due to inability to field a complete team.
 
Scouting The Concordia Cobbers:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• The Cobbers head into Sunday's match against Saint Mary's riding a two-match winning streak, while having won three of their last four. … Concordia is coming off a busy stretch, having played eight matches in seven days during its spring trip—finishing with a 4-4 record. … Isaac Toivonen and Jared Saue head into Sunday's matchup against Saint Mary's sharing the team lead with seven singles wins, two more than Erik Porter and three in front of Matthew Engum, David Schneck, and David Youngs. … Toivonen has played 12 of the team's 13 matches at No. 1 singles, compiling a 7-5 record, while Saue has gone 1-1 at No. 4, 2-2 at No. 5, and 4-3 at No. 6 en route to his seven singles wins. … Porter, Saue, Toivonen, and Youngs all enter Sunday's match against Saint Mary's having won their last two singles matches. … Concordia is 7-6 at No. 1 singles, while going 6-7 at Nos. 5 and 6, 5-8 at Nos. 2 and 4, and 4-9 at No. 3. … Porter Schneck have teamed to record a team-high eight doubles wins, going 8-4 at No. 2. … Toivonen, Youngs, and Engum are all second on the team in doubles wins with six. … As a team, Concordia is 33-45 in singles play, while going 20-19 in doubles action.