By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women'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 (5-7 overall) vs. North Central Rams (0-0 overall)
Sunday, March 18, 2018 * Courts Plus, Fargo N.D. * 10 a.m.
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-4 MIAC, 5-7 overall) at Concordia Cobbers (0-5 MIAC, 3-11 overall)
  
GameDay Live On The Web:
• North Central GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—March 9, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals got singles wins from Laura Sonday (West St. Paul, Minn.) and Julia Boeve (St. James, Minn.), but it was not enough, as Saint Mary's dropped a 7-2 conference decision to unbeaten St. Thomas at the Winona Tennis Center | Recap
• North Central—Friday's match against Saint Mary's is the season-opening for the Rams, who finished 1-12 a year ago.
• Concordia—March 3-4, 2018 * St. Peter, Minn./White Bear Lake, Minn.: The Cobbers came up empty in their three-match weekend, falling to Gustavus 99-0) and Northwestern (8-1) in St. Peter, Minn., on March 3, while dropping an 8-1 decision to Bethel the following afternoon | GAC Recap * Northwestern Recap * BU Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. North Central—A Year Ago:
• February 17, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals dominated visiting North Central, breezing to three straight wins in the doubles competition, before adding six, straight-set singles wins—dropping just a combined eight games in those six matches—en route to the 9-0 victory at the Winona Tennis Center | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Concordia—A Year Ago:
• March 19, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals played their ninth match of the season, and for the ninth straight time, the end result was a 9-0 sweep—as Saint Mary's cruised to a 9-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over Concordia at the Winona Tennis Center | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals step out of conference play next Sunday, heading to Western Racquet Club in Green Bay, Wis., for nonconference matches against Wisconsin Lutheran (noon) and St. Norbert (3 p.m.).
• North Central: The Rams return to action next Saturday, heading to Lifetime Fitness in Fridley, Minn., for a 5 p.m. match against Bethany Lutheran.
• Concordia: The Cobbers are back in action next Sunday, returning to Courts Plus in Fargo, N.D., for a 1:30 p.m. conference matchup against Macalester.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• After seven straight road matches, Friday's nonconference showdown against North Central is the second straight home contests for the Cardinals, who are 2-3 at the Winona Tennis Center this season, while going 3-4 on the road. … Laura Sonday (West St. Paul, Minn.) and Julia Boeve (St. James, Minn.) each picked up singles wins in the Cardinals' 7-2 conference loss to unbeaten St. Thomas last Friday. … With her win at No. 1 singles, Sonday extended her winning streak to four straight. … Sonday (No. 1, 9-3) is the only Cardinal to have played all 12 matches at the same position—and has now played 50 consecutive matches at No. 1. … Sonday owns a team-leading nine dual-match singles wins, two more than Boeve, and three in front of Colleen Lois (Green Bay, Wis.). … Lois had her three-match singles wins snapped with a straight-set loss against St. Thomas last Friday, while Boeve and Cassandra Barr (Eau Claire, Wis.) have also put together three-match winning streaks this season. … As a doubles team, Sonday/Lois have won three straight and share the team lead in dual-match doubles wins with nine. … Sonday and Lois had their season-high five-match doubles winning streak snapped with an 8-2 loss at No. 1 against Bethel on Feb. 10. … Sonday/Lois have accounted for nine of the Cardinals' 18 doubles wins this season—and are the only doubles combination to have played together for all 11 dual matches. … 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. … Boeve and Ashley Frederickson (St. James, Minn.) won their doubles draw at the Gustavus Fall Invitational last September, winning three straight matches. … The Cardinals are 37-35 in singles play this season, while owning an 18-18 record in doubles play. … Lois not lose a game in her singles or doubles matches against Adrian on Feb. 28. The sophomore won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 2 singles, while also teaming up with Sonday for an 8-0 win at No. 1 doubles. … With their 9-0 win over Adrian on Feb. 28, the Cardinals have now posted two wins via sweep, while also owning a pair of 8-1 wins, as well as a 5-4 victory. … The Cardinals improved to 5-0 all-time against Edgewood with their 8-1 win over Feb. 23. …  With their season-opening win over Martin Luther on Jan. 26, 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 45-16 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 North Central Rams:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• The Rams head into Friday's season-opening match against Saint Mary's on the heels of a 1-12 season a year ago that included a season-opening 11-match losing streak. … North Central's lone win a year ago was a 5-4 victory over UM-Morris on April 17. … Sierra Hunter boasted a team-leading two singles wins for the Rams in 2017, while Jalia Cappelli, Lindsay Freitag, and Madalyn Meetz accounted for the other three singles victories. … North Central did not win a match at No. 1 singles (0-12), while going 1-11 at the other five singles spots. … The Rams' four doubles wins a year ago came from four different doubles combinations—Meetz/Katrina Cox, Freitag/Linnea Matson, Cappelli/Esther Leung, and Leung/Meetz. … As a team, North Central went 5-67 in singles and 4-32 in doubles play.
 
Scouting The Concordia Cobbers:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Sunday's match against Saint Mary's is the first of back-to-back home matches for the Cobbers, who have played their first 14 matches on the road. … The Cobbers come into Sunday's showdown with the Cardinals in the midst of a three-match losing streak. … Concordia's 7-2 win over Rose-Hulman on Feb. 28 snapped the Cobbers' season-high seven-match losing streak. … Jenna Forknell owns a team-leading five singles wins—all at No. 1—while Lexi Johnson is second with four. … Forknell's five wins at No. 1 singles are the most at any singles position—the Cobbers are 2-12 at Nos. 2 & 3, while going 3-11 at No. 3, and 4-10 at Nos. 5 & 6. … Johnson, Lisa Neumann, and Kendra Stoick share the team lead in doubles wins with four each, one more than Josie Beachy and Maia Wendel. … Concordia has used 13 doubles combinations this season. … As a team, Concordia is 20-64 in singles play and 11-31 in doubles play. … Two of CC's three wins have been by 7-2 counts, with the other an 8-1 win over Adrian. On the flip side, the Cobbers have been swept 9-0 five times and have dropped four 8-1 decisions among their 11 losses.