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 Friday, as the Cardinals entertain St. Thomas in a 6 p.m. matchup at the Winona Tennis Center.
 
The Matchups:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-3 MIAC, 5-6 overall) vs. St. Thomas Tommies (4-0 MIAC, 6-0 overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—February 27-28, 2018 * Orlando, Fla.: The Cardinals finished 1-1 in their two-match spring trip, falling to Hanover 6-3, before rebounding with a convincing 9-0 win over Adrian | Hanover Recap * Adrian Recap
• St. Thomas—February 24-25, 2018 * Minneapolis, Minn.: The Tommies picked up a pair of conference sweeps, blanking both Macalester and Saint Benedict 9-0 at the University of Minnesota's Baseline Tennis Center | Macalester Recap * CSB Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Thomas—A Year Ago:
• February 5, 2017 * Minneapolis, Minn.: The conference schedule-makers were not very kind to Saint Mary's when it came to kicking off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play. The Cardinals opened their conference slate falling 9-0 to Carleton—picked No. 1 in the MIAC Preseason Coaches' Poll. In conference match No. 2, the Cardinals once again dropped a 9-0 decision, this time against St. Thomas—picked to finish third in the MIAC Preseason Coaches Poll | Recap
• May 3, 2017 * Minneapolis, Minn.: Saint Mary's knew the key to its MIAC Playoff opener against St. Thomas was getting off to a quick start. Unfortunately, it was the third-seeded Tommies who raced to a quick lead—and never looked back in ousting  the sixth-seeded Cardinals 5-0 at the University of Minnesota Baseline Tennis Center | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are off until next weekend, when they entertain North Central (Minn.) in a 6 p.m. nonconference match on Friday at the Winona Tennis Center, before heading to Courts Plus in Fargo, N.D., for a 9:30 a.m. conference showdown against Concordia.
• St. Thomas: The Tommies return to action next Saturday, returning "home" to the University of Minnesota Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis, Minn., for a 7 p.m. MIAC matchup against St. Olaf.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• After seven straight road matches, Friday's conference showdown against St. Thomas is the first of back-to-back home contests for the Cardinals, who are 2-2 at the Winona Tennis Center this season … 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. … Colleen Lois (Green Bay, Wis.) did not lose a game in her singles or doubles match against Adrian on Feb. 28. The sophomore more 6-0, 6-0 at No. 2 singles, while also teaming up with Laura Sonday (West St. Paul, Minn.) for an 8-0 win at No. 1 doubles. … Sonday and Lois each won their two singles matches during the Cardinals' spring trip, and head into Friday's showdown with St. Thomas riding three-match winning streaks. … Sonday owns a team-leading eight dual-match singles wins, two more than Lois and Julia Boeve (St. James, Minn.). … Sonday (No. 1, 8-3) is the only Cardinal to have played all 11 matches at the same position—and has now played 49 consecutive matches at No. 1. … Cassandra Barr (Eau Claire, Wis.) had her season-high three-match singles winning streak snapped with a 6-4, 6-2 loss at No. 2 against Bethel on Feb. 10, while Sonday and Boeve had three-match runs ended with a straight-set losses against Gustavus on Feb. 18. … 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.)—who won their doubles draw at the Gustavus Fall Invitational last September, winning three straight matches—are 2-0 in dual matches as a doubles team. … The Cardinals are 35-31 in singles play this season, while owning a 18-15 record in doubles play. … 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 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 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 St. Thomas Tommies:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• The Tommies head into Friday's showdown against Saint Mary's riding a season-opening six-match winning streak—including wins in all four conference matches. … St. Thomas has been dominating in its first six matches this season, winning three by 8-1 counts and the other three by 9-0 sweeps. … Catherine Lindsay, Paige McLeod, and Taylor McLeod enter Friday's match against Saint Mary's riding season-opening six-match winning streaks, while Caitlin Bakke, Sarah Benoy, and Jenna Zimmerman are all 5-1. … Benoy and Lindsay have teamed for a perfect 6-0 record at No. 3 doubles, with McLeod/McLeod and Bakke/Zimmerman owning 5-0 records at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles, respectively. … The Tommies have not lost a doubles match this season, going 18-0, while boasting a 33-3 in singles matches. … The Tommies finished in a tie for second with Gustavus in the MIAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, just four points behind No. 1 Carleton. … The Tommies fell to Gustavus 5-1 in the semifinals of the MIAC Playoffs a year ago.