By Donny Nadeau
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's tennis team closes out its regular-season schedule this weekend, heading to the University of Minnesota's Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis, Minn., for a 1:30 p.m. MIAC showdown with Hamline on Saturday, before returning home for a conference matchup against Saint Benedict at noon at the Winona Tennis Center the following day.
 
The Matchups:
Saturday, April 20, 2018 * U of M Baseline Tennis Center, Minneapolis, Minn. * 1:30 p.m.
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-5 MIAC, 11-8 overall) at Hamline Pipers (0-5 MIAC, 7-6 overall)
Sunday, April 21, 2018 * Winona Tennis Center, Winona, Minn. * Noon
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-5 MIAC, 10-8 overall) vs. Saint Benedict (2-2 MIAC, 11-5 overall)
 
GameDay On The Web:
• Saint Benedict GameDay | Senior Salute: PDF * HTML
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—April 17, 2018 * Lakeville, Minn.: The Cardinals got a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 1 singles from Laura Sonday (West St. Paul, Minn.) to break a 4-4 tie and lift Saint Mary's to a 5-4 conference win over St. Olaf at Lifetime Fitness | Recap
• Hamline/Saint Benedict—April 19, 2018 * Minneapolis, Minn.: The Blazers picked up wins in two of the three doubles matches and recorded straight-set wins in four of the six singles matches in dropping Hamline 6-3 at the U of M Baseline Tennis Center | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Hamline—Their Last Meeting:
• March 10, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals jumped out to a convincing 3-0 lead after the doubles matches—winning 8-3, 8-1, and 8-6—before collecting straight-set singles wins in five of the sixth matches to drop Hamline 9-0 at the Winona Tennis Center | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Saint Benedict—Their Last Meeting:
• April 22, 2017 * St. Joseph, Minn.: The Cardinals opened with a 3-0 lead after the doubles portion of their conference matchup against the Blazers, and never took their foot off the gas, winning all six singles matches, including a pair of three-set marathons, to earn the 9-0 victory—and Saint Mary's first MIAC post-season berth since the 2010 season | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: This weekend's matches against Hamline and Saint Benedict are the finale regular-season games of the 2018 season for the Cardinals.
• Hamline: Following this weekend's matches against Saint Mary's and Concordia, the Pipers are back on the courts on Friday, hosting Bethel in a 4 p.m. conference match at HU's Holt Courts in St. Paul, Minn.
• Saint Benedict: The Blazers are right back in action on Monday, squaring off against Carleton in a conference match at Lifetime Fitness in Lakeville, Minn.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• With their 5-4 win over St. Olaf on Tuesday, the Cardinals have now won seven of their last nine. Saint Mary's had its season-high five-match winning streak snapped with its 7-2 loss to St. Catherine on April 13. … Five of Saint Mary's 11 wins this season have been 9-0 sweeps. The Cardinals also own four 8-1 victories and 5-4 triumphs over Macalester and St. Olaf. … With her 6-4, 6-4 straight-set win at No. 1 singles against St. Olaf Tuesday, Laura Sonday (West St. Paul, Minn.) extended her singles winning streak to 11 straight. … Sonday is now 14-1 in her last 15 singles matches. … Sonday (No. 1, 16-3) is the only Cardinal to have played all 19 matches at the same position—and has now played 57 consecutive matches at No. 1. … Sonday owns a team-leading 16 dual-match singles wins, two more than Julia Boeve (St. James, Minn.)—who has won her last eight straight singles matches. … Colleen Lois (Green Bay, Wis.) did 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. … As a doubles team, Sonday/Lois share the team lead in dual-match doubles wins with 13. … 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 13 of the Cardinals' 34 doubles wins this season. … 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—and have won all five doubles matches win which they have been paired up. … The Cardinals are 71-43 in singles play this season, while owning a 34-23 record in doubles play. … With their victory over UW-River Falls on March 27, the Cardinals are now unbeaten in their last 16 meetings with the Falcons. … The Cardinals lost just five games in the six singles matches—and two games in their three doubles matches—in their 9-0 sweep of North Central on March 16. … The Cardinals improved to 5-0 all-time against Edgewood with their 8-1 win on 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 victory 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 47-16 in nonconference 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 Hamline Pipers:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• The Pipers snapped a two-match losing streak with a 9-0 win over North Central (Minn.) on Tuesday. But after opening the season 3-1, the Pipers are 4-5 in their last nine contests, including Thursday's 6-3 MIAC loss to Saint Benedict. … Ali Kopiecki and Natalie Pieterick collected HU's two singles wins against Saint Benedict Thursday—Kopiecki winning 6-2, 6-2 at No. 1, while Pieterick was a 6-1, 6-1 winner at No. 2. … Kopiecki also had a hand in the Pipers' lone doubles win vs. CSB, teaming with Megan Anderson for an 8-2 win at No. 1. … Kopiecki's win against Saint Benedict was her third straight singles victory, pushing her team-leading win total to 10—all at No. 1 singles. … Pieterick is second to Kopiecki with six singles wins, while Anderson and Claire Witt each have four. … Kopiecki (9-2) and Witt (4-6) are the only Pipers to have played every match at one singles position—Kopiecki at No. 1 and Witt at No. 4. … Pieterick and Anderson share the team lead in doubles wins with seven each. … Hamline has used eight different doubles combinations this season. … As a team, the Pipers are 30-39 in singles play, while going 15-20 in doubles.
 
Scouting The Saint Benedict Blazers:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Sunday's match against Saint Mary's is the fourth of five matches in as many das for the Blazers, who started their five-match run against Hamline on Thursday, and followed with contests against Bethel (Friday), and Macalester (Saturday). Following Sunday's match against Saint Mary's, CSB takes on Carleton on Monday. … With their 6-3 win over Hamline on Thursday, the Blazers have now won two of their last three—sandwiching wins over UW-Superior (9-0) and Hamline (6-3) around a 9-0 loss to Gustavus. … Mackenzie Schurhamer heads into the weekend owning a team-leading 12 dual-match singles wins, one more than Kayla McIver. … Tessa Rahrick is the only Blazer to have played every match at one position—going 7-9 at No. 1 singles. … Schurhamer has account3ed for 10 of the team's 14 wins at No. 5 singles, while McIver has collected nine of her 11 singles wins at No. 4. … Erin Kolbow is the team-leader with 12 doubles wins, one more than Lauren Clark. … Kolbow and Clark have teamed to go 10-1at No. 3 doubles. … Schurhamer and Ellen Stensrud are 7-6 as a doubles team, owning a 7-5 record at No. 2, while dropping their lone match at No. 1. … Saint Benedict owns a 60-36 mark in singles play—including 14-2 at No. 5, 12-4 at No. 4, and 10-6 at No. 6—while owning a 29-19 record in doubles matches.