By Donny Nadeau
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director

LAKEVILLE, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's tennis team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Monday, as the Cardinals head to Lifetime Fitness for a 7 p.m. showdown with the Oles.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-7 MIAC, 6-10 overall) at St. Olaf Oles (1-3 MIAC, 3-4 overall)
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—March 25, 2018 * Green Bay, Wis.: The Cardinals came from behind to win all three doubles matches and added straight-set wins in all six singles matches in dropping the Green Knights 9-0 at Four Seasons Tennis Club | Recap
• St. Olaf—April 7, 2018 * Fargo, N.D.: The Oles jumped out to a 2-1 lead after the three doubles matches, but Concordia rattled off wins in four of the six six singles matches in dealing St. Olaf a 5-4 conference setback at Courts Plus | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Olaf—Their Last Meeting:
• April 8, 2017 * Winona Tennis Center, Winona, Minn..: Saint Mary's coach Jeff Halberg knew his Cardinals were in for a knock-down, drag-out against St. Olaf. How right he was. And, when the dust finally settled, it was the Cardinals who were still standing, as Saint Mary's outlasted the Oles 6-3 in a marathon match at the Winona Tennis Center | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals kick off the final week of the regular season on Thursday, traveling to Mankato, Minn., for a 4 p.m. nonconference match against Bethany Lutheran. Saint Mary's will then head to St. Paul, Minn., on Saturday, squaring off in its regular-season finale against Hamline in an 11 a.m. MIAC matchup.
• St. Olaf: The Oles return to Carlson Courts in Northfield, Minn., on Wednesday, entertaining Macalester in a 4 p.m. MIAC match.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• The Cardinals enter Saturday's showdown against St. Olaf riding a two-match winning streak—dropping Lawrence (6-3) and St. Norbert (9-0). … Saint Mary's match against St. Olaf is the third of five straight road matches to close out the regular season. The Cardinals finished the season 3-7 on their home court, while going 3-3 away from the Winona Tennis Center. … Bobby Tiedemann (Euclid, Minn.) is the team's dual-match singles wins leader with 10—and is one of three Cardinals entering Saturday's match riding a three-match singles winning streak. … Robbie Sobczak (Cloquet, Minn.) is second to Tiedemann with eight dual-match singles wins, with Brenden Amiotte (Rapid City, S.D.) third with seven. … Tiedemann 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. … Amiotte (7-10), who is the only Cardinal to have played every match at the same position—playing all 17 contests at No. 1 singles—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 13 overall singles wins thus far this season. … Tiedemann and Amiotte share the team lead in dual-match doubles wins with 10—and are riding a three-match doubles winning streak. … Alex Zuzek (Hastings, Minn.) is second to Tiedeman and Amiotte with nine doubles wins, while Brett Giesen (Cato, Wis.), Alex Holm (Red Wing, Minn.), and Sobczak are close behind with seven. … 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. … 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. … The Cardinals have posted three 9-0 victories, sweeping both Martin Luther and North Central, while adding a pair of 8-1 wins—beating Wartburg and Edgewood—and a 6-3 triumph over Lawrence. … The Cardinals did not drop a game—in singles or doubles—in rolling to their 9-0 win over North Central on March 16. … The Cardinals have now swept North Central in each of their last three meetings. … With their wins over Lawrence and St. Norbert on March 24-25, the Cardinals are now to 54-19 in nonconference matches since 2012. … 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 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 St. Olaf Oles:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• After opening the season with back-to-back wins, the Oles have dropped four of their last six. … St. Olaf snapped its season-high three-match losing streak with a 6-3 win over Virginia Wesleyan on March 27. … Christian Beck and Jack Leach head into Saturday's matchup against Saint Mary's leading the team with four singles wins each—one more than Danny Hogan, Spencer Wick, and Christopher Prokosch. … Beck (No. 1), Hogan (No.2), Leach (No. 3), and Wick (No. 4) have played all seven singles matches at the same position. … Leach heads into Saturday's match riding a two-match winning streak. … Beck and Hogan have teamed to post a 5-2 record at No. 1 doubles. They have accounted for five of the Oles' nine doubles wins this season. … Wick has been a part of four doubles wins this season, going 2-2 with Prokosch and 2-1 with Leach. … As a team, St. Olaf is 19-23 at singles, while going 9-12 in doubles.