By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's tennis team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Friday, as the Cardinals entertain St. Olaf in a 6 p.m. matchup at the Winona Tennis Center
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-4 MIAC, 4-6 Overall) vs. St. Olaf Oles (1-3 MIAC, 1-4 Overall)
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—March 8, 2019 * Winona Tennis Center * Winona Minn.: The Cardinals did not have an answer for Macalester's high-powered attack, as the unbeaten Scots dealt Saint Mary's a 9-0 conference setback | Recap
• St. Olaf—March 8, 2019 * Owatonna Tennis Center * Owatonna, Minn.: Corey Loken had a hand in two of the Oles' three wins, but it was not enough against the high-powered Tommies, as St. Thomas dealt St. Olaf a 6-3 conference setback | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Olaf — Their Last Meeting:
• April 16, 2018 * Lifetime Fitness * Lakeville, Minn.: The Cardinals hung close in every match of their conference showdown at Lifetime Fitness, but could not seem to get over the hump, falling to the Oles 8-1 | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals hit the road next Saturday, March 23, heading to Gustavus' Swanson Indoor Tennis Center in St. Peter, Minn., for a 10:30 a.m. conference showdown against the Gusties.
• St. Olaf: The Oles are right back in action on Saturday, as they return "home" to the Owatonna Tennis Center in Owatonna, Minn., for a 1:30 p.m. nonconference match against St. Norbert.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• Friday's match against St. Olaf is the Cardinals' first home match since beating Wartburg 5-4 on Feb. 16. Saint Mary's will play three of their next four contests on their home courts at the Winona Tennis Center — the lone exception, next Saturday's showdown against Gustavus in St. Peter, Minn. … Five of the Cardinals' last eight matches have been 7-2 decisions. … With his win against Hanover on Feb. 26, Bobby Tiedemann (Euclid, Minn.) pushed his team-leading dual-match singles wins total to six, three more than Gabe Graves (Columbine, Colo.), Brandon Kurilla (Hastings, Minn.), and Trevor Smiley (Minnetonka, Minn.). … Kurilla and Smiley both recorded their first collegiate singles wins against Martin Luther on Jan. 25 — Smiley won 6-2, 6-0 at No. 2 and Kurilla posted a 6-1, 1-6, 10-8 win at No. 3 — while Brandon Johnson (St. James, Minn.) notched his first singles win as a Cardinal with a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 6 singles against St. Norbert on Feb. 16. … Tiedemann, Smiley, Graves and Johnson all share the team lead with five doubles wins each. … As a doubles combination, Tiedemann/Smiley are 5-5, while Graves/Johnson are 4-2. … With their 7-2 loss to Hanover on Feb. 26, the Cardinals are now 58-21 in nonconference matches since 2012. … Fueled by their 6-3 nonconference win over Martin Luther on Jan. 25, the Cardinals improved to 13-0 against the Knights — including six 9-0 wins in their last seven contests.
 
Scouting The St. Olaf Oles:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• Friday's match against Saint Mary's is the Oles' sixth of 10 straight road matches. St. Olaf — which is 0-2 on the road and 1-2 in neutral-site matches — does not play an official home match until hosting Carleton on April 17. … The Oles head into Friday's showdown against Saint Mary's looking to snap a season-high three-match losing streak. The Oles dropped back-to-back 9-0 decisions to Bethel and Gustavus, before falling 6-3 to St. Thomas. … St. Olaf has picked up just five singles wins — from five different players — in its 30 singles matches this season. Gus Fedje-Johnston, Tony Klagge, Corey Loken, Christopher Prokosch, and Spencer Wick all own one singles win. … As a team, St. Olaf is 0-5 at No. 5 singles, while going 1-4 at the other five positions. … Fedje-Johnston/Loken are 2-3 in doubles play through five matches, while Ethan Bruha/Tim Roback own the Oles' other doubles win. … St. Olaf is winless at No. 1 doubles (0-5), while going 2-3 at No. 2 and 1-4 at No. 3.