By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's tennis team steps out of conference play for a pair of matches this weekend. The Cardinals host Crown in a 6 p.m. matchup on Friday at the Winona Tennis Center, before heading to Pleasant Valley Tennis Center in Jackson, Wis., for an 11:30 a.m. showdown against Concordia (Wis.).
 
The Matchups:
Friday, March 29, 2019 * Winona Tennis Center * Winona, Minn. * 6 p.m.
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-9 Overall) vs. Crown Storm (0-7 Overall)
Sunday, March 31, 2019 * Pleasant Valley Tennis Center * Jackson, Wis. * 11:30 a.m.
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-9 Overall) at Concordia (Wis.) Falcons (7-6 Overall)
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—March 23-24, 2019 * Swanson Tennis Center, St. Peter, Minn./Winona Tennis Center, Winona Minn.: The Cardinals dropped a pair of conference matches last weekend, falling to conference power Gustavus 8-1 on the road last Saturday, before dropping a heartbreaking, 5-4 decision to Concordia on their home courts the following day | GAC Recap * CC Recap
• Crown—March 16, 2019 * Pella, Iowa: The Storm proved to be no match for Central-Iowa, as the Dutch dealt Crown a 9-0 nonconference setback | Recap
• Concordia (Wis.)—March 18-21, 2019 * Orlando, Fla.: Christian Docter recorded a three-set victory at No. 1 singles, breaking a 4-4 tie and lifting the Falcons to a 5-4 win over Western New England in the second match of their final day in Florida. Concordia opened the day with a convincing 9-0 win over UW-Superior | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Crown — Their Last Meeting:
• Friday's match between the Cardinals and the Storm will be the first in program history.
 
Saint Mary's vs. Concordia (Wis.) — Their Last Meeting:
• February 8, 2013 * Paley Tennis Center * Glendale, Wis.: Saint Mary's completed a perfect opening day to the 2013 season, as the Cardinals notched their second straight 9-0 sweep, beating two-time defending Northern Athletic Conference champion Concordia (Wis.) 9-0 in a nonconference matchup | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in action next weekend with a pair of conference matches. Saint Mary's will host Hamline in a 5:30 p.m. contest at the Winona Tennis Center on Friday, before heading to Chang Tennis Complex in Collegeville, Minn., for a 1 p.m. showdown with Saint John's.
• Crown: The Storm are right back in action on Saturday, kicking off UMAC action with a pair of home matches against Northwestern (10 a.m.) and Bethany Lutheran (1 p.m.).
• Concordia (Wis.): The Falcons return to Pleasant Valley Tennis Center in Jackson, Wis., on next Saturday, hosting Illinois Tech (10 a.m.) and Aurora (2 p.m.) in a pair of NACC matches.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• Friday's nonconference match against Crown is the second of back-to-back home matches for the Cardinals. All four of Saint Mary's wins this season have come on their home courts — Saint Mary's is 0-6 away from the Winona Tennis Center. … Saint Mary's loss to Concordia last Sunday was its second match decided by a 5-4 decision — the Cardinals beat Wartburg 5-4 on Feb. 16. … Five of the Cardinals' 13 matches have been 7-2 decisions. … The Cardinals picked up one doubles win in both of their matches last weekend — Bobby Tiedemann (Euclid, Minn.)/Trevor Smiley (Minnetonka, Minn.) won at No. 1 doubles against Gustavus last Saturday, while Robbie Sobczak (Cloquet, Minn.)/Gabe Graves (Columbine, Colo.) were victorious at No. 3 against Concordia last Sunday. … Tiedemann, Smiley and Sobczak recorded Saint Mary's three singles wins against Concordia last Sunday — with Smiley rallying from a set down to win 0-6, 6-1, 10-8. … Three of Saint Mary's six singles matches against Concordia last Sunday were stretched to a third set. … With his win against Concordia last Sunday, Tiedemann pushed his team-leading dual-match singles wins total to seven, two more than Smiley. … 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. … Smiley and Tiedemann share the team lead with seven doubles wins each, one more than Graves. … As a doubles combination, Tiedemann/Smiley are 7-6, while Graves/Brandon Johnson (St. James, Minn.) 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 Crown Storm:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• The Storm head into Friday's match against Saint Mary's still looking for their first win of the season. Crown has dropped each of its first seven matches this season — and has now lost 11 straight over the past two seasons. … Nine of Crown's last 11 losses have been 9-0 sweeps — the lone exceptions, a 5-4 loss to North Central on Feb. 27 and a 6-3 setback vs. UM-Morris on March 2. … Andrew Moorse and Romeo Mork share the team lead with two singles wins each. The two have accounted for four of Crown's five singles victories — Caleb Baumann has the other. … As a team, Crown is 5-37 in singles play — including 2-5 at both No. 2 and No. 3, and 1-6 at No. 1. The Storm have yet to win a singles match at Nos. 4, 5, and 6. … Baumann has had a hand in both Crown doubles wins this season, teaming with Mork for a win at No. 1 doubles, while teaming up with Joe Duffy for a win at No. 2.
 
Scouting The Concordia (Wis.) Falcons:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• The Falcons head into Sunday's nonconference match against Saint Mary's with a 7-6 overall record — including back-to-back wins over UW-Superior (9-0) and Western New England (5-4) in their last two matches. … After opening the season 3-4, Concordia is 4-2 over its last six matches — sandwiching a pair of two-match winning streaks around a two-match losing streak. … Gabe Binversie and Tim Peters head into the Falcons' showdown with Saint Mary's leading the team in singles wins with seven each, two more than Peter Kloda, Nathan Raskin, and Logan Snyder. … Peters has won each of his last three singles matches, while Binversie and Christian Docter are riding two-match singles winning streaks. … As a team, the Falcons are 39-39 in singles action — 8-5 at Nos. 5 and 6, 7-6 and No. 4, 6-7 at No. 1, and 4-8 at both No. 2 and No. 3. … Docter, Snyder, and Cole Werning share the team lead with six dual-match doubles victories this season. … The doubles teams of Docter/Snyder and Binversie/Werning heave each teamed to win four matches this season. … Concordia (Wis.) has had seven different doubles combinations win at No. 3 doubles this season. … The Falcons are 20-19 in doubles play as a team, going 7-6 at No. 2 and No. 3, and owning a 6-7 mark at No. 1.