By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's tennis team closes out its 2019 season on Saturday — and bids farewell to lone senior Bobby Tiedemann, as the Cardinal host Luther in a 12:30 p.m. nonconference match at the Winona Tennis Center
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (7-11 Overall) vs. Luther Norse (11-4 Overall)

GameDay Senior Salute
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—April 10, 2019 * Lydia Thering Fieldhouse * Superior, Wis.: The Cardinals jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the doubles portion of their nonconference match against UW-Superior, and then held off a furious Yellowjacket charge to post a 5-4 victory | Recap
• Luther—April 9, 2019 * Luther Courts * Decorah, Iowa: The Norse had little trouble getting past Wartburg in the teams' American Rivers Conference match, sweeping the doubles and winning all six singles matches in straight sets en route to a 9-0 victory | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Luther — Their Last Meeting:
• March 12, 2016 * Winona Tennis Center * Winona, Minn.: After dropping a 9-0 decision to Saint John's the previous evening, the Cardinals stepped out of conference play against Luther — and the Norse used a sweep of the six singles matches to deal the Cardinals an 8-1 setback | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: Saturday's match against Luther is the final match of the 2019 season for the Cardinals.
• Luther: The Norse return home to the Luther Courts on Tuesday, entertaining UW-La Crosse in a 4 p.m. nonconference match.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• Saturday's nonconference showdown against Luther is the final collegiate match for Bobby Tiedemann (Euclid, Minn.), the Cardinals' lone senior. … The Cardinals have picked up five of their seven wins this season on their home courts at the Winona Tennis Center. … The Cardinals recorded their first conference win of the season with a 6-3 victory over Hamline on April 5. … With their victory over UW-Superior on Wednesday, the Cardinals have now played four matches decided by 5-4 decisions — also beating Wartburg, while falling to Concordia-Moorhead and Concordia (Wis.). … Saint Mary's notched doubles wins by Bobby Tiedemann (Euclid, Minn.)/Brandon Kurilla (Hastings, Minn.), Robbie Sobczak (Cloquet, Minn.)/Trevor Smiley (Minnetonka, Minn.), and Alec Rudh (Hastings, Minn.)/Gabe Graves (Columbine, Colo.) in its 5-4 victory over UW-Superior Wednesday, while Sobczak and Rudh also posted straight-set singles wins to seal the win. … Tiedemann and Smiley head into the final weekend of the season sharing the team lead with eight singles wins, followed by Sobczak, Graves, and Kurilla with five. … 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 11 doubles wins each, three more than Graves. … Tiedemann has played all 18 matches at No. 1 doubles — including 15 with Smiley. … As a doubles combination, Tiedemann/Smiley are 9-6 — all at No. 1 — while Graves/Johnson are 5-2. … Saint Mary's has used 15 doubles combinations this season. …  The Cardinals head into their final match of the season  60-22 in nonconference matches since 2012. … The Cardinals dropped just seven games in rolling to their 9-0 win over Crown on March 29. … 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 Luther Norse:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• Following Saturday's match at Saint Mary's, the Norse play four of their final five contests on their home courts — where Luther is 2-0 this season. … With their 9-0 victory over Wartburg, Luther improved to 5-0 in American Rivers Conference play this season. … Luther snapped a two-match losing streak with Tuesday's 9-0 win over Wartburg. … Luther headed into this weekend's matches against Gustavus and Saint Mary's having won seven of their last nine contests. … Luther boasts three individuals — Grant Morton, Brian Murman, Brook Norwood, and Cole Schneider — who have all recorded a team-leading nine dual-match singles wins, while Jake Smith is close behind with eight. … Schneider has posted all nine of his singles wins at No. 1, while Morton is 5-0 at No. 2 and 4-3 at No. 3. … Morton heads into the weekend riding a seven-match winning streak. … Luther is 63-26 in singles play this season — including 12=3 at No. 6, 11-4 at Nos. 1, 3, and 5, 10-5 at No. 2, and 9-6 at No. 4. … The Norse have not dropped a singles match in American Rivers Conference play, owning a 30-0 record. … The Norse have used 19 doubles combinations this season — with Morton/Norwood, Schneider/Nate Parsons, and Smith/Ryan Ortega all teaming up for a team-high five wins. … As a team, Luther is 31-14 in doubles action — including 14-1 in conference play. The Norse are 12-3 at No. 2 doubles, 10-5 at No. 1, and 9-6 at No. 3.