By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's tennis team kicks off the 2020 season with a busy home weekend at the Winona Tennis Center. The Cardinals host Martin Luther in a 5:30 p.m. nonconference match on Friday, before opening MIAC play with a 12:30 p.m. matchup against Carleton the following day.
 
The Matchups:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2019: 7-12 Overall) vs. Martin Luther Knights (2019: 8-9 Overall)
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2019: 1-8 MIAC, 7-12 Overall) vs. Carleton Knights (2019: 8-1 MIAC, 23-4 Overall)
 
Last Action:
• This weekend's matches are the season-opener for Saint Mary's, Martin Luther, and Carleton.
 
Saint Mary's vs. Martin Luther  — Their Last Meeting:
• January 25, 2019 * Winona Tennis Center * Winona, Minn.: It didn't come easy, but the got their 2019 season off to a roaring start, outlasting Martin Luther 6-3 in a nonconference match | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Carleton — Their Last Meeting:
• January 26, 2019 * Winona Tennis Center * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals got a first-hand look at why Carleton sported a No. 30 national ranking, as the Knights cruised to a 9-0 conference-opening win | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: Following an exhibition match against Iowa Lakes Community College on Sunday, the Cardinals return to action on Friday, heading to Lifetime Fitness in White Bear Lake, Minn., for a 6:30 p.m. nonconference matchup against Northwestern.
• Martin Luther: The Knights are now off until Feb. 8, when they travel to Macalester's Leonard Center in St. Paul, Minn., for a 1 p.m. nonconference matchup against the Scots.
• Carleton: Following their matches against both Saint Mary's and UW-La Crosse on Saturday, the Knights return to next weekend, traveling to the Rochester Athletic Center on Saturday for a 3 p.m. match against Carthage, before square off against Concordia at 10:30 a.m. at Lifetime Fitness in Lakeville, Minn., the following day.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2020 Roster | 2020 Schedule | 2019 Final Statistics
• The Cardinals picked up five of their seven wins last 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 April 10, the Cardinals finished the year having played four matches decided by 5-4 decisions — also beating Wartburg, while falling to Concordia-Moorhead and Concordia (Wis.). … With his straight-set victory against Luther in the Cardinals' regular-season finale on April 13, Trevor Smiley (Minnetonka, Minn.) closed out his freshman campaign with a team-leading nine singles wins — one more than lone senior Bobby Tiedemann (Euclid, Minn.). Robbie Sobczak (Cloquet, Minn.), Gabe Graves (Columbine, Colo.), and Brandon Kurilla (Hastings, Minn.) all finished tied for third with five singles victories this season. … 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 shared the team lead with 11 doubles wins each, three more than Graves. … Tiedemann played all 19 matches at No. 1 doubles — including 15 with Smiley. … As a doubles combination, Tiedemann/Smiley are 9-7, while Graves/Johnson were 5-2. … Saint Mary's has used 15 doubles combinations last season. …  The Cardinals finished the year 6-4 in nonconference play and are now 60-23 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 Martin Luther Knights:
2020 Roster | 2020 Schedule | 2019 Final Statistics
• The Knights are coming off an 8-9 showing a year ago, including a 4-3 showing in the UMAC. After finishing fourth in the regular-season conference standings, MLC dropped a 9-0 decision to top-seeded St. Scholastica in the opening round of the UMAC Tournament. … Jonah Schulz, Nicolas Gartner, and Caleb Koelpin all shared the team lead in singles wins with eight each, while Josh Koelpin and Joshua Schroeder were close behind with seven wins each. … Josh Koelpin — who earned his second First-Team All-UMAC honor during his senior year in 2019 — played 16 of the Knights' 17 matches at No. 1 singles a year ago. … MLC finished 8-9 at No. 2, No. 4, and No. 5 singles, while going 7-9 at No. 6 and 7-10 at Nos. 1 and 3. … The Knights boasted five players with a team-leading seven doubles wins a year ago — Gartner, Caleb Koelpin, Josh Koelpin, Seth Koelpin, and Schroeder. … As a team, MLC went 22-29 in doubles play — including 11-10 at No. 1 and 7-10 at Nos. 2 and 3.
 
Scouting The Carleton Knights:
2020 Roster | 2020 Schedule | 2019 Final Statistics
• The Knights enter this weekend's season-opener coming off a near-perfect 8-1 showing in conference play en route to a 23-4 dual-match record. … Carleton lost to Gustavus 5-1 in the MIAC Tournament title match in 2019. It was the 10th time in the last 13 seasons that Gustavus and Carleton have faced off for the conference tournament title. … Carleton's 23 wins in 2019 tied the program record, originally set in 2014, when the Knights finished 23-3. … Leo Vithoontien closed out a remarkable sophomore campaign, reaching the title match at the NCAA national tournament,. Vithoontien posted straight-set wins in his first three matches. He needed a third set to win his semifinal match, before falling in the championship in three sets. … Vithoontien closed out 2019 with a team-leading 23 singles wins — including an 18-1 record in dual matches. … Xander Roti was second to Vithoontien with 22 singles wins — including a 21-2 mark in duals — while Sahil Chhugani (15), William Walsh (13), Lewis White (13), and Aaron Goodman (12) also recorded 10 or more singles victories a year ago. … AS a team, the Knights went 135-43 in singles matches — including a near-perfect 25-1 mark at No. 1 singles. Carleton also reached 20 or more wins at No. 3 (20-7), No. 4 (206), and No. 6 (22-5). … Vithoontien and Jordan O'Kelly put together a 19-5 record as  a doubles team last year, while Xander Zuczek/Goodman were 18-6. … The Knights finished the year 73-21 in doubles play — 22-5 at No. 1, 21-6 at No. 2, and 20-7 at No. 3.