By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WHITE BEAR LAKE, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's tennis team is back in action on Friday, squaring off against Northwestern in a 6:30 p.m. nonconference match at Lifetime Fitness
 
The Matchups:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-0 Overall) at Northwestern Eagles (2019: 14-11 Overall)
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's — January 25, 2020 * Winona Tennis Center * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals kicked off the 2020 season in style, rolling to a 9-0 nonconference win over Martin Luther | Recap
• Northwestern — Friday's nonconference match against Saint Mary's is the Eagles' 2020 season-opener.
 
Saint Mary's vs. Northwestern  — Their Last Meeting:
• February 1, 2019 * Winona Tennis Center * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals picked up five singles wins and a pair of doubles victories, as Saint Mary's recorded its second straight nonconference victory, beating the Eagles 7-2 | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return home to the Winona Tennis Center next Saturday, playing host to UW-Superior in a 7 p.m. nonconference match.
• Northwestern: The Eagles hit the road on Saturday, traveling to Sta-Fit in Sartell, Minn., for a 4:30 p.m. nonconference match against Saint Benedict.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2020 Roster | 2020 Schedule | 2019 Final Statistics
• With their season-opening win over Martin Luther on Jan. 25, the Cardinals have now opened the season with a 9-0 victory in five straight seasons. … The Cardinals are now 13-0 in their 13 meetings with Martin Luther. … With their win over Martin Luther, the Cardinals improved to 58-20 against nonconference opponents since 2012. … Saint Mary's dropped just seven games in sweeping all six singles matches against Martin Luther in straight sets — including 6-0, 6-0 wins by Cassandra Barr (Eau Claire, Wis.), Maggie Frye (Colorado Springs, Colo.), and Zoie Becker (St. James, Minn.). In doubles play, the Cardinals lost just four games, sandwiching 8-1 wins at No. 1 and No. 3 around an 8-2 win at No. 2. … After recording a pair of wins at the Gustavus Fall Invitational last September, Frye and Becker each picked up their first collegiate dual-match singles wins against Martin Luther last Friday. … Saint Mary's made its second MIAC Tournament appearance in the last three years, falling to St. Thomas 5-0 in the quarterfinals. … The Cardinals closed out 2019 having won 12 of their last 14 matches — including a program-record 11-match winning streak. … Saint Mary's 14 wins in 2019 were one shy of the program-record 15 set during the 2008 season. … Saint Mary's HC Jeff Halberg was named MIAC Co-Coach of the Year in 2019. It was the second time he has earned the conference honor as the Cardinal women's head coach. 
 
Scouting The Northwestern Eagles:
2020 Roster | 2020 Schedule | 2019 Final Statistics
• The Eagles head into their season-opener against Saint Mary's on the heels of a 14-11 campaign in 2019 that included a 6-1 showing in UMAC action and a berth in the conference tournament title match — where Northwestern fell to regular-season champion St. Scholastica 8-1. … Northwestern will begin play without the services of graduated seniors Nikki Paskewitz and Emily Knight. Paskewitz has recorded 141 combined wins – the second-most in Northwestern history. Knight, meanwhile, accumulated 120 combined wins, resting in fourth on the all-time list at UNW. … Paskewitz and Mafee Rinta finished 2019 as the team-leaders in singles wins with 14 each, while Gracie LeBrun (13) and Shawna Spears (10) also recorded 10 or more singles wins last season. … Paskewitz played all but one of the Eagles' 25 matches at No. 1 singles a year ago, going 14-10. … Northwestern used eighth different players at No.. 5 sginles last season, while six different Eagles competed at No. 6 singles. … As a team, Northwestern finished 86-64 in singles competition in 2019— including 17-8 at No. 5, 17-7 at No. 6, and 16-9 at No. 4. … Rinta closed out the season with a team-leading 15 doubles wins, one more than Paskewitz, Spears, and Knight. … Paskewitz and Knight teamed to post a 14-9 record at No. 1 doubles, while Rinta/Spears finished 12-8 at No. 2. … The Eagles closed out the year 46-29 in doubles play — 16-9 at Nos. 1 and 2, and 14-11 at No. 3