SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

Home | Roster | Stats | Schedule

2023: 0-2 MIAC, 7-5 Overall

ST. OLAF OLES

Home | Roster | Stats | Schedule

2023: 0-3 MIAC, 3-5 Overall

SMU-STO * LAST MEETING:

March 12, 2022 * Owatonna, MN

L, 8-1 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Feb. 27-28, 2023 * Orlando, FL

Calvin * L, 9-0

Albion * W, 7-2 | Adrian * W, 6-3

ST. OLAF * LAST ACTION:

March 4, 2023 * Northfield, MN

UW-Stevens Point * W, 9-0

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

March 18, 2023 * Winona, MN

Concordia * 12:30 p.m.

ST. OLAF * UP NEXT: 

March 18, 2023 * Sartell, MN

Saint John’s * 1 p.m.

SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their conference showdown against St. Olaf on Saturday sitting at 7-5 overall, including 0-2 in conference play.

• LAST TIME OUT: The Cardinals finished 2-1 in their three-match spring trip to Orlando, Fla., last week, falling to Calvin (9-0) on Feb. 27, before rebounding with wins over Albion (7-2) and Adrian (6-3) the following day.

• HOME SWEET HOME: Saturday’s match against St. Olaf is the first of back-to-back home match for the Cardinals, who play four of their next five contest on their home courts. … Saint Mary’s has played just four of its first 12 matches on its home courts. The Cardinals are 3-1 at the Winona Tennis Center this season, while sporting a 4-4 record on the road. … Five of the Cardinals’ six wins in 2022 came on the road. 

• SINGLED OUT: Tucker Stene (Fridley, Minn.) and Caden Rodning (Mason City, Iowa) share the team lead in dual-match singles wins with eight each, one more than Brendon Raabolle (Andover, Minn.), and two up on E.J. Hietala (Duluth, Minn.). … Raabolle heads into Saturday’s match against St. Olaf riding a four-match singles winning streak. …  Hietala and Stene closed out the 2022 campaign owning a team-leading 11 dual-match singles wins. … Stene put together a team-high six-match winning streak last season, while Hietala and Josh Janssen (Green Bay, Wis.) both won five singles matches in a row.

• GOING THE DISTANCE: The Cardinals have had 13 singles contests extended to a third set this season — including three in nonconference losses at Northwestern (Minn.) on Feb. 17 and at St. Norbert on Feb. 5.. … SMU is 10-3 in those 13 three-set matches. … SMU closed out the 2022 season owning a 22-23 mark in its 45 three-setters.

• CAREER FIRSTS: Evan Huemoeller (Owatonna, Min.) posted a 7-5, 7-6 (4) win against Martin Luther on Jan. 28 in his first appearance at No. 1 singles. … Rodning’s 6-4, 6-0 win at No. 6 singles against Martin Luther on Jan. 28 was his first collegiate singles victory. 

• DOUBLING UP: Raabolle leads the team in doubles wins with seven, going 7-3 — including 5-0 partnered with Rodning. … Rodning is second on the squad with six doubles wins, followed by Janssen and Matt Besek (Winona Minn.) with five each. … Besek (Winona, Minn.) and Janssen are a perfect 3-0 when paired together. … Janssen/Brandon Kurilla (Hastings, Minn.) led the Cardinals with 12 doubles wins last season — all at No. 1.

• PERFECT DAY: Hietala and Janssen enjoyed a perfect day in the Cardinals’ nonconference wins over Albion and Adrian on Feb. 28. The duo each picked up singles wins in both matches, while teaming together for a pair of victories at No. 2 doubles. 

• TOTAL DOMINATION: With their 9-0 win over Martin Luther on Jan. 28, the Cardinals pushed their winning streak to 20 straight against the Knights. SMU has never lost to Martin Luther in program history.

• TURNING THE TABLES: The Cardinals’ win over Bethany Lutheran last Saturday marked the second straight meeting with the Vikings in which the match ended with a 5-4 decision. BLC beat Saint Mary’s 5-4 a year ago.

• OUT OF THEIR LEAGUE: With their wins over Albion and Adrian on Feb. 28, the Cardinals moved to 7-3 in nonconference play this season and 78-36 in non-MIAC matches since 2012. 

• NEW THIS YEAR: The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division III Operating Committee has instituted a mandatory, no-ad scoring pilot for all of D-III tennis for the 2022-23 season. No-ad tennis matches are played as follows: If each player/team has won three points, the score is “Deuce” and a deciding point shall be played. The receiver(s) shall choose whether to receive the service from the right half or the left half of the court. In doubles, the players of the receiving team cannot change positions to receive this deciding point. The player/team who wins the deciding point wins the game.

ST. OLAF OLES SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Oles head into their Saturday showdown against Saint Mary’s sporting 3-5 overall record, but are still searching for their first conference win of the season, sitting at 0-3 in MIAC play.

• LAST TIME OUT: The Oles left a lasting impression in their first-ever meeting against UW-Stevens Point, as St. Olaf cruised to a convincing 9-0 nonconference victory over the Pointers at Tostrud Center in Northfield, Minn.

• ROAD WARRIORS: The Oles have played seven of their first eight matches on the road — the lone exception, last Saturday’s 9-0 win over UW-Stevens Point. Saturday’s match against Saint Mary’s is the first of six consecutive road contests for the Oles, who place at Saint John’s next Saturday, before embarking on a four-match trip to Florida.

• SINGLED OUT: Bogdan Vizoli heads into Saturday’s match against Saint Mary’s leading the Oles with five dual-match singles wins, two more than Henry Smith. Karsten Johnson, David Azcona, Lorenzo, Cassamali, Jerusalem Thao, and Henry Kruse have all recorded two dual-match singles victories. … Vizoli squares off against the Cardinals riding a four-match singles winning streak.

• MIXING THINGS UP: St. Olaf has used two different players at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, while four different Oles have played at Nos. 3, 4, 5, and 6 singles.

• DOUBLING UP: The doubles teams of Vizoli/Cazzamali and Kruse/Smith have both collected two doubles victories this season. … Individually, Smith leads the Oles with four dual-match doubles wins, one more than Vizoli, Kruse, and Max Loesch. … As a team, St. Olaf is 11-13 in doubles play through five matches.

• BY THE NUMBERS: St. Olaf has been shutout in three of its five losses, while also dropping a pair of 5-4 nailbiters. On the flip side, St. Olaf’s three wins have been by 6-3, 7-2, and 9-0 decisions.