SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2023: 2-6 MIAC, 9-10 Overall

ST. SCHOLASTICA SAINTS

Home | Roster | Stats | Schedule

2023: 4-3 MIAC, 10-7 Overall

SMU-CSS * LAST MEETING:

April 23, 2022 * Winona, MN

L, 7-2 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

April 20, 2023 * Arden Hills, MN

Bethel * L, 8-1

ST. SCHOLASTICA * LAST ACTION:

April 2, 2023 * Fargo, N.D.

Concordia * W, 9-0

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

End of Regular Season

ST. SCHOLASTICA * UP NEXT: 

April 23, 2023 * Virginia, MN

Hamline * Noon

SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their 2023 season finale against St. Scholastica sitting at 9-10 overall, including 2-6 through eight MIAC contests.

• LAST TIME OUT: The Cardinals got a win from Evan Huemoeller (Owatonna, Minn.) and Brendon Raabolle (Andover, Minn.) at No. 2 doubles, but that would be the lone win against high-powered Bethel, as the Royals dealt SMU an 8-1 MIAC setback Thursday at Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis, Minn.

• ROAD TRIP: Saturday’s match against St. Scholastica is the third straight road contest for the Cardinals to close out the season. … SMU has played just eight of its 19 matches on its home court, where they closed out the year 5-3. SMU sports a 4-7 mark away from the Winona Tennis Center.

• SINGLED OUT: Tucker Stene (Fridley, Minn.) picked up his team-leading 11th dual-match singles win against Hamline on March 25. Stene’s 11 singles victories are two more than Caden Rodning (Mason City, Iowa). Brendon Raabolle (Andover, Minn.) is third with eight dual-match victories, followed by Hietala and Janssen with seven each. … Rodning is 7-3 in his last 10 matches, and is riding a three-match winning streak.

• GOING THE DISTANCE: The Cardinals have had 23 singles contests extended to a third set this season — including three each in matches against Saint John’s, Northwestern (Minn.) and St. Norbert. … SMU is 12-11 in those 23 three-set matches. … SMU closed out the 2022 season owning a 22-23 mark in its 45 three-setters.

• CAREER FIRSTS: Philip Apel (North Oaks, Minn.) became the second Cardinal to post his first collegiate victory this season, delivering a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 6 singles against Macalester on April 1. Apel followed that up with his second singles victory two weeks later to account for SMU’s lone tally in its 8-1 loss to Wartburg on April 15. … Rodning’s 6-4, 6-0 win at No. 6 singles against Martin Luther on Jan. 28 was his first collegiate singles victory. … Huemoeller posted a 7-5, 7-6 (4) win against Martin Luther on Jan. 28 in his first appearance at No. 1 singles.

• DOUBLING UP: Raabolle leads the team in doubles wins with nine, going 9-8 — including 6-5 partnered with Rodning. … Rodning and Janssen are second on the squad with seven doubles wins, followed by Hietala and Matt Besek (Winona Minn.) with six each. … SMU has used 15 different doubles combinations — including two at No. 1, six at No. 2, and eight at No. 3.

 • 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 on Feb. 25 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: The Cardinals closed out 2023 7-4 in nonconference play this season and are 78-37 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. SCHOLASTICA SAINTS SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: St. Scholastica enters the final weekend of its regular-season owning a 10-5 overall record, including a 4-3 conference mark with two MIAC contests still to play.

• LAST TIME OUT: The Saints have not played since April 2, when they rolled to a convincing 9-0 victory over Concordia at Courts Plus in Fargo, N.D.

• SINGLED OUT: Julius Tabrizi and Riley Versich share the team lead in singles wins with nine each, one more than Jonas Abeleda. … Abeleda has played in a team-leading 16 of the Saints’ 17 matches — all at No. 1 singles — owning an 8-8 record. … Versich has played in four of the six singles positions, going 1-0 at No. 1, 1-0 at No. 3, 3-2 at No. 4, and 4-3 at No. 5. … CSS has won 10 of its 17 matches at No. 3 singles, while going 9-8 at No. 1 and No. 6; 8-9 at No. 2 and No. 4; and 7-10 at No. 5.  

• DOUBLING UP: Abeleda and Eamon Gerrard-Stace share the team lead with nine doubles wins each, two more than both Carter Anderson and Reece Patten. … Abeleda/Gerrard-Stace have teamed to go 9-6 at No. 1 doubles, while Anderson/Patten are a perfect 6-0 as a doubles pair at No. 3. … CSS, which has used 15 different doubles combinations, sports a 25-26 record in doubles play this year, including 10-7 at No. 1, 6-11 at No. 2, and 9-8 at No. 3.