The Johnnie tennis team plays host to Concordia-Moorhead for a 4 p.m. match this Friday, April 13, at the CSB Tennis Courts in St. Joseph. In the event of rain, the match will be rescheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Gold's Gym in Sartell.
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (4-8, 2-3 MIAC) won its second consecutive MIAC match with a 6-3 decision at Bethel two weeks ago on March 31. Junior Fabricio Moncada (Managua, Nicaragua/Lincoln International Academy) improved to 7-3 at No. 1 singles with a straight-set victory [6-2, 7-6 (7-1)]. Senior Ian Hansen (Dawson, Minn./Dawson-Boyd) improved to 10-3 on the year and 8-2 (5-0 MIAC) at No. 2 singles with a straight-set victory of his own, 6-2 and 6-4. Like Moncada, sophomore Connor Rust (Rochester, Minn./Lourdes) tallied a match win via tie-breaker in the second set at No. 4 [7-5, 7-6 (9-7)], and junior Willie Paul (Duluth, Minn./Marshall) cruised to a win at No. 6 (6-3, 6-0). Rust and junior Zach Shriwise (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley West) teamed up for an 8-6 win at No. 2 doubles, while junior Trent Fader (Willmar, Minn.) and sophomore Joe Laue (St. Louis Park, Minn./Holy Angels) did the same at No. 3 (9-7). Laue lost his hard-fought match at No. 3 via the super-breaker (5-7, 7-5, 10-4).
A LOOK AT THE COBBERS: Concordia (4-9, 1-6 MIAC) is 0-2 since claiming its first MIAC victory, 5-4, over Saint Mary's at home on March 25. The Cobbers dropped a pair of road matches, March 30 at Bethel (7-2) and March 31 at Carleton (9-0), since the win. CC is a combined 9-30 (.231) at Nos. 1-3 singles. Both teams' No. 1 doubles' tandems are struggling, however. Concordia is a combined 2-11, while the Johnnies are 2-10.
THE LAST MEETING: SJU fell to the Cobbers by a 7-2 score last April 10 in Fargo, N.D. Hansen and Rust earned the Johnnies' lone wins at Nos. 2 and 4 singles, respectively. Moncada and Elliott Elm '11 lost each of their singles matches via the super-breaker, and the Cobbers swept all three doubles matches. The regular-season loss to CC was the first for SJU since 2005.
