The Johnnies play host to Bethel for the MIAC opener at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 24, at Fitness Evolution in Sartell.
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: St. Cloud State earned three razor-thin wins in doubles competition to defeat Saint John's (0-2 overall) 5-4 on Feb. 16 in Sartell. Senior Fabricio Moncada (Managua, Nicaragua/Lincoln International Academy) and junior Connor Rust (Rochester, Minn./Lourdes) lost their match at No. 1 doubles 8-6, while junior Joe Laue (St. Louis Park, Minn./Holy Angels) and senior Zach Shriwise (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley West) lost to the Huskies (3-3 overall) at No. 2, 9-8 (7-3). The freshman tandem of Jack Hansen (Dawson, Minn./Dawson-Boyd) and Andrew Nagel (Maple Grove, Minn.) fell at No. 3, 9-7. Moncada earned his first win of 2013 via the super-breaker over SCSU's Tyler Hjalmquist at No. 1 singles (7-5, 4-6, 10-7). Laue won his match in straight sets (6-2, 6-4) at No. 3 and Hansen bounced back from a tough loss in the first set [6-7 (6-8)] to win his first collegiate match at No. 4 (6-1, 10-6). Shriwise won the other match for SJU (0-2 overall) at No. 5 (5-7, 6-4, 10-6).
A LOOK AT THE ROYALS: Bethel (0-2 overall) opened its season with a 7-2 loss to St. Scholastica Feb. 8 and dropped a 6-3 decision to St. Cloud State the night before the Johnnies suffered a similar fate (Feb. 15). Seniors Tucker Morris and Reggie Ronning are 2-0 at No. 1 doubles, including an 8-4 win over SCSU's Hjalmquist and Peterson. The Royals finished 4-11 (2-7 MIAC) last season.
LAST YEAR: The Johnnies snapped a five-match losing streak to Bethel, four of which were decided by a 5-4 margin, with a 6-3 decision at Bethel last March 31. Moncada improved to 7-3 at No. 1 singles with a straight-set victory [6-2, 7-6 (7-1)]. Ian Hansen '12 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, Rust tallied a match win via tie-breaker in the second set at No. 4 [7-5, 7-6 (9-7)], and senior Willie Paul (Duluth, Minn./Marshall) cruised to a win at No. 6 (6-3, 6-0). Rust and Shriwise teamed up for an 8-6 win at No. 2 doubles, while Laue and senior Trent Fader (Willmar, Minn.) 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).
