The Johnnie tennis team travels south for a pair of matches on Saturday, March 16, in St. Peter. SJU is scheduled to face nationally-ranked Gustavus Adolphus at 10:30 a.m., followed by a 2 p.m. match against Elmhurst (Ill.).
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (2-2, 2-0 MIAC) improved to 2-0 in conference play with a 7-2 win over Concordia-Moorhead on March 9 in Fargo, N.D. Senior Fabricio Moncada (Managua, Nicaragua/Lincoln International Academy) led the Johnnies' four, straight-set wins in singles competition at No. 1 (6-1, 6-3). Junior Joe Laue (St. Louis Park, Minn./Holy Angels) posted identical 6-3 scores at No. 3, while seniors Zach Shriwise (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley West) and Willie Paul (Duluth, Minn./Marshall) cruised to wins at Nos. 5 (6-3, 6-3) and 6 (6-0, 6-2), respectively, for SJU (2-2 overall). Junior Connor Rust (Rochester, Minn./Lourdes) was down 6-5 in the first set at No. 2 before defaulting due to injury. Freshman Jack Hansen (Dawson, Minn./Dawson-Boyd) fell at No. 4 to the Cobbers (2-7, 0-2 MIAC) via the super-breaker: 6-4, 5-7 and 10-6. Moncada and Rust earned an 8-3 win at No. 1 doubles earlier in the day, while Laue and Shriwise followed with an 8-5 decision at No. 2. Hansen and classmate Andrew Nagel (Maple Grove, Minn.) improved to 3-1 (2-0 MIAC) with an 8-1 victory at No. 3.
A LOOK AT THE GUSTIES: Gustavus Adolphus enters Saturday's match with wins in five of its last six matches and a 9-5 record overall (3-0 MIAC). The Gusties have yet to lose a match in its first three conference matches (Saint Mary's, Macalester and Hamline) this season. Junior Mya Smith-Dennis is 9-11 overall but 2-6 against a tough schedule at No. 1 singles. Senior Amrik Donkena is 9-6 with a combined 5-3 record at Nos. 1 and 2 singles. The two have combined for an 8-2 record at No. 1 doubles. The Gusties are 7-0 at home this season.
LIKELY REMATCH: SJU's Moncada finished second for the second consecutive year at the USTA/ITA Midwest Regional last fall (Sept. 30) in St. Peter. To do it, he upset Donkena, the tournament's top seed, in the semifinals. He lost the first set 6-1 but battled back with a pair of 6-1 decisions in the final two sets. Moncada won the first set of the championship match 6-3, but dropped the final two (4-6, 1-6) to Smith-Dennis.
LAST YEAR'S MEETING: The Johnnies fell to Gustavus by an 8-1 score last season in Sartell. Ian Hansen '12 picked up the lone victory for the Johnnies at No. 2 singles (6-4, 6-2) to improve to 3-0 on the season. Moncada played his first match since injuring his ankle two weeks prior and dropped a tough match at No. 1 singles (7-5, 7-5) for his first loss of the season.
A LOOK AT THE BLUEJAYS: Elmhurst (3-4 overall) travels to St. Peter riding a three-match losing streak. The Bluejays are led by sophomore Chris Harrison (3-3 at No. 6) and freshman Quinn Jennings (4-3 at No. 5) in singles competition. The rest of the team is 11-18 in singles play. Juniors Alex Harbert and Will Jung are 5-2 at No. 1 doubles, while the rest of the tandems have a 6-8 combined record.
