Saint John's returns to conference play with a pair of home matches this weekend. The Johnnies play host to St. Olaf for an 11:30 a.m. match Saturday, April 13, followed by a 6 p.m. match against Saint Mary's on Sunday, April 14. Both matches will be held at Fitness Evolution in Sartell.
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (2-9, 2-1 MIAC) begins a stretch of six home matches in its final eight this weekend. The Johnnies hope that the familiar territory will help erase the current seven-match losing skid, which included a tough five-loss spring trip against strong competition in Florida. Senior Fabricio Moncada (Managua, Nicaragua/Lincoln International Academy) is 7-3 in his last 10 matches at No. 1 singles and 12-5 overall.
A LOOK AT THE OLES: St. Olaf (3-4, 2-2 MIAC) resumes play with a three-match losing skid of its own, including a 7-2 loss at Saint Mary's April 6. The Oles lost four singles matches via the super-breaker and another at No. 2 doubles by a 13-11 score in the tie-breaker. Senior Andy Catania is 4-1 at No. 2 singles and three Oles have combined for a perfect 7-0 record at No. 6.
LAST YEAR: The Johnnies lost a hard-fought 5-4 decision to STO during the regular season before falling 6-3 in the first round of the MIAC Tournament last season.
SKID: SJU enters Saturday's match with the Oles riding a six-match losing streak in the series. The last Johnnie win over STO was a 7-2 decision on March 1, 2008.
A LOOK AT THE CARDINALS: Saint Mary's (13-5, 2-4 MIAC), which has recorded eight wins in its last 10 matches, is scheduled to face Bethany Lutheran Saturday in Owatonna. Freshman Collin Kaczorowski has accumulated a 15-4 (4-2 MIAC) record in four different singles positions. Seniors Andrew Rangitsch (15-8) and Sam Puff (12-6) are next in overall wins but are both 2-4 in conference play. The tandem of Michael Lunka and Bobby Steingraeber is 11-4 (3-3 MIAC) at No. 1 doubles.
LAST YEAR'S MEETING: SJU tallied its first conference victory with an 8-1 decision at Saint Mary's on last season in Winona. Moncada and Ian Hansen '12 posted hard-fought wins via tie-breakers at Nos. 1 and 2 singles, respectively. Junior Joe Laue (St. Louis Park, Minn./Holy Angels) clawed back after losing the first set 6-4 at No. 3 singles and tied the match with a 7-6 (7-4) win in the second and a 10-6 victory in the super-breaker. Junior Connor Rust (Rochester, Minn./Lourdes) and seniors Zach Shriwise (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley West) and Willie Paul (Duluth, Minn./Marshall) won their singles' matches in straight sets. SMU won its lone match with Lunka and Steingraeber at No. 1 doubles to improve to 13-0 on the year. Rust and Shriwise rallied from a 6-1 deficit to post a 9-7 win at No. 2, and Paul and John Burns '12 won 8-2 at No. 3.
