Saint John's visits No. 14 Gustavus Adolphus in the MIAC Playoff Semifinals at 4:30 p.m. today (Friday, May 2) in St. Peter. - Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (9-10, 4-5 MIAC) opened the MIAC Men's Tennis Playoffs with a 5-4 win at St. Thomas on Wednesday (April 30) at the Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis. A win from senior Joe Laue (St. Louis Park, Minn./Holy Angels) via the super-breaker at No. 2 singles proved to be the clincher for the sixth-seeded Johnnies. Laue lost his first set 6-4 but battled back to win the second, 6-1, and sealed the Johnnies' second consecutive victory in the MIAC Playoff Quarterfinals with a 10-3 decision in the super-breaker. Junior Jordan Otto (Rice, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral) also needed the super-breaker to win his match at No. 3: 6-3, 0-6 and 10-6. Senior Connor Rust (Rochester, Minn./Lourdes) and sophomore Andrew Nagel (Maple Grove, Minn.) won their matches at Nos. 3 and 6, respectively, in straight sets. SJU found itself down 2-1 after doubles competition, in which all three matches were decided by two points. The tandem of Laue and Nagel was the lone win at No. 2, 8-6. The victory avenged a 6-3 loss to UST recorded earlier this season on March 16 in Minneapolis, in which the Tommies won two singles matches via the super-breaker. Wednesday's win was the first for SJU in the series since Feb. 21, 2009 (5-4).

A LOOK AT THE GUSTIES: Gustavus (26-5, 9-0 MIAC) secured its 26th consecutive MIAC Championship with a 9-0 victory over St. Thomas in the regular-season finale April 27 at the Swanson Tennis Center in St. Peter. The conference title is the fifth for head coach Tommy Valentini since taking over the program in the 2009-10 season. The Gusties have won 242 consecutive MIAC matches within their run of 26 straight league titles, and moved up one spot to No. 14 in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division III rankings released May 1. GAC posted a perfect 54-0 MIAC in singles play this spring, and 26-1 in doubles competition. The lone loss was at No. 3 to Saint Mary's April 13.

EARLIER THIS SEASON: Gustavus displayed its national ranking with a 9-0 win over SJU earlier this season on March 22 at Fitness Evolution in Sartell. The Gusties won all six singles matches in straight sets. A pair of Johnnies, sophomore Jack Hansen (Dawson, Minn./Dawson-Boyd) and Otto, reached the four-point threshold in their first sets, at Nos. 1 and 4, respectively. Laue and Rust tallied the closest match in doubles play at No. 2, 8-5.