The Johnnie tennis team hosts a pair of matches this weekend at Sta-Fit in Sartell, beginning with a 1:30 p.m. bout with Bethel on Saturday, April 7. SJU takes on Saint Mary's at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 8.

SCHEDULE CHANGES: Both of this weekend's matches were scheduled for 1 p.m. at the outdoor Chang Tennis Complex, but were moved indoors to Sta-Fit in Sartell due to the rainy forecast.

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (4-7, 1-2 MIAC) suffered a narrow 5-4 loss to regionally ranked Macalester last Sunday (March 31) at Sta-Fit in Sartell. SJU cruised to two doubles wins but mustered only two wins in the six singles matches in the defeat. Seniors Ryan Meger (Stillwater, Minn./Mahtomedi) and Jonah Punnoose (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) won at Nos. 3 (6-4, 6-0) and 4 (6-3, 6-4) singles, and teamed up to post an 8-3 victory at No. 2 doubles. Sophomores Thomas Gillach (Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes) and Nate Jordre (St. Cloud, Minn./Tech) recorded SJU's other win at No. 1 doubles (8-2). The match was Jordre's first since rolling his ankle March 5 in Orlando, Fla. Gillach dropped his singles match at No. 2 via the super-breaker: 6-2, 1-6 and 10-3. The Scots were ranked No. 20 in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Central Region rankings released March 28.

IT'S BEEN A WHILE: Sunday's win was the first for Macalester over SJU since 2012; which was the third of three straight 5-4 victories over the Johnnies. The last time the Scots defeated SJU by a score other than 5-4 was 2000 (6-1).

A LOOK AT THE ROYALS: Bethel (8-7, 3-1 MIAC) broke a five-game losing streak with a 6-3 win over Concordia on Sunday. Trailing 2-1 after doubles play, the Royals took five of the next six singles matches to secure the win. This season, senior Hunter Fernelius and freshman Jason Reilly have had success as a team and individually. The top doubles pair has a record of 6-2 (3-1 MIAC). Meanwhile, Fernelius is 9-5 (3-2 MIAC) at No. 1 singles and Reilly is 10-4 (4-1 MIAC) at No. 4 singles. BU was scheduled to play Thursday (April 4) at Carleton but the match was postponed.

LAST SPRING: SJU dominated the courts with an 8-1 victory over Bethel last April 6 (2018) at the indoor Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis. The win snapped a five-match losing streak for SJU in the series and the 8-1 victory was the largest margin over the Royals since 2006 (8-1). Tim Larson '18, Meger and Gillach won their singles matches at Nos. 1-3, respectively, in straight sets, as did Punnoose at No. 6. 

Jordre won his ninth match in a row, and first at No. 5 singles, via the super-breaker to expand his season record to 13-1. The Royals' lone win was at No. 4 via the super-breaker. Gillach and Larson won their 11th straight doubles match, 8-6, to improve to 11-0 at No. 1 (12-1 overall, 4-0 MIAC). Jordre and Punnoose won 8-2 at No. 2 and Meger teamed up with junior Jess Hansen (Dawson, Minn./Dawson-Boyd) to post an 8-4 victory at No. 3.

SERIES HISTORY: SJU leads the series with a 17-13 record since 1990, including a 9-4 mark in Collegeville.

A LOOK AT THE CARDINALS: Saint Mary's (5-10, 0-7 MIAC) hosts Hamline today (Friday) before making the trip Sunday to Collegeville. The Cardinals previously dropped a 5-4 non-conference match last Sunday (March 31) at Concordia (Wis.). SMU is 33-71 (.317) in singles competition and 21-30 (.412) in doubles play on the year. Senior Bobby Tiedemann leads the team with a 9-8 record, including a 5-6 record at No. 1.

A YEAR AGO: The Johnnies posted a 9-0 shutout at Saint Mary's last March 23 (2018) at the Winona Tennis Center. Larson lost one game in a straight-set win (6-1, 6-0) at No. 1, while Gillach won at No. 3 (6-3, 6-4). Meger and senior Hunter Krebsbach (St. Paul, Minn./Mounds View) won their matches at No. 2 and 4, respectively, thanks to a first-set tie-breaker against the Cardinals.

SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 30-2 against Saint Mary's since 1989, including a spotless 14-0 mark in Collegeville. The two losses, both by 5-4 scores, occurred in St. Cloud (1997) and Sartell (2015).