The Johnnie tennis team hosts a pair of conference matches this Saturday and Sunday, March 20-21, at Sta-Fit in Sartell. SJU takes on St. Olaf at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, followed by a 3:30 p.m. meeting Sunday with Hamline.

NO SPECTATORS AT STA-FIT: No spectators are allowed to attend SJU's indoor tennis matches at Sta-Fit.

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (1-0, 1-0 MIAC) opened its 2021 schedule with an 8-1 conference win over Concordia last Saturday (March 13) in Fargo, N.D. The Johnnies swept all three doubles matches and Nos. 1-5 singles.

Senior Thomas Gillach (Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes) and sophomore Wil McDowell (Sioux Falls, S.D./O'Gorman) posted an 8-3 win at No. 1 doubles, while sophomores Hunter and Peyton Fischer (Spicer, Minn./Willmar) notched an 8-2 victory at No. 2. The freshman tandem of Will Deters (Minneapolis, Minn./Wayzata) and Mark Rosen (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) earned their first collegiate win at No. 3, 8-4.

In singles play, Gillach cruised to a shutout victory (6-0, 6-0) and McDowell won at No. 2 (6-1, 6-2). Peyton Fischer was next at No. 3 (6-0, 6-3) and the third Fischer, Will, won a nail-biter at No. 5: 6-1, 5-7, 11-9.

Freshman Mason Meyer (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) recorded his first collegiate win at No. 4 (6-2, 6-2). The lone win for Concordia, at No. 6 singles, came via the super-breaker: 5-7, 6-3 and 11-9.

A LOOK AT THE OLES: St. Olaf (1-1, 1-1 MIAC) opened its 2021 season with a 9-0 loss two weeks ago (March 5) at Gustavus Adolphus and bounced back with a 7-2 win on Sunday (March 14) at Saint Mary's. 

Senior Dez Young and freshman Michael Yousef won their match against SMU at No. 2 doubles, 8-7 (7-4), while senior Spencer Wick and sophomore Henry Smith earned an 8-4 victory at No. 1.

The Cardinals evened the team score at 2-2 with a win at No. 4 singles but STO won the final five singles matches to earn the win. Wick, Smith and Yousef posted straight-set wins at the top-three singles spots. Juniors Ethan Bruha (No. 5) and Tony Klagge (No. 6) each won via the super-breaker. 

The Oles posted a 1-4 record (1-2 MIAC) last spring and a 4-7 (3-6 MIAC) mark in 2019.

BACK IN 2019: The Johnnies cruised to a 9-0 shutout of St. Olaf the last time these two teams met on April 13 (2019) at Sta-Fit. 

Gillach and senior Nate Jordre (St. Cloud, Minn./Tech) won their eighth consecutive match at No. 1 doubles (8-4), while Ryan Meger '19 and Jonah Punnoose '19 earned their fifth straight victory at No. 2 (8-4) for the Johnnies. 

Jordre battled to a first-set win at No. 1 singles, 7-6 (9-7), and claimed the match with a 6-3 victory in the second. Gillach won his match at No. 2 singles via the super-breaker, 10-2 (6-4, 2-6). SJU surrendered three points or less per set at Nos. 3-6 singles against the Oles.

The shutout was SJU's first of the Oles since 2005 (outdoors on April 16 in Collegeville). 

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies have won four straight in the series. STO won seven in a row from 2009-13 (including two MIAC Playoff wins) and nine of 10 before the current SJU win streak.

A LOOK AT THE PIPERS: Hamline (1-0, 0-0 MIAC) defeated Wartburg (Iowa) 6-3 in its season opener two weeks ago (March 6) at the Owatonna Tennis Center. The Pipers went 1-7 (0-4 MIAC) last spring and visit Saint Mary's Friday before making Sunday's trek to Sartell. 

The No. 1 and 2 doubles teams each tallied a win in the opener. Senior Nazeer Robinson and freshman Elijah Krause teamed up for an 8-1 win at No. 1, while junior Tou Ger Xiong and freshman Isaac Hultberg posted an 8-0 shutout at No. 2.
 
Robinson (No. 2) and Krause (No. 6) won their singles matches in straight sets. Freshmen Dominic Warzecha and Sam Thompson won their first collegiate matches at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. Warzecha escaped the first set, 7-6 (7-4), and cruised through the second set 6-0. Thompson, meanwhile, did not surrender a point in a shutout (6-0, 6-0).

LAST SPRING: SJU opened its conference schedule with a 9-0 shutout of Hamline last Feb. 16 (2020) at Life Time Fitness in Bloomington. The Johnnies swept five singles matches in straight sets and took advantage of a forfeit at No. 6, as well as at No. 3 doubles. 

Gillach and Jordre battled to an 8-6 win over Ger Xiong and Robinson at No. 1. Jess Hansen '20 and McDowell won SJU's other doubles match at No. 2, 8-2. All four Johnnies registered singles wins, as well as Hunter Fischer at No. 5.

SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 27-3 against Hamline since the 1992 season, including a current 13-match win streak.