Saint John's plays host to Bethel for a 3:30 p.m. match on Saturday, April 17, at the Chang Tennis Complex in Collegeville.

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (5-2, 4-2 MIAC) went 1-1 last weekend in its first outdoor matches at the Chang Tennis Complex since 2019.

at Saint John's 7, Saint Mary's 2
The Johnnies swept the three doubles matches and allowed one point in the top two singles bouts on Saturday (April 10).

Senior Thomas Gillach (Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes) won at No. 1 singles (6-1, 6-0) and teamed up with sophomore Wil McDowell (Sioux Falls, S.D./O'Gorman) for an 8-2 win at the top doubles spot. Senior Nate Jordre (St. Cloud, Minn./Tech) posted a shutout at No. 2 singles and recorded an 8-5 victory at No. 2 doubles with freshman Mason Meyer (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson), while sophomores Hunter Fischer and Peyton Fischer (Spicer, Minn./Willmar) won at No. 3 doubles with some excitement, 8-7 (7-3).

McDowell (7-5, 6-3) and Meyer (6-4, 3-6, 11-9) earned victories at No. 3 and No. 5 singles, respectively. Saint Mary's won at Nos. 4 and 6 singles, the latter via the super-breaker.

St. Thomas 7, at Saint John's 2
Gillach and McDowell cruised to an 8-0 win at No. 1 doubles, improving to 5-1 this spring for SJU, but the Tommies eked out close wins at No. 2 (8-6) and No. 3 (8-5) last Sunday (April 11). Gillach, like at the top doubles spot, improved to 5-1 this season with a victory at No. 1 singles: 7-6 (7-4), 6-2.

Jordre fell at No. 2 singles via the super-breaker (6-4, 4-6, 10-7) and UST won the other four singles matches in straight sets.

A LOOK AT THE ROYALS: Bethel (3-6, 3-1 MIAC) snapped a two-match skid with a 9-0 shutout of Hamline Thursday night (April 15). The Royals are an even 27-27 in singles competition, but 19-5 in conference play, and 12-15 (10-2 MIAC) at doubles. Senior Joey Mueller is the lone Royal starter with a winning record in singles play (8-1), including 6-1 at No. 6.

LOOKS TO BE A BATTLE: If comparative scores with common opponents so far this spring is any indication, Saturday's match is likely to come down to the wire.

-Saint Mary's: BU, 8-1 | SJU, 7-2
-Concordia: BU, 9-0 | SJU, 8-1
-St. Thomas: BU, 3-6 | SJU, 2-7
-Hamline: BU, 9-0 | SJU, 8-1

TWO YEARS AGO: SJU scored a 6-3 win over Bethel the last time these two teams met on April 6, 2019, at Sta-Fit in Sartell. The Johnnies gained a 2-1 lead after doubles competition, including the sixth straight victory from Gillach and Jordre at No. 1 (8-5). 

Gillach won his singles match at No. 2 in straight sets (6-2, 6-1), while the other three SJU wins were via the super-breaker. The Royals won at Nos. 1 and 4 singles.

Ryan Meger '19 and Hunter Krebsbach '19 both won their first set with a seventh point, dropped the second set and took the match via the super-breaker at Nos. 3 and 5, respectively.

Jess Hansen '20 lost his first set (6-4), scored a 7-5 win in the second and claimed the victory at No. 6 in the super-breaker (10-5).
 
SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 18-13 against the Royals since 1990, including a 9-4 record in Collegeville. BU, however, has won each of the last outdoor matches in Stearns County (3-0 in Collegeville, 2-0 in St. Joseph).