Saint John's tennis completes its regular-season schedule with a pair of indoor matches this weekend, beginning with a 3 p.m. bout with Bethel on Saturday, April 22, at Sta-Fit in Sartell. The Johnnies then travel to face Carleton for a 3 p.m. match on Sunday, April 23, at Lifetime Fitness in Lakeville.

MOVED INDOORS: Saturday's match was scheduled to be the Johnnies' home, outdoor opener at the Chang Tennis Complex in Collegeville, and Sunday's bout with Carleton was set for 11:30 a.m. in Northfield. Mother Nature is forecast to provide unfavorable conditions for outdoor tennis and both matches have been moved indoors.

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (7-8, 4-3 MIAC) dropped a competitive match to Macalester, 8-1, last Saturday (April 15) in Sartell.

Junior Ian Aadland (Brainerd, Minn.) and senior Wil McDowell (Sioux Falls, S.D./O'Gorman) recorded the lone win for SJU at No. 1 doubles, 8-4, to improve to 6-3 (4-2 MIAC) on the year. The Johnnies suffered 8-5 losses in the other two doubles matches.

SJU won three points or more in 11 of the 13 singles sets to the Scots. Junior Daniel Perez (Quito, Ecuador) took his first set at No. 5 singles, 6-1, but his opponent escaped with a 7-5 decision in the second and a 11-9 score in the super-breaker.

Classmate Mark Rosen (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) lost both sets at No. 6 singles, 7-5 and 7-6 (7-3).

NEED A WIN: The Johnnies need to win one of their final two matches to earn a trip to next week's five-team MIAC Playoffs. The appearance would be SJU's ninth in the last 11 seasons (16th overall). 

A LOOK AT THE ROYALS: Bethel (6-10, 4-4 MIAC) picked up its second win of the week, 8-1 over Saint Mary's, last night (April 20) at the Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis. BU topped Hamline with a 7-2 score on Tuesday (April 18) outdoors in Arden Hills. Freshman Dylan Magistad leads the team with eight singles wins (8-4 record), including a 6-3 mark at No. 3. Jackson Meyer is 6-10 (3-5 MIAC) at No. 1 singles and, coupled with senior Luke Wyly, is 7-9 (4-4 MIAC) at No. 1 doubles.

LAST SEASON'S MEETINGS: SJU and BU split their two meetings last season.

Saint John's 6, at Bethel 3
The Johnnies swept all three doubles matches and won at Nos. 1 and 2 singles thanks to the super-breaker in the regular-season matchup last April 9 (2022) in Arden Hills.

McDowell and senior Hunter Fischer (Spicer, Minn./Willmar) won at No. 1, 8-5, as well as senior Peyton Fischer (Spicer, Minn./Willmar) and sophomore Ryan Will (Northfield, Minn.) at No. 2. 

Aadland and sophomore Cooper Anderson (St. Paul, Minn./White Bear Lake) won a nail-biter at No. 3, 8-7 (7-4).

McDowell claimed the first of SJU's six singles wins at No. 1: 6-3, 1-6, 10-5. Peyton Fischer bounced back from a 6-1 loss in his first set at No. 2 with a 6-2 margin in the second and 10-7 victory in the super-breaker.

Perez improved to 5-6 (4-2 MIAC) with a win at No. 6, 6-4 and 7-5. The Royals won their three matches in straight sets.

Bethel 5, at Saint John's 4 (MIAC Playoffs)
SJU ended its 2022 season with a 5-4 loss to Bethel in the MIAC quarterfinals back on May 4 (2022) at the Chang Tennis Complex. Playing its first outdoor match in Collegeville of the spring, SJU gained a 2-1 lead after doubles competition thanks to a thrilling comeback at No. 1. Bethel, however, won four of the six singles matches. 

H. Fischer and McDowell put together the monumental comeback, down 6-1, to earn the 8-6 win at No. 1 doubles. Aadland and Anderson collected the other doubles win at No. 3, 8-4.

McDowell cruised to a victory at No. 1 (6-2, 6-3) and Mike Krasowski won his bout at No. 5 with a matching score (6-2, 6-3).

SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 28-15 against Bethel since 1981, including a 16-8 record on the Johnnies' home court.

A LOOK AT THE KNIGHTS: Carleton (16-2, 7-0 MIAC) has won eight-straight matches and hosts No. 13 Gustavus Adolphus Saturday in Rochester. The Knights are currently ranked No. 10 in Region VII by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), while sophomore Tarm Rojanasoonthon (13-2 at No. 1) is ranked sixth in singles play and, with sophomore Tate Fuller, is ranked 11th in doubles (8-4 record). Carleton is 40-2 in singles competition and 20-1 in doubles in MIAC play with two conference matches remaining.

LAST SPRING: Carleton defeated SJU 8-1 last April 24 (2022) at Sta-Fit. H. Fischer and McDowell won the lone match for SJU with a thrilling 8-7 (7-4) victory at No. 1 doubles. The Knights won the other two doubles matches with 8-3 scores and five of the six singles matches in straight sets. Perez suffered a defeat at No. 6 singles via the super-breaker: 6-4, 5-7, 10-6.

At the time, Carleton was ranked 15th in the Central Region by the ITA and Rojanasoonthon was ranked sixth in the region in singles play. He defeated McDowell at No. 1, 6-2 and 6-1.

SERIES HISTORY: The Knights have won each of the last 23 matches against the Johnnies going back to SJU's last win in the series on April 6, 2002, in Collegeville (6-3). The victory capped a four-match win streak in the series for the Johnnies.