Saint John's tennis opens the 2024 season by hosting Hamline at 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24, at Sta-Fit in Sartell.

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's finished fifth in the MIAC with a 5-4 record (9-10 overall) and made its ninth MIAC Playoff appearance in the last 11 seasons (16th overall), advancing to the semifinals, in 2023. Senior Ian Aadland (Brainerd, Minn.) and Wil McDowell '23 earned All-MIAC honors in doubles competition after the duo posted a 7-6 (4-4 MIAC) record at No. 1. 

Senior Mark Rosen (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) led the Johnnies with 11 singles wins (11-8 record), including an 8-6 mark at No. 6. Junior Ryan Will (Northfield, Minn.) was 8-10, with a 4-2 mark at No. 4, and senior Daniel Perez (Quito, Ecuador) registered a 7-12 record (5-5 at No. 5). Will also went 9-10 (9-8 at No. 2) in doubles play.

A FEW MONTHS AGO: Twelve Johnnies competed at the 2023 ITA Midwest Regional and Midwest Open this past Sept. 29-Oct. 1 in Mankato and St. Peter.

Senior Will Deters (Minneapolis, Minn./Wayzata) won the Midwest Open's C singles championship with a perfect 7-0 record over the three-day tournament. He won his first six matches in straight sets before Sunday's final against St. Olaf's Cathal Mee, who claimed a 6-0 win in the first set. Deters responded, however, with a 6-1 victory in the second and claimed first place with a nail-biting 10-8 decision in the super-breaker.

Sophomore Josh Peterson (Perham, Minn.) reached the semifinals at the bottom half of Deters' bracket, but fell to Mee via the super-breaker (7-5, 2-6, 6-10) to finish with a 4-1 record.

Rosen was the Johnnies' top singles finisher – a 3-1 record – in the Midwest Open's B bracket and senior Mason Meyer (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) went 2-1.

A pair of doubles duos - Rosen and Perez, sophomore Taylor Duncan (Benson, Minn.) and freshman Sam Wolden (St. Louis Park, Minn.) – went 4-1 at the Midwest Open.

ACADEMIC HONORS: The 2023 Johnnie tennis team and 10 student-athletes achieved academic honors from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) in July. To be eligible for the ITA All-Academic Team Award, an institution must submit the academic year's grade-point averages for each student-athlete on the roster and carry a team GPA of 3.2 or higher. The 16 Johnnies combined for a 3.71 GPA in 2022-23.

In order to earn ITA Scholar-Athlete status, a student-athlete must have a grade-point average of 3.50 or better for the current academic year. Aadland and the Fischer triplets also earned College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District recognition.

WHAT'S NEXT: The Johnnies follow Saturday's season opener with five matches over spring break in Florida (Orlando area):

-Monday, March 4: Division I North Carolina A&T and Allegheny (Pa.)
-Wednesday, March 6: Division II Cedarville (Ohio)
-Thursday, March 7: Wheaton (Ill.)
-Friday, March 8: Ursinus (Pa.)

A LOOK AT THE PIPERS: Hamline (4-3, 0-3 MIAC) is coming off a tight 5-4 loss to Macalester last Saturday in Eden Prairie. Senior Isaac Hultberg returns for the Pipers after posting an 8-11 (0-9 MIAC) singles record at No. 2 last spring, while sophomore Tyler Rousslang posted a 10-9 (2-7 MIAC) record at Nos. 3 and 4 for a team that finished 9-10 (1-8 MIAC). Rumeal Setts, who spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Hamline, has a 4-3 (1-2 MIAC) record so far this season at No. 1.

LAST SPRING: SJU posted an 8-1 victory over Hamline last April 1 (2023) at the Rogers Tennis Center. The Johnnies cruised to a 3-0 lead after doubles play and recorded three singles wins via the super-breaker. All three Johnnies with the super-breaker victories dropped their first set but fought back to earn the win: McDowell at No. 1 (4-6, 6-3, 10-5); Peyton Fischer '23 at No. 2 (3-6, 6-2, 10-4); and Rosen at No. 6 (5-7, 6-2, 10-6).

The Pipers' lone win was at No. 3 singles. Hunter Fischer '23 and Perez posted straight-set wins at Nos. 4 and 5 singles, respectively.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 30-3 against Hamline since the 1992 season, including a current 17-match win streak since the Pipers' last series win in 2006 (7-2 in Sartell).