Saint John's tennis hits the road for two matches this weekend, starting with a 2 p.m. visit with Saint Mary's on Friday, April 19, in Winona. The Johnnies then face Bethel at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, April 20, at the Rogers Tennis Club in Rogers.

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (2-9, 2-4 MIAC) dropped a pair of matches last weekend.

St. Olaf 5, at Saint John's 4 – April 13
SJU started the weekend with suffered a heartbreaking, 5-4 loss to St. Olaf at the outdoor Chang Tennis Complex. Five of the six singles matches were decided by the super-breaker, of which three went to the Oles. The Johnnies won the first set in all five matches. The match was the first for SJU outdoors in Collegeville since May 4, 2022.

The tandem of senior Will Deters (Minneapolis, Minn./Wayzata) and freshman Alex Draeger (Litchfield, Minn.) provided the lone doubles win for SJU at No. 3, 8-1.

Freshman Sam Wolden (St. Louis Park, Minn.) and senior Daniel Perez (Quito, Ecuador) recorded the Johnnies' super-breaker victories at Nos. 3 (6-4, 1-6, 10-6) and 4 (7-5, 1-6, 11-9).

Junior Ryan Will (Northfield, Minn.) nearly won his match at No. 1 in straight sets, but lost the second with an 8-6 tie-breaker and a 10-4 decision in the super-breaker. Senior Mason Meyer (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) was edged 10-7 in the super-breaker at No. 5 and senior Mark Rosen (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) fell with a 12-10 score in his at No. 6.

Senior Ian Aadland (Brainerd, Minn.) came out victorious in the only singles match decided in straight sets at No. 2 (6-3, 6-2).

at Macalester 6, Saint John's 3 – April 14
The super-breaker was not Saint John's tennis' friend once again in Sunday's road loss. The Johnnies built a 2-1 lead after doubles competition, but only managed to post one singles victory. Two of the five singles wins for Macalester were decided by the super-breaker, a day after the Johnnies went 2-3 in super-breaker matches in a 5-4 home loss to St. Olaf.

Aadland and Wolden paired up for the first time this season and posted an 8-4 victory at No. 2 doubles, while Deters and Draeger cruised to an 8-1 win at No. 3. Deters and Draeger are now 5-4 (4-2 MIAC) at No. 3.

Wolden won his first set at No. 3 singles with a 7-5 tie-breaker and took the second 6-4 for the Johnnies' lone singles victory. He is now 6-2 (5-1 MIAC) at No. 3 this spring.

Will played his seventh match of the season (3-4 record) decided by the super-breaker and fell at No. 1 [6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 11-9], and Perez came up short in his match at No. 4 [6-7, (7-9), 6-2, 10-5].

A LOOK AT THE CARDINALS: Saint Mary's (5-12, 0-7 MIAC) saw its losing streak extend to six matches with a 9-0 defeat at Macalester last Thursday (April 11) in St. Paul. Sophomore Philip Apel and senior Matt Besek are tied for the team lead with eight singles wins but combine for a 1-11 record in conference play. SMU is 1-20 in MIAC doubles. 

LAST SPRING: SJU posted a 9-0 shutout of Saint Mary's last March 19 (2023) at Sta-Fit in Sartell. The Johnnies started the match with a 3-0 lead after doubles play, in which the home team cruised to wins at Nos. 1 (8-2) and 3 (8-1). Peyton Fischer '23 Will played a much closer match, 8-6.

The Johnnies and Cardinals battled to super-breakers in three of the six singles matches. Wil McDowell '23 dropped his second set 6-4 but posted a 10-6 decision in the super-breaker at No. 1, while Fischer battled back from a 6-4 loss in his first set to take the second (6-4) and the super-breaker with an inflated 12-10 score at No. 2.

Rosen won his fourth-straight match, and team-leading seventh of the season (7-3 record), with a 10-2 victory in the super-breaker at No. 6.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 40-2 against the Cardinals since 1981, including a 13-0 record in Winona. Both losses were decided by a 5-4 score (1997 in St. Cloud and 2015 in Sartell). SJU has won each of the last seven meeting overall (25 of the last 26).

A LOOK AT THE ROYALS: Bethel (10-7, 3-3 MIAC) saw its four-match win streak come to a half with home losses to Carleton (7-2 on April 10) and St. Scholastica (5-4 on April 13). Sophomore Dylan Magistad returns for BU after earning All-MIAC honors in singles play as a freshman last season. He is 11-5 (4-2 MIAC) in singles competition and 9-7 (3-2 MIAC) with freshman Gavin Hutter at No. 1 doubles. Freshman Carter Sheard leads the team with 14 singles wins (14-3 record), while his brother Watson Sheard is 12-5 in doubles play.

A YEAR AGO: The Johnnies clinched an MIAC Playoff berth with an 8-1 win over Bethel back on April 22 (2023) in Sartell.

SJU swept all six singles matches, including three via the super-breaker. The Johnnies won the first set in all three bouts decided by the tie-breaker. P. Fischer won his match at No. 2 with an 11-9 decision in the super-breaker, while Will and Perez posted 10-3 and 10-8 decisions at No. 3 and No 5, respectively. Peyton and Will also needed an 8-6 victory in the tie-breaker for their 8-7 win at No. 2 doubles.

McDowell, Hunter Fischer '23 and Rosen all won in straight sets. Hunter and Will Fischer '23 tallied an 8-3 win at No. 3 doubles. The lone win for Bethel came at No. 1 doubles.

SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 29-15 against BU since 1981 with a 10-7 mark on the Royals' home court. The Johnnies are 4-2 in the last six meetings overall.