Saint John's tennis returns to MIAC action by hosting a pair of matches this weekend at Sta-Fit in Sartell. The Johnnies face Bethel at 3 p.m. Saturday, March 29, followed by Macalester at 11 a.m. Sunday, March 30.

MOVED INDOORS: This weekend's matches were scheduled to be the Johnnies' home openers at the outdoor Chang Tennis Complex in Collegeville but were moved indoors to Sta-Fit in Sartell due to the weather forecast.

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (4-4, 0-1 MIAC) went 3-2, in which both losses were 4-3 decisions, during its spring-break trip March 16-21 in Orlando, Fla: Western Connecticut State (W, 7-0); Wisconsin-La Crosse (L, 3-4); St. Norbert (Wis., W, 6-1); Colby-Sawyer (N.H., L, 3-4); and Crown (W, 7-0).

A LOOK AT THE ROYALS: Bethel (10-4, 3-0 MIAC) is coming off a 5-4 win over St. Scholastica last Saturday (March 22) in Duluth. The Royals are led by last year's MIAC Rookie of the Year, sophomore Carter Sheard, who is 12-2 at No. 1 singles and 7-5 at No. 1 doubles with his brother, sophomore Watson Sheard. Watson owns a 9-4 singles record, primarily at No. 4.

LAST SPRING: The Johnnies swept all three doubles matches, thanks to two via the tie-breaker, and went 3-2 in the five singles bouts decided by the super-breaker in a 7-2 victory over Bethel last April 20 (2024) at the Rogers Tennis Club. 

Seniors Cooper Anderson (St. Paul, Minn./White Bear Lake) and Ryan Will (Northfield, Minn.) pulled out an 8-7 win at No. 1 doubles thanks to an 8-6 decision in the tie-breaker, as did sophomore Alex Draeger (Litchfield, Minn.) and Mark Rosen '24 at No. 3 with a 7-5 score. Ian Aadland '24 and sophomore Sam Wolden (St. Louis Park, Minn.) recorded a less stressful victory at No. 2, 8-3.

Aadland prevailed in the lone singles match decided in straight sets at No. 2, 6-2 and 6-1.

Wolden cruised to a 6-0 score in his first set at No. 3, but was edged in the second 7-6 (7-4) before he bounced back with a 10-5 win in the super-breaker to improve to 8-3 (7-1 MIAC) on the year.

Daniel Perez '24 and Anderson followed a similar pattern at Nos. 4 and 6, respectively. Perez won his first set 6-1, dropped the second 6-3 and scored the final five points in the super-breaker for a 10-7 victory. Anderson exchanged 6-4 scores in his first two sets and edged his opponent 10-8 in the super-breaker.

Will and Rosen suffered super-breaker defeats to the Royals at Nos. 1 (6-4, 4-6, 10-6) and 5 (6-2, 2-6, 12-10), respectively.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 30-15 all-time against the Royals on the tennis court, including a 17-8 mark at home (Collegeville, Sartell or St. Joseph). The Johnnies are 5-2 in the last seven meetings overall. 

A LOOK AT THE SCOTS: Macalester (7-3, 2-0 MIAC) went 2-1 on its spring trip (March 15-20) in Hilton Head, S.C., and hosts No. 25 Gustavus Adolphus on Saturday (March 29) before traveling Sunday to Sartell. The Scots return their No. 1 singles player from last season in senior Alec Sargent, who is 3-6 at the top singles spot so far this season, as well as 4-5 at No. 1 doubles with fellow senior Liam Lynch. Lynch is 3-6 in singles play, all at No. 3.

A YEAR AGO: SJU suffered a 6-3 road loss at Macalester last April 14 (2024) in St. Paul. 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 Will Deters '24 and Draeger cruised to an 8-1 win 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. 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].

SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 34-13 against the Scots since 1981, including a 22-6 record at home (Collegeville, Sartell or St. Joseph). Macalester has won the last five meetings overall against the Johnnies, which snapped a seven-match win streak in the series.