Saint John's returns to the court this weekend, beginning with a 10 a.m. match against Northwestern for its outdoor opener on Saturday, April 11, at the Donald McNeely Spectrum in Collegeville. The Johnnies then travel to take on Saint Mary's at 6 p.m. Sunday, April 12, at the Winona Tennis Center.

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (1-7, 0-4 MIAC) stumbled to a 5-2 loss to Concordia-Moorhead back on March 29 at Sta-Fit. SJU won two of the three doubles matches for the team point but dropped five of the six singles matches.

Junior Alex Draeger (Litchfield, Minn.) and sophomore Cole Haabala (Alexandria, Minn.) improved to 4-4 (3-1 MIAC) with a 6-4 victory at No. 1 doubles, while the tandem of senior Taylor Duncan (Benson, Minn.) and freshman Jack Gangl (Elk River, Minn.) matched their score at No. 3.

Sophomore Andrew Eckmann (Eagan, Minn./Two Rivers) claimed the lone singles win for SJU at No. 5 thanks to a high-scoring super-breaker: 6-3, 4-6 and 13-11.

Gangl suffered a loss to the Cobbers via the super-breaker at No. 6: 6-1, 3-6 and 11-9.

A LOOK AT THE EAGLES: Northwestern (6-10, 0-0 UMAC) defeated Hamline 4-3 on Wednesday (April 8) before falling to Wisconsin-Eau Claire by a 5-2 score on Thursday. Both matches were played on the home court. UNW claimed the doubles point which proved to be the difference after the two teams split the singles matches with wins at No. 1 doubles, 6-2, and No. 3 by a score of 7-5. On Thursday, the Eagles won the doubles point with identical 6-4 victories at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles. The Eagles' other point came with a third-set, tie-break win at No. 2 singles. The Eagles return two members of the All-UMAC first team. Junior Carson Haack achieved the honor for the second time last season after going 9-15 in singles and 14-11 in doubles, both from the No. 1 spot. This season, Haack is again in the top spot with a 7-9 singles record and 11-5 in doubles with partner sophomore Sam Majerus. Senior Griffen Jarchow went 9-15 in singles and 11-13 in doubles last season, both from primarily the No. 2 spot. He is currently 6-10 in singles, primarily at No. 2, and is 10-5 in doubles.

LAST SPRING: SJU wrapped up its 2025 non-conference schedule with a 7-0 win over Northwestern last April 15 in Collegeville. The home team swept the singles competition in straight sets for the second-consecutive match.

Draeger and junior Sam Wolden (St. Louis Park, Minn.) improved to 10-4 at No. 2 doubles with an 8-2 win, while Duncan and Haabala posted an 8-3 victory at No. 3. 
 
Ryan Will '25 needed a tie-breaker – 7-2 – to collect his sixth win of the season at No. 1 singles. Wolden was victorious for the 10th time this season (10-4 record) at No. 2 (6-1, 6-0), while Cooper Anderson '25 picked up a win at No. 3 (6-2, 6-3).

Draeger won his team-leading 15th single match of the season – a 15-3 record – at No. 4 (6-2, 6-3). Duncan and junior Josh Peterson (Perham, Minn.) rounded out the Johnnies' scoring with victories at Nos. 5 (6-3, 6-4) and 6 (6-2, 6-0).

The Eagles won their lone match at No. 1 doubles, 8-5.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 8-0 all-time against Northwestern on the tennis court: 5-0 in Sartell, 2-0 in Roseville and 1-0 in Collegeville.

A LOOK AT THE CARDINALS: Saint Mary's (4-10, 0-5 MIAC) dropped their fifth-straight match by a 7-0 score back on March 28 against No. 16 Gustavus Adolphus. The Cardinals return two members from last year's lineup. Sophomore Gavin Pratt went 7-11 last season across No. 2-3 singles and was 4-15 in doubles at No. 1. So far this season, he has a 4-10 record from mostly the No. 1 spot and has a 3-11 doubles record at No. 1 with junior Michael Johnson. The other returning Cardinal is junior Zac Farley, who was 10-9 across Nos. 4-6 singles and was 5-8 at Nos. 2-3 doubles. This season, he has a 3-11 record from (mostly) No. 2 and a 3-11 mark at No. 2 doubles with freshman Kanyon Hicks.

A YEAR AGO: SJU snapped a three-match skid with an 8-1 win over Saint Mary's last April 12 (2025) at the Chang Tennis Complex. The Johnnies swept all six singles matches in straight and won two of the three in doubles competition. Draeger and Wolden posted an 8-5 victory at No. 2 doubles, moving their season record to 9-4 (5-2 MIAC) at that spot, and Duncan and Haabala tallied an 8-4 advantage at No. 3.

The lone win for the Cardinals came at No. 1 doubles with an 8-6 score.

Will won at No. 1, 7-6 (7-5) and 6-3, and Anderson posted a shutout in his first set at No. 3 (6-0, 6-4). 

Wolden was ahead with a 4-1 score in the first set at No. 2 when his opponent defaulted. The win moved his record to 9-3 (5-1 MIAC) at No. 2.

Draeger cruised to victory at No. 4 (6-1, 6-2) and is now 14-3 (5-2 MIAC) in singles play this season. Duncan won at No. 5 (7-5, 6-1) and senior Josh Peterson (Perham, Minn.) gave SJU its sixth singles point at No. 6 (6-0, 6-1).

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 42-2 against Saint Mary's since 1981, including a 14-0 record in Winona.