Saint John's tennis closes its 2026 season this week with three MIAC matches, beginning with a 2:30 p.m. bout with Macalester on Thursday, April 23, at Sta-Fit in Sartell.

THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE
-2:30 p.m. Thursday, April 23, vs. Macalester (Sta-Fit in Sartell)
-1 p.m. Saturday, April 25, at Bethel (Ona Orth Athletic Complex in Arden Hills)
-1 p.m. Sunday, April 26, vs. Carleton (Chang Tennis Complex in Collegeville)

THURSDAY MOVED TO SARTELL: Thursday's match at Macalester was originally scheduled to be played at the Scots' Hayden Courts in St. Paul but was moved indoors to Sta-Fit in Sartell due to the weather forecast of rain and cooler temperatures.

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (2-9, 1-5 MIAC) dropped a 7-0 decision at St. Scholastica on Sunday (April 19) at the Duluth Indoor Tennis Center. The Saints swept the six singles matches and held the Johnnies to two points or less in 11 of the 12 sets.

Junior Alex Draeger (Litchfield, Minn.) and sophomore Cole Haabala (Alexandria, Minn.) suffered their second MIAC loss of the season (4-2 record) with SJU's closest doubles match at No. 1, 6-4.

A LOOK AT THE SCOTS: Macalester (8-9, 2-4 MIAC) dropped a pair of MIAC matches last weekend (April 18-19), 6-1 to St. Olaf on Saturday and 7-0 to then-No. 23 Gustavus Adolphus on Sunday. Macalester hosts Hamline today (Wednesday, April 22) before Thursday's match at SJU. The Scots return senior Jordan Doi, who earned three All-MIAC singles honors and one All-MIAC honorable-mention selection between 2021-24. He is 8-7 in singles competition and 10-4 in doubles from the No. 1 spots this season. His usual doubles partner, freshman Charles Flaman, has a 12-4 singles record across Nos. 1-2 and an 11-5 doubles record at No. 1.

A YEAR AGO: SJU recorded a 6-3 win over Macalester last March 30 (2025) at Sta-Fit. The victory snapped a five-match skid for the Johnnies against the Scots going back to their previous win in the series – also a 6-3 decision – on April 21, 2018, in White Bear Lake.

Draeger and junior Sam Wolden (St. Louis Park, Minn.) prevailed at No. 2 doubles – 8-7 – thanks to a 7-1 decision in the tie-breaker. Cooper Anderson '25 and Ryan Will '25 suffered a loss at No. 1 with a near-identical score (8-7/7-1), but Haabala and senior Taylor Duncan (Benson, Minn.) gave SJU a 2-1 lead with an 8-3 win at No. 3.

The Johnnies clinched the dual victory with wins at Nos. 2-5 singles. Wolden improved to 7-3 (3-0 MIAC) on the year at No. 2 (6-0, 6-2), while Anderson gutted out the win at No. 3 via the super-breaker: 2-6, 6-3, 10-8. Duncan was victorious at No. 4 (6-4, 7-5) and Draeger moved up season record to 12-1 (3-0 MIAC) in his first match at No. 5 (6-3, 6-2).

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 35-13 against Macalester since 1981, including a 23-6 record on the home court (18-2 in Collegeville, 4-3 in Sartell, 1-0 in St. Joseph and 0-1 in St. Cloud).

A LOOK AT THE ROYALS: Bethel (17-2, 5-2 MIAC) defeated Concordia-Moorhead last Saturday (April 18) and travels to Northfield to take on the Oles today (Wednesday) before hosting SJU on Saturday. The Royals return four members from last year's All-MIAC teams: senior Dylan Magistad and juniors Zack Chaffey, Carter Sheard and Watson Sheard. All four were All-MIAC doubles selections with Magistad and the Sheards being All-MIAC in singles. C. Sheard was named last year's MIAC Men's Tennis Singles Player of the Year after compiling an 8-1 MIAC record (17-3 overall) at No. 1. This season, he is 14-4 at No. 1, Magistad is 11-7 at No. 2, Chaffey is 10-8 across Nos. 3-4, and W. Sheard is 11-7 across Nos. 3-4. In doubles, C. Sheard and Magistad are 12-5 at No. 1 and W. Sheard and Chaffey are 6-11 at No. 2.

LAST SEASON: SJU suffered a 6-3 loss to Bethel last March 29 in Sartell. The Royals gained a 2-1 lead after doubles competition and won four of the six singles matches. Anderson and Will recorded the lone doubles win for SJU at No. 1, 8-6. The Royals scored the match's final five points to top Duncan and Haabala with an 8-6 score at No. 3 and BU posted an 8-0 shutout at No. 2.

Wolden picked up a straight-set victory at No. 2 singles (6-2, 6-4) and Draeger won his eighth-straight match at No. 6 (6-4, 6-0).

SERIES HISTORY: Saint John's holds a 30-16 record against Bethel since 1981 with a 12-7 record when on the road. The Royals have won 13 of the last 20 meetings overall.

A LOOK AT THE KNIGHTS: Carleton (16-6, 7-1 MIAC) is coming off its first MIAC loss of the season, 6-1, last Saturday (April 18) at Gustavus Adolphus. The Knights return five All-MIAC selections from 2025. Junior Baiyun Jing and sophomores Ezra Bernhard and Akshay Garapati earned the honor in both singles and doubles, while seniors Zach Leslie and Jack Rivkin joined them with doubles recognition. Garapati is 11-9 on the season from Nos. 1-2 and Jing is 15-7 from the same spots. Leslie is 13-6 across Nos. 2-3, Bernhard is 17-4 at Nos. 3-4 and Rivkin is 8-9 at Nos. 4-5. In doubles play, Garapati and Rivkin are 11-9 at No. 1, Leslie is 15-6 (mostly at No. 2), Jing is 11-5 and Bernhard is 14-6, including a 10-4 record at No. 3 with sophomore Owen Heidtke.

12 MONTHS AGO: The Johnnies ended their 2025 season with a 9-0 loss at Carleton last April 27 in Northfield. The Knights cruised through doubles competition, with the closest margin at No. 3 (8-3), and won all six singles matches in straight sets. Wolden had the most competitive match at No. 2, 6-4 and 6-3, where he ended the season with an 11-4 (6-2 MIAC) record for SJU.

SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 11-34 against the Knights since 1984, including a 5-15 home record in Collegeville (4-8), Sartell (0-5) and St. Joseph (1-2).