DULUTH, Minn. – The St. Scholastica men's and women's tennis teams will both look to extend their conference winning streaks this weekend when they open Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) action against Bethany Lutheran College and North Central University.

Match Times:
Men:
Friday vs. Bethany Lutheran – 6:30 p.m. (Swanson Tennis Center-St. Peter)
Saturday at North Central – 4 p.m. (Baseline Tennis Center)

Women:
Friday vs. Bethany Lutheran – 6:30 p.m. (Swanson Tennis Center-St. Peter)
Saturday at North Central – 4 p.m. (Baseline Tennis Center)


Men:

Last Action:
The Saints went 2-3 last week on its spring trip to Orlando Fla. CSS picked up wins over Otterbein College (Ohio) and Saint Ambrose University (Iowa).

St. Scholastica Saints (6-6)
The Saints open conference play with a 95-match UMAC winning streak … CSS last most a conference match during the 1997 season … The Saints have been picked to win the UMAC title once again this season, according to the UMAC Coaches' Poll that was released on Tuesday … CSS is 5-5 away from Duluth this year … They have been winning the close matches with a 4-1 mark in duals that are decided by one match … CSS has performed better in doubles play with a 19-17 record than in singles action thus far (30-42) … Freshman James Mack (Portsmouth, England/Cams Hill School) leads the team with eight singles win this year … Kolin Dean (Rhinelander, Wis./Rhinelander HS) has a team-high seven doubles victories … The team of Mack and Dean lead all doubles pairs with a 5-1 record … Jacob Engelstad (Thief River Falls, Minn./Lincoln HS) won his 50th career singles match over spring break and is now four wins shy of the program record.

Bethany Lutheran Vikings (0-0)
The Vikings will open their season against the Saints on Friday … Last year, the Vikings finished with a 2-9 record with their only two wins coming against Minnesota, Morris … The Vikings have been picked to finish tied for fifth in the league this season … David Blumer, the Vikings' consistent No. 1 player from the 2010 season, is returning after taking last spring off to study abroad … He will be looked upon to lead along with junior Nickolas Croy who won two of his matches last year … Eric DeBruzzi and Aaron Wiechmann are returning for their sophomore season … Along with these veterans the Vikings are looking to five freshmen to compete.

Last Meeting: (CSS All-Time Record vs. Bethany Lutheran: 14-0)
The Saints have never lost to Vikings in 14 previous meetings and 124-2 all-time in individual matches. The Saints haven't dropped a match to the Vikings since the 2005 season.

North Central Rams (0-0)
The Rams will also be opening their season against the Saints on Friday … North Central was picked to finish in tie with Bethany Lutheran in fifth place, according to the preseason coaches poll … The Rams finished with a 5-6 record last season … The Rams only return two players from last season's third place team … Sophomore Alex Sanjari and senior Zach Claussen look to continue their very good season as doubles partners in the new campaign … Freshman Sutton Rehwaldt is a player the Rams are excited about as well as he shows plenty of raw skill that he is working hard to develop into a polished game.

Last Meeting: (CSS All-Time Record vs. North Central: 6-0)
The Saints have never dropped a match to the Rams in the six previous matches between the two programs with a 54-0 record.


Women

Last Action:
Just like the men, the women went 2-3 over spring break in Orlando, Fla. last week … The Saints picked up both of their wins on the same day with triumphs over Saint Ambrose University and Wisconsin Lutheran College.

St. Scholastica Saints (6-5)
The Saints enter UMAC action riding a 91-match conference winning streak … CSS has never lost in UMAC play since joining the league in 1997 … The Saints have been picked to win the conference once again this year by league's coaches … CSS has already won 40 singles matches this season (40-26), which averages to 3.6 wins per dual match … That means the Saints have been winning the singles play in most duals … In doubles action the Saints are averaging 1.7 wins per dual, which is about 50-50 that they have the advantage in the three doubles matches played … Junior Megan Lawrence (Park Rapids, Minn./Park Rapids HS) has played well as of late, having won four straight singles matches and all three doubles matches this season … Alexis Gunderson (Virginia, Minn./Virginia HS) leads the way with an 8-1 singles mark … Allie Carlson (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin HS) and Cortne Solberg (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji HS) lead the team with seven doubles wins apiece.

Bethany Lutheran Vikings (0-2)
The Vikings dropped their first two matches of the season against Minnesota State and Minnesota-Duluth in early February … Bethany Lutheran has picked to finish fifth in the UMAC this season … The Vikings went 3-12 in 2011 … The Vikings have a wealth of experience on the roster with just one freshman joining the squad … Junior Rebecca Kopacek will be leading to the way in the No. 1 singles position again … Brook Osmundson went 6-9 in the No. 3 singles spot last year and will be returning for her junior year … Sarah Wagner will also be returning; she went 7-8 in the number four spot last year.

Last Meeting: (CSS All-Time Record vs. Bethany Lutheran: 14-0)
The Saints are 14-0 against the Vikings all-time and the last time they lost a match was in 2010. CSS has dropped just three matches all-time against the Vikings.

North Central Rams (0-0)
The Rams will be opening their season against the Saints on Saturday … The Rams went winless last season at 0-11 and have been picked to finish last in the conference this year … NCU has not won a match since the 2009 season … The Rams lost their top three players from a year ago … Sadie Danzinger looks to build off a solid freshman year as she steps into a bigger leadership role … Freshmen Paige Treckel and Leah Kacvinsky will be leaned on heavily in the top half of our lineup.

Last Meeting: (CSS All-Time Record vs. North Central: 6-0)
Just like the men, the women have never lost against the Rams with a 54-0 record in the six previous meetings.