DULUTH, Minn. – The St. Scholastica men's and women's tennis teams will have three dual matches against Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) schools this week, beginning with Northwestern College on Thursday.

Match Times:
Men:
Thursday at Northwestern – 3 p.m. (Baseline Tennis Center)
Saturday at Martin Luther – Noon
Sunday at Minnesota-Morris – Noon
Women:
Thursday at Northwestern – 3 p.m. (Baseline Tennis Center)
Saturday at Martin Luther – 3 p.m.
Sunday at Minnesota-Morris – 9 a.m.

Men:

Last Action:
The Saints shut out both Bethany Lutheran College and North Central University to open conference play last weekend. CSS lost a total of eight games in the 18 matches.

St. Scholastica Saints (8-6, 2-0 UMAC)
The Saints extended their conference win streak to 97 matches over the weekend … CSS is 42-42 in singles matches this spring and 25-17 in doubles play … James Mack (Portsmouth, England/Cams Hill School) leads the way with eight wins, while Kolin Dean (Rhinelander, Wis./Rhinelander HS) follows with seven in singles play … Mack and Dean also lead the team with five doubles victories as a tandem … That is followed by the duo of Jacob Engelstad (Thief River Falls, Minn./Lincoln HS) and Brian Lindberg (Hermantown, Minn./Hermantown HS) with four wins … Engelstad sits just two wins shy of Kyle Hawley's record of 54 career singles wins … His 46 doubles wins are tied for the fourth-most all-time and 98 overall wins are six behind Hawley's record of 104.

Northwestern Eagles (4-7, 1-0 UMAC)
The Eagles will be the Saints' main competition for the UMAC title this season … The Eagles won the UMAC Tournament last season, edging the Saints by one point … All nine finals matches pitted the Saints against the Eagles … Two of the singles matches went to a third set super-breaker, which the Eagles prevailed in each … Northwestern is coming off a 9-0 victory over North Central on Monday … Northwestern is 27-39 in singles matches and 13-20 in doubles play … The Eagles return their top three singles players … At no. 1 David Knight gained valuable experience in the college game as a freshman in 2011, while earning UMAC Player of the Year honors … Knight's doubles partner, Caleb Kauss, the 2010 player of the year, resumes his position at No. 2 singles. Knight and Kauss combined to go 18-2 in singles action last season.

Last Meeting: (CSS All-Time Record vs. Northwestern: 36-1)
In the last dual match between the two teams the Saints defeated the Eagles 6-3 with the Saints winning three matches in super-breakers.

Martin Luther Knights 0-4, 0-0 UMAC)
Martin Luther has been picked to finish third, according to the UMAC preseason coaches' poll … MLC has been shutout is three of its first four matches, but lost a close decision to Edgewood College (Wis.) … The Knights return four key contributors from last season's team that tied for third place in the conference standings … The Knights' top two singles players return for their third seasons, with 2011 All-UMAC performer Scott Henrich at the top of the line-up and Paul Koester in the number two spot … Henrich finished last season 7-5 in singles, while Koester finished 6-8 … The two also combined to go 7-5 in doubles play.

Last Meeting: (CSS All-Time Record vs. Martin Luther: 29-3)
The Saints shut out Martin Luther 9-0 in both matches last season.

Minnesota-Morris Cougars (0-0, 0-0 UMAC)
The Cougars have yet to play a match this season and will open with Simpson College (Iowa) on Saturday before playing the Saints on Sunday … Morris has been projected to finish fourth in the UMAC this season after not winning a match in 2011 … The Cougars will be led by Caleb Power in 2012 … Power saw time at both No. 1 and No. 2 singles positions last season, providing experience for the Cougars at the top of the line-up … Power is one of just two returning starters for Minnesota Morris this season, as a new-look line-up will grace the court.

Last Meeting: (CSS All-Time Record vs. Minnesota-Morris: 18-3)
The Saints played the Cougars in back-to-back matches in Duluth last season with the Saints winning both 9-0.


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 (8-5, 2-0 UMAC)
The Saints' two wins last weekend extended their UMAC dual match winning streak to 93 … CSS has won two-thirds of its singles matches this spring with a 52-26 mark … The Saints are 25-14 in doubles action … Four Saints have eight singles wins this season, including three freshmen … Megan Lawrence (Park Rapids, Minn./Park Rapids HS) has won six straight singles matches for an 8-3 record … Freshman Cortne Solberg (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji HS) is also 8-3 and fellow freshman Rachael Zwiener (St. Cloud, Minn./Home School) is 8-4 … Alexis Gunderson (Virginia, Minn./Virginia HS) is 8-1 overall … CSS has at least eight wins in six singles flights … In doubles, the teams of Solberg/Zwiener and Hillary Bungarden (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing HS) and Kelli Johnson (Mankato, Minn./Mankato West HS) each lead the team with five wins … Lawrence is a 5-0 in doubles action this spring.

Northwestern Eagles (4-8, 1-0 UMAC)
The Eagles will challenge the Saints this season in the conference, looking to hand CSS its first-ever loss in the league … Three newcomers have shuffled things atop the Eagles' roster … Freshman Megan Johnson immediately earned the No. 1 singles spot, where she has already picked up seven wins … Kelly Johnson, another freshman, filled in right behind Megan at No. 2 singles, and the roommates have changed the way NWC's future will look for the next four years … Amber Gallaway has been Northwestern's most common player in the No. 3 singles position … Junior captain Amy Knight, who played 16 matches as the Eagles' No. 2 singles player in 2011, is a strong asset at No. 4 singles in 2012 … Rachel Smith, a transfer from North Central, has won five matches this season … The Eagles have struggled in doubles with a  10-26 record. 

Last Meeting: (CSS All-Time Record vs. Northwestern: 28-0)
The Saints shut out Northwestern College in both matches last season.

Martin Luther Knights (0-3, 0-0 UMAC)
The Knights have been picked to place third in the UMAC this season … Martin Luther returns four of their top seven players from a season ago, led by top singles player Rachel Niemi, who has been playing out of the top singles spot for the last three seasons for the Knights … She will be joined by 2011 All-UMAC performer Karina Luthra in the second singles spot, while Heidi Heckmann and Michelle Hintz also return for their senior seasons … Newcomers Leslie Klinski and Carissa Kock have both found themselves in the singles lineup.

Last Meeting: (CSS All-Time Record vs. Martin Luther: 30-0)
The Saints swept the Knights in both matches last season, however Martin Luther was the only conference team to take a match against CSS.

Minnesota-Morris Cougars (0-1, 0-0 UMAC)
The Cougars are picked to finish fourth in the conference at the end of the season … Morris has already played Minnesota-Crookston, falling 6-3 in early March and will play the College of Saint Benedict later today … Coming off of its best season in recent history, the Cougars will lean on Abby Fragodt this season as they look to continue to the trend … Fragodt returns for her sophomore season after finishing her freshman season in the championship match of the UMAC Tournament, ending in second place … Fragodt led a team that went 4-8 overall last season, including 4-6 in the UMAC, setting a program record for conference wins … Preya Chunkapura also returns for her senior season, after going 5-5 in dual meets while playing No. 2 and No. 3 singles all season.

Last Meeting: (CSS All-Time Record vs. Minnesota-Morris: 16-1)
The Saints played the Cougars in back-to-back matches last season in Duluth and won both 9-0. The lone win for the Cougars against the Saints came during the 1994 season.