Season Preview Video

DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica women's tennis team will open the 2013 season Saturday night against the University of Minnesota Duluth at the Arrowhead Tennis Center. The match is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.

About the Saints
2012 Record: 18-6, 10-0 UMAC

• The Saints won their 16th straight UMAC regular season and tournament championship a season ago.
• CSS returns 2012 UMAC Player of the Year Hillary Bungarden (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing HS).
• Bungarden finished 16-8 overall with 13 wins coming from the No. 1 spot.
• A pair of All-UMAC sophomores return in Rachael Zwiener (St. Cloud, Minn./Home School) and Alexis Gunderson (Virginia, Minn./Virginia HS).
• Zwiener led the team with 17 singles wins and 17 doubles victories.
• Gunderson finished with an impressive 15-2 overall record.
• Senior Megan Lawrence (Park Rapids, Minn./Park Rapids HS) is also back for the Saints. Lawrence earned all-conference accolades for the first time in her career last season. At one point, Lawrence had won 13 straight singles matches.
• Other key returnees for the Saints this season include Allie Carlson (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin HS), Aleksandra Ochrymowicz (Winnipeg, Manitoba/St. Mary’s Academy) and Kelli Johnson (Mankato, Minn./Mankato West HS).
• Newcomers looking to make an impact from the start include Alexa Herbst (Foley, Minn. /Foley HS) and Katie Kingston (Virginia, Minn./Virginia HS).
• Kingston and Gunderson finished third in doubles at the State High School championships, representing Virginia High School.

About the Bulldogs
2012 Record: 6-11, 4-4 NSIC

• Minnesota Duluth welcomes a new era of women's tennis on Saturday as former St. Scholastica assistant coach Bob Skenzich.
• Skenzich was an assistant for both the men's and women's programs at CSS during the 2004 season.
• The Bulldogs will be led by junior Kelsey Cunningham, who finished with nine singles wins a year ago.
• Also back for UMD are sophomores Kara Saemann and Alyssa Brunelli.

Last Meeting: (CSS Record vs. Minn. Duluth: 4-8)

• After losing the first eight meetings to the Bulldogs, the Saints have won four straight in the series, including a 5-4 decision last season.