DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica men's tennis team will be in search of its sixth consecutive Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Tournament title this weekend in Minneapolis.
Where:
Baseline Tennis Center – Minneapolis, Minn.
When:
Friday: (Semifinals)
#1 St. Scholastica vs. #4 Martin Luther – 6 p.m.
#2 Northwestern vs. #3 Bethany Lutheran – 6 p.m.
Saturday:
Championship at 2 p.m.
Tournament Web Site: http://umacathletics.com/tournaments/?id=105
Social Media:
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/CSSsaintstennis
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/csssaintstennis
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/css.saints
#1 St. Scholastica Saints
Stats
Record: 18-1, 8-0 UMAC
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats
Last Action: The Saints ended the regular season on April 21 and 22 with victories over Martin Luther College and Bethany Lutheran College … In doing so, the Saints clinched their 21
st consecutive UMAC regular season championship outright and went unbeaten in conference play for the 20
th consecutive year … CSS will enter the conference tournament on a 13-match win streak.
Ranked Regionally: The Saints climbed up one spot to No. 19 in the most recent Central Region rankings by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA).
UMAC Win Streak: The Saints will enter the 2018 season with a winning streak of 152 consecutive Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) regular season dual matches … The last defeat took place against Martin Luther on April 27, 1997 in Head Coach
Wells Patten's first season.
UMAC Tournament History: The Saints have won five straight UMAC Tournament titles and 16 overall … The only time CSS has not won since 2007 was in 2011 when Northwestern defeated the Saints when it was scored off an individual tournament.
20-Win Seasons: If the Saints can capture the UMAC Tournament title they will have earned their 20
th victory of the season … It would be the third season with at least 20 victories in program history and the third since 2013.
Fewest Losses in a Season: If St. Scholastica were to lose two more times it would tie the program record for fewest losses in a season (3, 2014) … That would mean the Saints would have to lose in the UMAC Tournament and also in the NCAA Tournament, if they were fortunate enough to make it.
Engelstad: Senior
Logan Engelstad (Thief River Falls, Minn./Lincoln HS) broke his own program record by winning his 21
st singles match of the season in the regular season finale against Bethany Lutheran … With one more singles win, he will extend his winning streak to 20 matches and will have earned his 70 career singles victory … Engelstad has also won eight straight doubles matches.
Freshmen Leaders: Outside of the senior Engelstad, freshmen
Serhii Tykhonenko (Kiev, Ukraine/Lyceum #100 “Podil”),
Ernesto Telles (El Salvador/Academia Britanica Cuscatleca) and
Brendan Boudreau (Thunder Bay, Ontario/Sir Winston Churchill Collegiate) are pacing the Saints at the top of the lineup … Tykhonenko has 11 victories at the No. 1 singles spot and is 12-1 with Engelstad at No. 1 doubles … Telles is 13-1 at No. 2 singles and Boudreau is 15-1 at No. 3 singles … Telles and Boudreau are 11-2 at No. 2 doubles.
Tournament Participants
#2 Northwestern Eagles
Record: 11-15, 6-2 UMAC
The Eagles enter the postseason as the No. 2 seed … The only two conference losses came to CSS … Northwestern has faced the Saints in the tournament championship each of the last five years … CJ Lloyd leads the Eagles with 13 victories at the No. 1 spot … Landon Ridpath has 11 wins at the No. 2 spot and Joshua Kimball has 10 wins at the No. 3 spot … Lloyd and Ridpath have teamed up for 10 wins at No. 1 doubles.
#3 Bethany Lutheran Vikings
Record: 10-12, 4-4 UMAC
The Vikings are the No. 3 seed in the UMAC Tournament for the third time in the last four years … The four conference losses came against St. Scholastica and Northwestern … BLC lost to semifinal opponent Northwestern by scores of 5-4 and 7-2 during the regular season … Dexter Jackson has won seven straight singles matches entering the tournament … He was 8-0 at No. 6 singles in league play this season … Andrew Jelken has seven wins at No. 1 singles.
#4 Martin Luther Knights
Record: 4-9, 2-6 UMAC
The Knights will enter the UMAC Tournament on a two-match winning streak after victories over the University of Minnesota Morris and Buena Vista University (Iowa) … Ethan Schultz has won three straight singles matches and leads the squad with seven wins … Schultz won both of his singles matches against CSS during the regular season … Schultz and Justin Steinke have paired up to win a team-high six doubles victories.
Series Records:
-CSS leads UNW 53-1
(Last Meeting: 8-1 CSS – 4/13/2017)
-CSS leads BLC 26-0
(Last Meeting: 7-2 CSS – 4/22/2017)
-CSS leads MLC 43-3
(Last Meeting: 8-1 CSS – 4/21/2017)
Looking Ahead: The NCAA Division III Tournament field will be posted on NCAA.com by 11 a.m. Monday. The Saints would have to receive one of the eight at-large bids up for grabs because the winner of the UMAC Tournament does not receive an automatic qualifier.
