DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica men's tennis team and the University of Northwestern (Minn.) will meet in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Tournament final for the seventh straight year on Saturday with an automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division III Tournament on the line.
Where:
Longview Tennis Club – Duluth, Minn.
When:
Saturday at 1 p.m.
Social Media:
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/CSSsaintstennis
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/csssaintstennis
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/css.saints
St. Scholastica Saints
Stats
Record: 9-9, 7-0 UMAC
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats
What You Need to Know about the Saints:
-The Saints defeated Bethany Lutheran College 9-0 in the UMAC Tournament semifinals on Wednesday.
-CSS has not lost a dual match of any kind against a conference opponent since 1997.
-Against conference opponents during the regular season, CSS was 40-2 in singles action.
-Those two losses came against Northwestern.
-Sophomore
Serhii Tykhonenko (Kiev, Ukraine/Lyceum #100 "Podil") is 9-6 at the No. 1 spot.
-Freshman
Elliot Schneider (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS) leads the team with 13 singles wins this spring, including 11 at the No. 2 spot.
-CSS is only .500 in singles spots 3-6 on the year.
-Senior
Trace Combs (White Bear Lake, Minn./White Bear Lake HS) enters Saturday's match on a seven-match win streak.
-Freshman
Jack Kearney (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing HS) is on a five-match win streak.
-In doubles, the Saints were 18-3 against league opponents during the regular season.
-All three of those losses came at the No. 2 doubles spot.
-The freshmen tandem of
Connor Croft (Virginia, Minn./Virginia HS) and
Jake Jolowsky (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing HS) lead the team eight doubles wins, including six at the No. 3 spot.
-Tykhonenko and Schneider have won four matches at the No. 1 spot, including three in a row.
What You Need to Know about Northwestern:
-The Eagles defeated the University of Wisconsin-Superior 8-1 in the UMAC Tournament semifinals on Wednesday.
-They have won either 9-0 or 8-1 in each of their last five victories.
-UNW enters Saturday's match with a 12-10 overall record.
-During the regular season, Northwestern was 33-9 in singles action against conference competition.
-Senior CJ Lloyd has 12 wins at the No. 1 singles spot.
-Fellow senior Joshua Kimball has a team-best 13 singles wins this spring, 11 at the No. 3 spot.
-Junior Landon Ridpath has 11 victories at the No. 2 singles position.
-UNW is below .500 in singles spots 4 thru 6 on the year.
-The Eagles were 19-2 in doubles play against UMAC opponents during the regular season.
-Their best record was at the No. 2 spot at 14-8.
-Kimball and Davis Pfaff have won six straight at the No. 2 doubles spot.
-Lloyd and Ridpath have nine wins at the No. 1 doubles position.
-Northwestern is also looking for its first NCAA Division III Tournament berth.
Series Record: CSS leads 55-1
(Last Meeting: 6-3 CSS – 4/27/2018)
Series History: The Saints have swept the Eagles 9-0 each of the last four years in the tournament championship match … The closest margin was in 2012, when CSS edged UNW 5-4 … The Saints defeated the Eagles last Friday down at Northwestern 6-3, which was the closest margin since the 2016 season.
Looking Ahead: The winner of the UMAC Tournament receives an automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division III Tournament. The official NCAA Tournament field will be announced by 11 a.m. Monday morning on NCAA.com. First round begins on Thursday or Friday next week.
