DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica men's tennis team will face Grinnell College (Iowa) in its first NCAA Division III Tournament appearance on Friday at the University of Chicago.
Where:
Stagg Field Tennis Courts – Chicago, Ill.
When:
Friday
Luther vs, Augustana (Ill.) – 11 a.m.
St. Scholastica vs. Grinnell – 2 p.m.
Saturday
Chicago vs. Luther/Augustana Winner – 10 a.m.
Gustavus Adolphus vs. CSS/ Grinnell Winner – 2 p.m.
Sunday
Regional Championship – Noon
Social Media:
Twitter:
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Facebook:
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St. Scholastica Saints
Stats
Record: 14-7, 7-0 UMAC
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats
What You Need to Know about the Saints:
-The Saints won their 23
rd consecutive Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) regular season championship and took home their 18
th UMAC Tournament title on Saturday.
-CSS has not lost a regular season UMAC dual match since April 27, 1997 – a streak of 166 consecutive victories.
-
Serhii Tykhonenko (Kiev, Ukraine/Lyceum #100 "Podil") became the second player in program history to be named UMAC Player of the Year for a third straight year on Tuesday.
-Tykhonenko has won at least 10 singles matches at the No. 1 spot in each of his first three seasons.
-
Elliot Schneider (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS) and
Rafa Gonzalez (La Libertad, El Salvador/FESA) were also named to the All-UMAC team.
-Schneider has won 14 straight singles matches, Gonzalez eight straight and Tykhonenko six straight.
-The No. 1 doubles team of Tykhonenko and Gonzalez have won nine straight doubles matches.
-Like opponents to Grinnell have been UW-Eau Claire (CSS L 1-8, GC W 7-2), Luther (CSS L 2-7, GC W 6-3), Ohio Wesleyan (CSS L 1-8, GC W 6-3).
-CSS has the same .667 winning percentage in both singles (84-42) and doubles (42-21) this spring.
What You Need to Know about Grinnell:
Record: 15-8, 6-1 UMAC
-The Pioneers won their 16
th consecutive Midwest Conference (MWC) and will be making its 13
th straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
-They advanced to the second round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
-Grinnell is ranked 12
th in Central Region, according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA).
-The Pioneers have won 16 of their last 17 matches.
-They also claimed all nine singles and doubles flight titles at the MWC Individual Tournament, only second time that has happened in conference history.
-The Pioneers have been strong at the bottom of the lineup this season, collecting at least 20 wins at each the No. 3, 4, 5 and 6 spots.
-Michael Conlin-Brandenburg has won 17 straight singles matches.
-Grinnell is 97-19 in doubles play this year.
-The No. 1 team of Ben Cobin and Bowen Mince is 18-7.
-The other two doubles teams have won 18 and 17 straight matches.
Series Record: First-ever meeting between the two programs.
Other Teams in Chicago
No. 2 Chicago – Ranked No. 1 in the Central Region … National semifinalists last season.
No. 16 Gustavus Adolphus – Ranked No. 4 in Central Region … Won ninth straight Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Tournament title.
Augustana (Ill.) – Ranked No. 11 in the Central Region … Have won a school-record 24 matches … College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Champions.
Luther (Iowa) – Ranked No. 15 in the Central Region … American River Conference (ARC) Champions … First NCAA appearance since 2011.
Looking Ahead: The winners of the eight regional pods advance to Kalamazoo, Michigan to compete for the NCAA Division III Championship.
