ST. PAUL, MINN. – The St. Catherine tennis team hit a bit of a bump last weekend, suffering their first loss of the season at the hands of the Carleton College Knights. This week, the Wildcats hope to get back on the winning track against another Northfield based opponent. St. Kate's hosts Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) opponent St. Olaf Friday at 8 p.m. in the University of Minnesota Baseline Tennis Center.
The Wildcats enter the match against the Oles with an overall record of 4-1 and are 1-1 in MIAC play. St. Olaf is also 4-1 overall and have won both their conference games this season against the College of Saint Benedict and Macalester College.

Here are the important numbers and stats everyone should know before this evening's match:

3 – St. Kate's has won three matches this season by a score of 9-0. They opened the season with a 9-0 victory over North Central, then defeated Concordia-Moorhead by the same score to open conference play. This past weekend, the Wildcats defeated nonconference opponent Martin Luther 9-0 as well.

3 – St. Kate's has three MIAC matches scheduled before their spring break trip to Orlando, Fla. After they face the Oles on Friday, the Wildcats will play the University of St. Thomas on March 13 and Saint Mary's University on March 18 to close the first half of the season.

3 – St. Olaf has only lost three matches against conference opponents this year. They opened the 2016 season by beating Macalester 8-1 before beating Saint Ben's 7-2 six days later.

4 – The Wildcats and Oles have faced each other four times in the past two seasons, twice in the regular season and twice in the MIAC playoffs. In 2014, St. Kate's beat St. Olaf 6-3 in the regular season and again in the conference tournament 5-4 to advance to the semifinal round. In 2015, the Oles got their revenge, beating the Wildcats 6-3 in the regular season and 7-2 in postseason play.

1 – Last season, Alicia Knoll (Waseca, Minn. / Waseca) was the only singles player to score for St. Kate's against St. Olaf. Knoll, who was playing in the No. 4 spot at the time, defeated her opponent by a score of 7-5, 6-4 to score the Wildcats lone point in singles play. This season, Knoll has consistently been playing at the No. 2 spot in both singles and doubles play.