Bismarck, N.D.— After a three-week hiatus, the University of Mary tennis team (4-4, 3-4 NSIC) will be back on the court this weekend as they take on Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday in Fargo, N.D., before finishing up at St. Cloud State. The Marauders will look to bounce back after losing their last two matches to Minnesota State and Winona State.

First up of Saturday, U-Mary will take on Sioux Falls. In their first season as part of the NSIC, USF is 2-3 so far this season in conference action (4-6 overall). The Cougars were last in action in S.C. as the dropped two of three matches, each of which were non-conference. With wins over Bemidji State and Upper Iowa, however, Sioux Falls has won two straight conference matches. The Cougars are an experienced squad that returns seven letterwinners. However, Stacey Beard and Allison Kause, their top two singles players are both freshmen. The Marauders blew by the Cougars 6-3 last season.

U-Mary will round out Saturday against Southwest Minnesota State. SMSU has struggled thus far as they are still in search of their first conference win (1-7, 0-4 NSIC). The Mustangs were last in action in Ariz., where they claimed their first win of the season and snapped a six-match losing streak. With six freshmen on their roster, Southwest returned just two players from a year ago. One of those two returners is Katie Kientz, who as played first singles for the Mustangs in seven of their eight matches. U-Mary defeated SMSU 6-3 last season.

U-Mary's toughest challenge of the weekend will come on Sunday as they wrap-up with St. Cloud State. The Huskies (10-7, 4-0 NSIC) have yet to lose a game in conference play. SCSU is fresh of a trip to Fla. where they played six matches (3-3) in five days. The Huskies have been paced this season by a pair of juniors in Cassandra Brown and Katie Kotschevar, each of who already have 10 singles wins on the season. The duo has also combined for a 9-5 doubles record. The Marauders fell 9-0 last season to the Huskies.

U-Mary's Hallie Welk enters the weekend with a seven game singles winning streak. Welk also has a doubles streak on the line. Welk and Rachael Scott have won six straight when paired at second doubles. 

With three conference wins, U-Mary has already tied their program-high for Northern Sun victories. With a win this weekend, the Marauders would break that record.