Saint John's tennis begins its 2012 season with a pair of matches against non-NCAA Division III opponents this Saturday, Feb. 4. The Johnnies are scheduled to face Division I South Dakota State at 1 p.m., followed by Division II St. Cloud State at 4 p.m., at Gold's Gym in Sartell.

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: The Johnnies are eager to hit the court this spring with six returning starters from last year's team. Head coach Jack Bowe, who begins his 15th season at SJU with a 138-134 career record (65-61 MIAC), will look to senior Ian Hansen (Dawson, Minn./Dawson-Boyd) and junior Fabricio Moncada (Managua, Nicaragua/Lincoln International Academy) to lead the Johnnies once again this season. A two-time All-MIAC honoree at No. 1 singles, Moncada begins the 2012 campaign ranked fourth in the ITA Central Region Preseason Rankings. Moncada finished second at the USTA/ITA Midwest Regional this past fall (Oct. 2) in St. Peter after entering the tournament seeded No. 13. He upset the second and seventh seeds to reach the championship match. Moncada posted a 9-4 record (5-4 MIAC) at No. 1 singles and a 6-7 record (2-7 MIAC) in doubles competition. Hansen, meanwhile, finished with a 9-8 singles record (3-6 MIAC) and a 9-8 record (2-7 MIAC) in doubles competition. He and Moncada teamed up to post a 7-8 doubles record overall (2-7 MIAC).

Sophomore Connor Rust (Rochester, Minn./Lourdes) returns to the lineup after tallying an 8-8 record (4-4 MIAC) in singles competition as a freshman last spring.  Sophomore Joe Laue (St. Louis Park, Minn./Holy Angels) earned a 10-5 record (4-3 MIAC) in singles play with a 2-2 overall in doubles competition. Junior Zach Shriwise (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley West) posted a 4-4 record (3-3 MIAC) in singles completion last season.

The Johnnies will call two different locations home in 2012, Gold's Gym in Sartell and the College of Saint Benedict Tennis Courts in St. Joseph. SJU aims to improve on a disappointing ninth-place finish (2-7 MIAC, 8-9 overall) in 2011.