Saint Mary's will take on the Bethel College today in a cross-town rivalry match for their second of four home matches in a row.
The Belles (6-9, 2-3 MIAA) are coming off a conference win against Tri-State this Saturday where they beat the Thunder 8-1. The Lady Pilots have played two matches since opening their spring season, going 1-1 and moving their overall record to 10-4.
Against Tri-State Saturday the Belles managed to show the consistency they have been lacking this season. Winning two of the three doubles and sweeping the singles, Saint Mary's managed to grab the second conference win they had been looking for since beating Olivet 9-0 on April 1.
"Tri-State was a good win for us, and I think we can get a few more in a row this week," sophomore co-captain Lisa Rubino said. "We hope to keep our momentum going right up to the conference tournament."
Leading the doubles was the No. 1 pair of sophomore co-captain Camille Gebert and freshman Jillian Hurley, who won their seventh match this season with an 8-1 win over Tri-State's Amanda Waidely and Dana Dunham.
The No. 2 duo of Rubino and freshman Betsy Reed fought back against Kara Kauffman and Amanda Steiner after struggling early in the match, but were unable to make a full recovery, losing 8-5. Freshmen Franca Peluso and Jessica Kosinski defeated Stephanie Steiner and Jen Wall 8-5 to win the doubles division for the Belles.
In singles, Saint Mary's success continued with each match. No. 1 singles Gebert defeated her opponent 6-1, 6-1 for her seventh win this spring. Hurley, at the No. 2 spot, carried on her strong season with thirteenth win, improving her record to 13-2 on the year.
The Belles will play the Lady Pilots at 4:00 this afternoon at Saint Mary's for the Belles' third home match this season.
"I hope our team stays healthy and focused," Gebert said. "There's a lot of tennis left, and a big chance for us to surprise some teams."
