The Belles concluded another winning season with a MIAA record of 12-8 and a second seed in the MIAA conference tournament. Head coach Dale Campbell was proud of his team and what they accomplished over the season.
“I thought overall we had a great season,” Campbell said. “One of our goals was to get into our conference tournament and put ourselves in a position to be in the final perhaps. We actually finished in a tie for second in our conference. And thus we were able to host the tournament as the number two seed. A couple of very strong teams won the tournament.”
The Belles charged into their conference tournament as the number two seed with many memorable moments, including a 5-4 home win against Kalamazoo — who the Belles have not defeated in ten years — and a dominating 9-0 senior night win over Alma.
“It was great to come out as number two in the regular season and be in that position for our conference tournament at home” Campbell said. “We lost our semifinal match, which did not allow us to make it to the final but nevertheless we beat another conference power Kalamazoo, who we had not beaten in ten years. So we took a lot of great things away from the season.”
As the Belles are now looking forward to another special season, Coach Campbell also expressed his confidence in the teams ability to perform in the years to come.
“Our team culture is in a really good place,” Campbell said. “There are certain things we do not want to change. I do think that the players that are returning are a very competitive group. Some freshman coming in that should give us some additional skill. I also think we can focus a little more on our double and get perhaps even stronger there. Hopefully allowing us to play a more attaching style of doubles.”
