After two losses against Spring Arbor and Goshen, the Saint Mary’s tennis team battled back and snatched a close 5-4 win from the Carthage Firebirds.
The Belles struggled in doubles play, going 1-2. However, a strong singles performance helped propel the team to a win.
In the first match of the day, Alayna Campbell and freshman Evelyn Demblans-Dechans lost 8-0 against Xingchen Liu and Giovanna Mendes for the Belles’ first loss. In the second match, Anna Gardner and her partner Emma Kealy took control and gained an 8-4 win over Marie Weis and Sasha Manojlovic, earning the first point of the day for the Belles. In the third match, Grace Clearwater and Hannah Gerner came up short with a close 8-6 loss to Victoria Rizzo and Maddie Kearney.
Singles competition went markedly different for the Belles, with the squad rolling to a 4-2 record against the Firebirds.
In the first singles match, Campbell fell to Liu 6-1, 6-0. In the second singles match, Kealy notched the first win for the Belles, defeating Weis in straight sets. Demblans-Dechans also won in straight sets for Saint Mary's, winning both sets 6-3 and tying the overall score 3-3. Gardener pushed the Belles ahead in the fourth match, winning a close one against Giovanna Mendes. Gardner lost her first set 6-4 but battled back winning the second set 6-4, sending the match into a tiebreaker. She went on to win the tiebreaker 6-3.
Katie Hunter lost to Carthage’s Maddie Kearney in the fifth match, dropping the first set 6-2 and the second set 6-3. Wasting no time in the sixth and final match of the singles competition, Gerner defeated Rizzo in straight sets 6-1, 6–3.
Kealy was named MIAA Athlete of the Week for her efforts. The Belles return to action on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. when host to St. Francis.
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