The last few years of Saint Mary's tennis were mostly good but not great. The team has finished no farther than four games from .500 every season from 2017-2022. Maybe they could've built on a promising 5-2 start in 2020 if COVID-19 didn't wipe out the rest of the season.
But their breakthrough wasn't canceled, just delayed. And it came last year. After going 8-12 in 2022, Saint Mary's had a dominant 2023 regular season. Their season began with a 13-game winning streak. The Belles went 17-1 against every other team except for Hope, who handed the Belles their first loss of the year on March 31, then ended their season with a victory in the MIAA Tournament Semifinal just under a month later. However, it was still a stellar season for St. Mary's.
"We had a lot of depth in our lineup, and we had a lot of experience last year. But I think with a with a great year like that it also shows some growth in our culture, and that we're always striving for great things," head coach Dale Campbell said. "And we strive to be a great team every year, whether that's measured by wins. But we're going to do everything we can to have a great culture and have a standard of excellence."
Depth is important, but so is star power. A team needs elite talent to go over six weeks without a loss. The Belles have one of those players in senior Alayna Campbell. The Granger, Indiana, native went 19-8 in singles play last year and earned a spot on the All-MIAA Second Team for the second straight season.
"She has always been a very steady player, very consistent," Dale Campbell said. "And she has a lot of tools in her game. A lot of experience now. And I think the challenge of of playing your opponent's best players now primarily playing the number one spot you know, just kind of developing that confidence that you can, you can win matches as the level increases a bit."
Dale knows Alayna very well — after all, she is his daughter. Their relationship as both father-daughter and coach-player has some challenges, but it's also a rewarding one.
"I think sometimes you feel a little added pressure coaching your own daughter and sometimes as her as a player might feel that there's a little bit of a target on her," Dale Campbell said. "So I think you both have to kind of overcome what others might think and you just have to treat her like another player on your team...I think she does a good job of listening to me as a coach and not, during our practice or matches, not taking me as her parent, so to speak."
Behind Campbell, there's some uncertainty about how things may shape up. Half of the team's 10-player roster are freshmen. A couple of them are quickly moving into regular roles for the Belles.
"Anna Gardner and Grace Clearwater are definitely playing in our top six right now. They're both still getting accustomed to playing both doubles and singles," Dale Campbell said.
The team has also dealt with some injuries so far. The Belles played three games that counted on their record in the fall, going 1-2. But they started another promising spring off strong with a 6-3 win over Huntington. Saint Mary's is hoping it's the start of something special once again.
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