Saint Mary's lost its unblemished conference record after a 5-4 loss to Hope today.
Both teams now boast a 3-1 MIAA conference record and are tied for third place behind Kalamazoo and Albion.
The Belles only earned one win in doubles play
The number one doubles duo of freshman Camille Gebert and senior captain Kelly McDavitt narrowly defeated sophomore Samantha Stille and freshman Lucy Himes 8-6. Gebert's powerful serves, combined with McDavitt's flawless finesse, allowed them to come back after initially being down 4-3.
The number two doubles team of seniors Tara O'Brien and Grace Gordon did not have as much luck. Though the duo dominated when in control of the serve, they had trouble returning their opponents' serves, which eventually led to an 8-2 loss to Flying Dutch freshman Ashley Austin and junior Christine Garcia.
"I feel like we played alright. We didn't play terrible, but we certainly didn't play our best," O'Brien said. "We had trouble returning serves and ended up digging ourselves into a hole. We need to learn how to close matches. The score does not reflect our competition and ability."
In the final doubles match of the afternoon, the freshmen team of Lisa Rubino and Erin Kaplan utilized their strong serves and quick feet to push the match into a tiebreaker. After a long battle, the duo was defeated 9-8 by Hope College senior and three-time letterwinner Ashley Leary and freshman Danielle Werley.
After trailing in the doubles matches, the Belles hoped to dominate in singles play, but didn't quite achieve their goal. While McDavitt played in the number one singles spot and defeated Stille in two straight sets 7-5, 6-2, Gebert fell to Austin, also in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. Lisa Rubino had better luck in the number three spot where she earned the victory against Leary in two sets 7-5, 6-3. While O'Brien battled through to the end of the match, she eventually fell to Garcia after three sets, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4. In the fifth spot, junior Cassie Quaglia fell to Werley 6-2, 6-3. In the final singles match of the day, Gordon dominated freshman Marissa Kooyers and won the match in two sets, 6-3, 6-4.
With an overall record of 7-10, the Belles will host Alma this Saturday. They will hope to add another win to their record and move into second place in the MIAA conference. In last year's match, Saint Mary's dominated Alma, shutting them out 9-0.
The match will take place this Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Eck Tennis Pavillion.
Saint Mary's lost its unblemished conference record after a 5-4 loss to Hope today.
Both teams now boast a 3-1 MIAA conference record and are tied for third place behind Kalamazoo and Albion.
The Belles only earned one win in doubles play
The number one doubles duo of Freshman Camille Gebert and senior captain Kelly McDavitt narrowly defeated sophomore Samantha Stille and freshman Lucy Himes 8-6. Gebert powerful serves combined with McDavitt's flawless finesse allowed them to come back after initially being down 4-3.
The number two doubles team comprised of seniors Tara O'Brien and Grace Gordon did not have as much luck. Though the duo dominated when in control of the serve, they had trouble returning their opponents' serves, which eventually led to an 8-2 loss to freshman Ashley Austin and junior Christine Garcia.
"I feel like we played alright. We didn't play terrible, but we certainly didn't play our best. We had trouble returning serves and ended up digging ourselves into a hole. We need to learn how to close matches. The score does not reflect our competition and ability," O'Brien said.
In the final doubles match of the afternoon, the freshman team of Lisa Rubino and Erin Kaplan utilized their strong serves and quick feet to push the match into a tiebreaker. After a long battle, the duo was defeated 9-8 by Hope College senior and three time letter winner Ashley Leary and freshman Danielle Werley.
Being behind after the doubles matches, the Belles hoped to dominate in singles play, but didn't quite achieve their goal. While McDavitt played in the number one singles spot and defeated Stille in two straight sets 7-5 and 6-2, Gebert fell to Austin, also in straight sets, 6-4 and 6-4. Lisa Rubino had better luck in the number three spot where she clutched the victory against Leary in two sets, 7-5 and 6-3. While O'Brien battled through to the end of the match, she eventually fell to Garcia after three sets, 6-4, 5-7, and 6-4. In the fifth spot, junior Cassie Quaglia fell to Werley, 6-2 and 6-3. In the final singles match of the day, Gordon dominated freshman Marissa Kooyers and won the match in two sets, 6-3 and 6-4.
With an overall record of 7-10, the Belles will host another conference opponent, Alma College, this Saturday. They will hope to add another win to their record and move themelves into second place in the MIAA conference. In last year's match Saint Mary's dominated Alma college, eventually shutting them out 9-0.
The match will take place this Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at the Eck Tennis Pavillion.
