Saint Mary's could not capture first place in the MIAA Tuesday. The second place Belles fell 7-2 to first place and undefeated Kalamazoo College this afternoon. Kalamazoo, ranked No. 12 in the region, used both strong singles and doubles play to dominate the Belles and add another win to its 11-7 overall record. Kalamazoo also boasts a 6-0 record in the MIAA, while the Belles remain tied for second place with an overall record of 8-11 and an MIAA record of 4-2. "The girls of Kalamazoo have improved a lot since we played them last," senior captain Kelly McDavitt said. "And although we all put our hearts into the match we weren't able to get a victory." In the first singles match of the day, senior captain Kelly McDavitt fell to Hornets freshman Beau Wangtrakuldee 6-1 and 6-0.Belles standout freshman Camille Gebert battled Hornets senior Megan Fink, pushing the match into three sets and eventually gaining the victory. She defeated Fink 6-4, lost in a tiebreaker 6-7 and finally defeated Fink in a heated final set 10-8. In the No. 3 singles spot, Hornets senior captain Laura Spencer defeated freshman Lisa Rubino 6-1, 6-2. Senior Tara O'Brien also fell in No. 4 singles, losing to freshman Ayano Nakamura 6-2 and 6-1.At No. 5 singles, junior Cassie Quaglia fell 6-1, 6-0 to Hornets sophomore Lindsay Zuhlke. In the final singles match of the afternoon, Belles senior Grace Gordon fell to Hornets sophomore Smitha Gudipati 6-1 and 6-2. In the day's doubles play, McDavitt and Gebert used teamwork to defeat Spencer and Hornets junior Mary Atallah 8-5 in the No. 1 doubles spot. In the No. 2 spot, Hornets players Zuhlke and Fink defeated the Belles duo of O'Brien and Gordon 8-2. In the final doubles match of the day, the freshman team of Kaplan and Rubino fell to Hornets freshman Sayako Nakawaga and Wangtrakuldee 8-2. The Belles hope to better their record today when traveling to Tri-State. The match was originally scheduled for April 11, but due to poor weather conditions, the team will play this afternoon at 3.The Thunder are currently 1-4 in the MIAA and have a seventh-place seed. In last year's competition, the Belles dominated, almost shutting out the Thunder with an 8-1 win.
