Saint Mary's finally got the conference win it had been looking for in its 9-0 sweep over Olivet on Tuesday. The Belles move their record to 5-8, 1-2 MIAA, and the Comets fall to 1-7, 0-3 MIAA.
"We came out strong in all aspects of our play today," sophomore co-captain Camille Gebert said. "We gained a lot of experience from the tough competition last weekend, and it really showed today. As a team, we're playing more confidently."
The Belles are coming off a winless weekend at the Jack Swartz Invitational at Wheaton College, Ill., losing to Olivet Nazarene and Wheaton College, both ranked teams. The Belles lost 6-3 to No. 16 in NAIA Olivet Nazarene on Friday, and 8-1 to Wheaton, ranked No. 28 in Division III, on Saturday.
The Belles showed their strength in singles by dominating the Comets. No.1 singles Camille Gebert defeated Olivet's Jaclyn Mummaw 6-1, 6-2, moving her record to 6-7. No. 2 Jillian Hurley earned her 11th victory of the season as she beat Abbie Utberg 6-3, 6-1, moving her singles record to 11-2. No. 3 Betsy Reed won over Celestre Gruber 6-0, 6-0; No.4 Jessica Kosinski defeated Katie Griffes 6-3, 6-2; No. 5 Lisa Rubino went 6-1, 6-1 over Leanne Schudder; and No. 6 Laura Arnold defeated Kristen Wolfolk 6-2, 6-1 to complete the Saint Mary's sweep.
Saint Mary's domination of Olivet continued in the doubles division. Top doubles pair Gebert and Hurley defeated Olivet's Mummaw and Utberg 8-1, moving their record to 6-7. Rubino and Reed beat Gruber and Schudder 8-1, and the duo of Kosinski and Franca Peluso defeated Griffes and Wolfolk 8-1 to round out the Belles sweep.
"It was crucial for us to win our doubles, which all three teams did fairly easily," Gebert said.
Saint Mary's will next compete this Friday and Saturday in the Midwest Invitational.
"We need to get some momentum, but a couple days off from matches will refresh us," Gebert said. "We've been working hard all season, and hopefully that hard work is going to pay off towards the end of the season, as we prepare for the conference tournament."
