Saint Mary's hopes the momentum gained in a dominating 8-1 win over John Carroll Feb. 27 transfers to their home opener in a non-conference match against St. Mary's (Minn.) tonight at the Eck Tennis Pavilion at Notre Dame.
St. Mary's (Minn.) enters tonight's match coming off of a 6-3 win over Edgewood College (Wisc.), which ended their two-game losing streak.
The Cardinals (4-4, 0-3) are led by No. 1 singles player Bailey Edwards, who is 10-2 in her matches this season, including a top-eight individual finish at the USTA/ITA Regional Championships in late September. The junior defeated opponent and No. 1 Edgewood singles player Hannah Pincsak on Saturday with ease, winning both sets 6-0.
Saint Mary's No. 1 singles player, senior Jillian Hurley (1-2) will be faced with the task of matching up against Edwards. Meanwhile, senior Jessica Kosinski will face Edwards' sophomore sister, Killian, who made her first appearance of the season Saturday against Edgewood, winning in straight sets.
On the doubles side, the Belles will look for improvement from their top doubles tandem of Hurley and freshman Mary Catherine Faller, who have yet to win this season and accounted for the lone loss to John Carroll. They will be matched against the Cardinals' duo of both Edwards sisters.
Last weekend, the Belles (1-2) rebounded to defeat John Carroll after a disappointing 7-2 loss to Case Western Reserve the day before.
Senior Mary Therese Lee and freshman Kathleen Klauer, the
Belles No. 5 and No. 6 singles players, respectively, both dominated the weekend matches in Cleveland and will look to continue their success tonight. Lee defeated Case Western's Kathleen Evers in three sets, including a narrow 10-8 victory in the third set, and John Carroll's Emily Gorndt in straight sets. Klauer meanwhile won both of her matches in straight sets.
The Belles swing into their home season tonight at 7 p.m. against St. Mary's (Minn.) at Notre Dame's Eck Tennis Pavilion.
