After its 9-0 win over Trine on Tuesday, Saint Mary's has a chance to enter its second three-game winning streak on Thursday with a victory over Bethel.
Against the Thunder (3-9, 0-3 MIAA), the Belles (10-4, 2-1 MIAA) swept both singles and doubles play, starting off with sophomore Maddie Minaduo and senior Margaret Faller, who took an 8-2 victory at two doubles. Freshman Monica Davy and junior Sam Setterblad next succeeded with an 8-3 win at one doubles, and junior Kaity Venters and senior Andrea Fetters finished doubles off with an 8-5 victory in the third flight. Belles head coach Dale Campbell said that the team prepared well for the competition.
“I have to say that Trine was not quite as strong as usual, but we definitely prepare well, the team gets focused, they are warming up better and are business-like in their approach,” Campbell said. “They recognize the importance of coming out ready. There is some feeding off of each other's success definitely, and I think they want to do well for each other.”
The Belles then triumphed in six singles matches and Campbell said that the team took care of business after its first conference loss on Saturday.
“They have pride in themselves and their team and seem to enjoy the battle quite a bit,” Campbell said. “They were really mature in coming back after a loss and taking care of business against North Central.”
Fetters defeated Thunder senior Lexi Mack 6-3, 6-1 on court No. 1 to start the singles action. Davy followed with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over her opponent, sophomore Madison Hatkevich on court No. 2 and Faller added a 6-2, 6-0 win of her own on court No. 3. Minuado swept sophomore Kinnsey Pass, 6-0, 6-0 on Court No. 4. To round out the action for the Irish, Venters and freshman Elizabeth Priester won their matches 6-0, 6-2 and 6-1, 6-2 respectively.
On Thursday St. Mary’s plays against Bethel (9-9, 1-7 Crossroads), a game rescheduled from March 31. Campbell said that although it is not a conference game, the team will be ready to perform come game time and continue practicing their play.
“I think they are all important, not just as wins, but mainly that you have to practice preparing for matches, practice getting off to a good start and practice taking care of each situation individually,” Campbell said. “Tennis is a series of individual situations, and you have to come ready to play one at a time. It may have been a slight advantage to play it earlier, but the team is off Wednesday to rest. They will be ready on Thursday.”
Campbell also said that there are areas where he continues to look for improvement among his team.
“We still can be much more assertive in doubles, and we are still tweaking that, Campbell said. “In singles, we have to be quicker in preparation, quicker in recovery after shots, and fight to keep making one more shot. We are getting there.”
The Belles will face off against Bethel on Thursday at 4 p.m at Saint Mary’s Tennis Courts.
