SMC Golf
Belles look to continue early season momentum
Observer Sports Staff | Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Cross Country
The Saint Mary’s cross country team opened their season at the Manchester University Hokum Karem Race on Aug. 30 in a relay style race. The freshman tandem of Julia O’Grady and Angela Bannan finished fifth overall with a time of 35:28.8. Senior Katie Glenn and sophomore Riley Swope combined to finish ninth overall with a time of 36:43.8. In their most recent meet, the Belles placed 11th at the National Catholic Invitational hosted by Notre Dame. Glenn finished 46th overall with a posted time of 19:50.27. O’Grady followed behind, placing 58th overall with a time of 20:08.94. The Belles’ next meet is set for Saturday at the Pre-National Race at Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Kentucky.
Golf
The Saint Mary’s golf team has placed in the top 4 of every competition this season, including a string of six first place finishes in a row. The Belles opened the season at the Lynn Schweizer Invitational on Aug. 31st where they placed fourth out of 12. In their most recent competition, the Belles placed first of nine at the MIAA Jamboree #2 on Tuesday with a team score of 326. Junior Hunter Kehoe took first place posting a 77; sophomore Sydney Hruskoci posted an 80 which tied her for third overall; and junior Summer Stillson shot an 81 to tie her for fifth place. The squad is set to compete Wednesday at the MIAA Jamboree #3 after the initial date of Saturday was re-scheduled due to weather.
Soccer
Saint Mary’s soccer is off to a 5-4 start to the season after a season opening win over Bluffton College 2-0. Sophomore forward Rose Stackhouse would score both goals of the game for the Belles, one of them coming in the dying seconds of the first half. Senior goalkeeper Thallia Robles posted a clean sheet on the day to help power the Belles to their first victory of the season. The Belles’ two biggest victories this season have come over Indiana University South Bend with an 8-0 score line that saw a combined six goals scored for Saint Mary’s in the first half, and against Defiance College with a score of 6-1. Stackhouse has led the team this season in goals with a total of 8. The Belles are set to play Tuesday at home against conference rival Albion.
Tennis
In its first and only tournament of the season so far, the Saint Mary’s tennis team had several results in both A and B draw singles and doubles in the Hope Invitational on Sept. 13. In the A draw singles, sophomore Alyssa Gulli reached the quarterfinals before falling to Claire Hallock of Hope 6-0, 6-0. In the B draw singles, freshman Kathleen McLeod advanced to the next round of 16 with wins over Sophia Stramatopoulos of Hope 6-1, 6-2 and Mya Duncan of Albion 6-4, 6-0, ultimately falling to Saydee Johns of Hope. In A draw doubles, Alyssa Gulli and junior Megan Davy would reach the quarterfinals before falling to Jackson and Newhof of Hope 6-4. In B draw doubles, the freshman duo of Trinity Marshall and Annika Smith would advance to the semifinals with a victory over Grace Christian University’s team of Adams and Mast 7-6 before falling 8-2 to the team of Emily Schellenboom and Brittany Statema of Calvin University. The Belles will compete Friday at the Hillsdale Tournament before shutting down until the spring.
Volleyball
The Saint Mary’s volleyball team is off to a 6-8 start with an 0-1 record in MIAA conference play. In their first action of the season, the Belles took two wins on opening day of the Forester Invite on August 30. The Belles defeated Marian University (3-12, 0-3 NACC) 3-0, and Lake Forest College (6-9, 0-1 MWC) 3-1. Against the former, junior middle hitter Alyssa Chong recorded six kills and posted a .364 attacking percentage in the victory along with a 13-dig performance from junior libero Brittney Tarkanyi. Junior setter Morgan VanderWey and sophomore setter Claire Hennesy would combine for 22 assists. In the second match of the day, freshman outside hitter Morgan Collantes would post a double double with 18 kills and 22 digs to push the Belles to a 3-1 win over the Foresters. Despite back to back losses to conference opponent Albion College (11-5, 2-0 MIAA) and North Park University (7-9, 0-2 CCIW), both by the score of 3-1, the Belles hope to rebound against Adrian College (4-8, 0-2 MIAA) on Wednesday.
