SMC Tennis: Belles blank Bulldogs 9-0
By LISA REIJULA
Sports Writer
The Saint Mary's tennis team got back into the win column April 5 with a 9-0 shutout victory over host Adrian College. The Belles brought their MIAA conference record to 2-1 and are 10-2 overall for the season.
Saint Mary's Jeannie Knish defeated Laura Kelley 6-3, 6-2 at No. 1 singles play. Fellow Belle Kristen Palombo was victorious over Liz Filipiak 6-0, 6-1 at the No. 2 spot. No. 3 Kaitlin Cutler beat Adrian's Cindy Krusienga 6-0, 6-1.
In No. 4 singles for the Belles, Kris Spriggle blanked Heather Fraser 6-0, 6-0. Adrian's Shannon Sears fell to Elisa Ryan 6-3, 6-1 at the No. 5 slot. Saint Mary's Angela Sandner also won, defeating Sarah Kim 6-0, 6-1 at No. 6 singles.
The Belles cruised in doubles action as well. Knish and Palombo were winners over Kelley and Kruisenga 6-0, 6-2 at No. 1 doubles. At No. 2, the team of Cutler and Ryan dispatched Fraser and Filipiak handily, 6-0, 6-2.
The No. 3 doubles match was the closest contest of the afternoon. The Belles' team of freshman Lindsay Cook and sophomore Miranda Mikulyuk won the first set over the Bulldogs' Sears and Lindsey Davis, 6-1. The Sears-Davis duo came back to take the second set 6-2. In the decisive third set, Cook and Mikulyuk secured the shutout for the Belles with a 6-1 win to take the match.
"We played really well on Saturday," said Knish. "The court was kind of a weird surface, so that took awhile to get used to. But we had fun and overall it was not too difficult of a match."
With the loss, the Bulldogs fell to 1-1 in the MIAA and 5-3 overall. The Belles were supposed to continue their road trip and travel to Chicago April 6 for matches against host University of Chicago and Carthage College.
However, those matches were cancelled due to the cold weather and lack of indoor courts at the University of Chicago.
"We were looking forward to playing in Chicago," said Knish. "There was going to be some tough competition there."
The Belles resume play at home Tuesday against Albion College in an MIAA conference match.
All Sports Stories for Monday, April 7, 2003
