WOMEN'S TENNIS: Saint Mary's travels to prestigious Midwest Invitational
By KATIE McVOY
Associate Spotts Editor
The Saint Mary's tennis team has taken another step down a path that runs through a fairy tale season.
After defeating hope College to take the top spot in the MIAA, the Belles earned an invitation to the prestigious Midwest Invitational in Madison, Wis. Saint Mary's is the only MIAA invited to the event.
"We're very honored and very excited to be going," team captain Annie Knish said. "At this point in the season, which has been a dream season, we're going out there with a positive attitude."
After earning a 12th place ranking in the Midwest, Saint Mary's will join 11 other top tennis teams in a four round tournament.
Saint Mary's will face Luther College (9-6) at 8 a.m. on Friday. The Belles did not receive a first round bye.
While the Belles would like to walk away with the trophy, their main goal is to gain valuable experience for future league play.
"We're going in with a positive attitude and we're going to try to better our games and play to the best of our ability," Knish said. "From my experience, the better the competition, the better you play and you will raise yourself to the next level."
Saint Mary's is 10-0 when all its starters are present and have picked up impressive wins against Div. 1 Valparaiso, the University of Chicago and Albion.
Along with Knish, Natalie Cook, Jeannie Knish, Kaitlin Cutler, Kris Spriggle, Elisa Ryan and Trisha Jones, head coach Dee Stevenson will take Angie Sandner as an alternate.
The tournament will be the first match for the Belles since Sunday. Tuesday's match against Calvin because of weather.
"We've been playing a lot of points and scrimmages," Knish said. "We've been focusing on strategy and working on fine tuning our weaknesses."
However, competition promises to be difficult.
"It's going to be a tough tournament," Knish said. "We're just excited to go."
The Belles were invited to the Midwest Invitational in 1999, but did not receive an invitation last year.
All Sports Stories for Thursday, April 12, 2001
