WOMEN'S TENNIS: Belles blow out Olivet 9-0, retain first place in MIAA
By KATIE McVOY
Associate Sports Editor
"We won, coach," seemed to be all the Saint Mary's tennis team could say on Wednesday after solidly defeating Olivet to retain its first place ranking in the MIAA.
A 9-0 victory at home made up for a weekend loss that ended the Belles' perfect season.
"Our team handled it pretty well," freshman Kris Spriggle said.
Saint Mary's kept up outstanding play, holding its opponent to less than 15 total points. The Belles were looking for consistency against a weaker Comet team.
"We realized you couldn't kill [the ball] but to keep things consistent," Spriggle said.
Consistency seemed to pay off for sophomore Angie Sandner who finished her No. 6 singles match in an hour's time.
Despite a strong wind, Sandner claimed a 2-0 victory, defeating her opponent 6-0 both times.
"It was hard serving," she said. "The first set was pretty windy. The second set wasn't so bad."
After Sandner wrapped up her singles match, the rest of the team fell in line, claiming 2-0 victories from No. 1 singles to No. 6. Wind may haveaffected the fans, but the Belles adjusted their games for the winds.
"With the wind, you couldn't hit with all your power," Spriggle said. "We had to focus more on how we hit instead of the power."
Junior Annie Knish claimed a needed No. 1 singles victory with a 2-0 (6-0, 6-1) win over her Olivet opponent.
Jeannie Knish added a 2-0 victory at No. 3 singles, defeating her opponent 6-1,6-0.
Senior Natalie Cook, and freshmen Kaitlin Cutler and Spriggle each added 2-0 victories to wrap up singles.
The doubles teams faired just as well. Sophomores Elisa Ryan and Trisha Jones teamed up to defeat Olivet 2-0 (6-0,6-1) in No. 3 doubles followed by Cutler and Jeannie Knish who claimed a 2-0 (6-1, 6-0) victory in No. 2 doubles.
When Annie Knish and Cook stepped off the court with a No. 1 doubles victory (6-2, 6-1) the Belles claimed a full sweep only two hours after the match began.
The Belles will face off against the Knights of Calvin College today at 3 p.m. at Angela in another MIAA match-up of the season.
Calvin is tied for second place in the MIAA, right behind the Belles who tied with the Knights last year for the second place finish.
Saint Mary's has already claimed victories over Alma and Hope, the two other leading MIAA teams. Calvin will prove to be the final obstacle.
All Sports Stories for Thursday, April 19, 2001
