NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Saint Mary's tennis team built a lead through doubles and battled to the end to earn a 6-3 win over Calvin in conference action on Saturday.
Lily Brandt suffered a 6-1, 6-0 loss at six singles.
Monica Davy was on the short side of a 6-0, 6-2 final at one singles as Calvin took a narrow 3-2 overall lead.
Alyssa Gulli pulled Saint Mary's even with a 6-3, 6-2 victory at three singles.
Megan Davy gave the team lead back to the Belles with a 6-3, 6-1 win at two singles. With the overall match up in the air, the two remaining competitions were both wrapped up in tight, point-for-point battles.
Lilly Chamberlin claimed a 6-3 opening set and forged a lead in her second set before her opponent came back to tie things at 5-5. The sophomore, however, held serve after the switch and broke serve to take a 7-5 win at four singles and clinch the victory for the team. At the same time,
Elizabeth Preister was in a marathon match at five singles. The senior won a tight 6-4 first set and was up 5-4 in the second set before her counterpart won back-to-back games for a 6-5 lead. Preister's steady resilience came through as she won the next game to force a tiebreaker. In the tiebreaker, she went ahead 4-2 and did not trail the remainder of the way in a 7-5 win for the set and the match.
The victory over the Knights marks the first win for the Belles over Calvin in tennis since the 2014 season, which was also a 6-3 final at home.
The Belles (12-8, 4-1 MIAA) travel to Kalamazoo on Tuesday for a 4:00 p.m. conference match.
