NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Saint Mary's tennis team battled their way to a hard-won 6-3 victory over in-state conference foe Trine on Tuesday afternoon.

 

Meredith Heckert and Kalyn Borger hardly missed a beat in their two doubles win as the pair captured an 8-1 decision. Lucy Chamberlin and Alayna Campbell trailed 5-4 in their one doubles match but held serve and broke serve to go ahead 6-5. Their counterparts then took the next two games for a 7-6 lead. Chamberlin and Campbell then fought off match point three times to force deuce, but the pair from Trine closed out the 8-6 match. Kathleen McLeod and Nikki Rust were in a similarly tight battle at three doubles as the teams both looked to gain a 2-1 edge going into singles. McLeod and Rust were down 5-4 before taking the next two games for a 6-5 advantage. The two sides traded the next two games to put McLeod and Rust within striking distance of the win at 7-6. After several deuces kept the game on its tipping point in both directions, McLeod and Rust prevailed to both break their Trine opponents' serve and capture a big 8-6 win.

 

Alayna Campbell powered her way to a 6-3, 6-3 straight-set victory at two singles to continue to build some momentum for the Belles. Moments later, Kathleen McLeod came off the court after grinding out a 6-1, 6-4 win at four singles. A match in which each point was decided by an average of at least a dozen shots and the final score was not indicative of how close the match truly was, Lucy Chamberlin battled to the last point in a very tightly played 6-0, 6-2 one singles setback.

 

Kalyn Borger played point-for-point but fell just short in a 6-2, 6-4 final at five singles. Meredith Heckert maintained a lead and took a 6-4 win in her opening set at three singles. The second set saw the senior go down 4-3 before breaking serve and holding serve to gain a 5-4 lead. Heckert's opponent made it close at 5-5, but the senior responded by going ahead 6-5 by holding serve. Heckert then jumped out to a big lead in the next game and had multiple match points to her advantage before capturing the 7-5 set and clinching the team win. Nikki Rust took a commanding first-set win by a 6-0 score but saw her counterpart take the second set by a 6-3 margin as the pair played a full third set as the overall match had not yet been decided at that moment. With the third tied 3-3, Rust held serve to go ahead 4-3 and broke serve for a 5-3 lead. The senior played through five deuces to try to hold serve and take the win but ultimately dropped the next game. Rust, however, responded by taking the next game by a sizable margin for the 6-4 win in the set and the match victory.

 

In exhibition play, Katie Hunter and Bailey Siglow came up on the short side of an 8-5 final at four doubles. Hunter went on to win a 6-2 exhibition singles match on the night.

 

The Belles (6-8, 3-1 MIAA) are off from competition until April 13 when they host Kalamazoo for a 4:00 p.m. conference match against the Hornets.

 

 

Saint Mary's College 6, Trine University 3
 Singles competition
1. Ashley Spirrison (TRINEW) def. Lucy Chamberlin (SMC) 6-0, 6-2
2. Alayna Campbell (SMC) def. Jadyn Davis (TRINEW) 6-3, 6-3
3. Meredith Heckert (SMC) def. Bekah Trent (TRINEW) 6-4, 7-5
4. Kathleen McLeod (SMC) def. Eva Morales (TRINEW) 6-1, 6-4
5. Ellie Cole (TRINEW) def. Kalyn Borger (SMC) 6-2, 6-4
6. Nikki Rust (SMC) def. Kennedy Outwater (TRINEW) 6-0, 3-6, 6-4

 Doubles competition
1. Ashley Spirrison/Ellie Cole (TRINEW) def. Lucy Chamberlin/Alayna Campbell (SMC) 8-6
2. Meredith Heckert/Kalyn Borger (SMC) def. Jadyn Davis/Bekah Trent (TRINEW) 8-1
3. Kathleen McLeod/Nikki Rust (SMC) def. Eva Morales/Lizzie Welker (TRINEW) 8-6

Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (2,4,1,5,3,6)
Exhibition Results:
Outwater/Hoekema (TRINEW) def. Hunter/Siglow (SMC), 8-5
Katie Hunter (SMC) def. Lizzie Welker (TRINEW), 6-2