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Belles Take Down Cougars for First Win of Season

Kathleen McLeod hits a forehand return shot.
Photo courtesy of Dan Horan
RIVER FOREST, Ill. - The Saint Mary's tennis team captured an 8-1 team win over host Concordia Chicago on Thursday afternoon in the Belles' first dual match of the 2022-23 season.
 

All three of the Belles' doubles pairings started the day off with wins in their opening games for quick 1-0 leads. Evelyn Demblans-Dechans and Kathleen McLeod maintained a 2-1 lead before expanding that lead to 4-1 at three doubles. The pair continued to cruise by going ahead 6-1 before taking the first match of the day with an 8-1 decision.

Lucy Chamberlin and Leah Hosang held a 2-1 lead and captured the next game for a 3-1 advantage in their two doubles competition. Chamberlin and Hosang did not drop another game on their way to an 8-1 win. Alayna Campbell and Emma Kealy jumped out to a 5-0 lead and gave Saint Mary's all three points through doubles play with an 8-1 win at one doubles.

Evelyn Demblans-Dechans wasted no time getting a lead in her six singles match by taking the opening game before storming ahead 5-0. After taking the opening set 6-0, Demblans-Dechan continued to roll with a quick 1-0 advantage in the second set. She did not concede a game in the set or the match on her way to the 6-0, 6-0 win. Leah Hosang went ahead 3-0 in her opening set at five singles and took a 6-0 win in the opening frame. The freshman continued right ahead by winning the opening game of the second set and growing her lead to 3-0. Hosang closed out the unblemished straight-set 6-0, 6-0 victory to clinch the team win.

Alayna Campbell similarly claimed a quick 3-0 in her first set at two singles before taking a 6-0 win in the opening stanza. The sophomore followed suit of Demblans-Dechans and Hosang by not dropping a game en route to the 6-0, 6-0 win. Emma Kealy won her opening game at three singles and ballooned her lead to 3-0. Kealy captured her opening set by a 6-0 margin and quickly went ahead 1-0 in the second set. The freshman went on to take the set and the match with another 6-0 score.

Kathleen McLeod earned the first game of her match at four singles before building a 3-0 lead. McLeod kept right on going in a 6-0, 6-0 win at four singles. Lucy Chamberlin bounced back from an early deficit in her one singles match to turn a  2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead. Chamberlin won the next two games for a 5-2 lead on her way to a 6-2 win in the first set. Chamberlin was unable to overcome a deficit in the second set, and the senior came up just short in the ten-point super tiebreaker as she shouldered a 2-6, 6-2, 10-4 setback.

 
The Belles return to action next weekend at the ITA Regional Tournament, which takes place in St. Louis, Mo. beginning on Friday.