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Saint Joseph girls tennis to play for state title later Saturday

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Saint Joseph girls tennis to play for state title later Saturday

St. Joe No. 1 singles player Molly Bellia eliminated from individual portion of tournament by future college teammate/friend Emma Gu

Lewis Bagley
 |  Correspondent

ZIONSVILLE – One more match.

South Bend Saint Joseph used a strong effort from its doubles entries to lead it to a 4-1 win over Harrison in the Saturday morning semifinals of the IHSAA State Girls Tennis Championships.

The victory moves the top-ranked Huskies into the title match Saturday evening against No. 2 Fishers. A victory would give Saint Joe the elusive state title it hasn’t won since 2010. This appearance in the state finals is the sixth since taking the title 14 years ago.

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“Fishers is ranked No. 2 for a reason,” Huskies coach Bill Mountford said after the semifinal victory. “They are solid at all five spots. We saw them at the Park Tudor Invitational earlier this season and we are very aware of what they have.”

The majority of the semifinal was played at North Central High School in Indianapolis, but the title match had to be moved due to rain and will begin at 5:30 p.m. at Pearson Automotive Tennis Club here.

Saint Joe’s sister-duo of Ashi Amalnathan, at two singles, and Anni Amalnathan, at three, got the Huskies off to a flying start against Harrison, each winning, 6-0, 6-0 with each match lasting barely 30 minutes.

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In fact, Ashi Amalnathan turned in a “golden set” in set two of her win, as she didn’t allow her opponent a point.

Saint Joe (21-1) clinched the match with a win by Dani Graham and Libby Yergler at one doubles. That duo won a first-set tiebreaker, 7-4 (scoring the final three points), then cruised to a 6-1 win in the second set.

Rounding out the Saint Joe score, two doubles Anna Walsh and Ella Michaels scored a 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 victory.

“Very proud of both doubles,” Mountford said. “Harrison’s one singles and one doubles are very tough and if we had lost both, it would have been a cause for concern.”

The only negative from the semifinal is that senior Molly Bellia fell at one singles to Emma Gu, 7-5, 5-7, 6-2. Bellia and Gu are both Naval Academy-recruits and have played doubles together on the off-season circuit. They are best friends, to boot.

Bellia reached set point at 5-3 before Gu. In set two, Bellia led, 5-0, before Gu again rallied to square the set at 5-5.

Bellia pulled out the set, but couldn’t carry that momentum over into set three — which was interrupted by rain and moved from the outdoor courts to the indoor facility.

That loss eliminates Bellia from the individual portion of the tournament — which she won as a freshman in 2021 and finished as runner-up last year.

IHSAA STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

(At North Central High School, Indianapolis)*

SEMIFINALS

SOUTH BEND SAINT JOSEPH 4, HARRISON 1

SINGLES – 1. Emma Gu (H) d. Molly Bellia, 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 *(Rain forced match to be moved inside to Pearson Automotive Tennis Club, Noblesville); 2. Ashi Almalnathan d. Madison Evans, 6-0, 6-0; 3. Anni Amalnathan d. Bella Maynard, 6-0, 6-0.

DOUBLES – 1. Dani Graham-Libby Yergler d. Aubrey York-Ella York, 7-6 (4), 6-1; 2. Ella Michaels-Anna Walsh d. Elliot Flanery-Sara Wang, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.

Records: Saint Joseph 21-1; Harrison finishes 20-3.

FISHERS 4, FRANKLIN 1

SINGLES – 1. Mischa Briggs (F) d. Rylie Wilkison, 6-1, 6-0; 2. Marnie Moore (F) d. Madelyn Barron, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2; 3. Izzy Ireland (F) d. Chelsie Rayl, 6-3, 7-6 (5).

DOUBLES – 1. Cassie Maurer-Caroline Ober (F) d. Katie Pinnick- Kennedy Urban, 6-1, 6-0; 2. Emma Beehler-Meredith Ober (F) d. Meleah Murphy-Emma Sappenfeld, 6-1, 6-3.

Records: Fishers 19-0; Franklin finishes 27-1.

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