by Eva Dean Folkert

Unseasonably cold weather drove the Hope College women's tennis team indoors to take on Saint Mary's College on Wednesday.

Despite the venue switch, the outcome was still the same. The Flying Dutch downed another MIAA opponent, this time besting the Belles, 7-2, at Hope's DeWitt Tennis Center.

Hope's win streak extends to six in a row. The Flying Dutch are 5-0 in the league and 8-2 overall.

The Belles fall to 2-3 in the MIAA with a 4-5 overall record.

Next up for Hope is a match-up between undefeated MIAA squads. The Flying Dutch travel to Kalamazoo College on Saturday, April 24 to test their record against the Hornets. Play begins at 1 p.m.

On Wednesday, Hope claimed all three doubles matches and won four of the six singles flights. 

Photo of Saydee Johns by Lynne Powe

"We were down to Saint Mary's, 7-5, in No. 3 doubles. They pushed us and fought hard," said head coach Bob Cawood. "But they (Angela Burke and Mackenzie Rhode) came back to tie up that match, 7-7, in the pro set and then they powered through pretty quickly in the tiebreaker, winning that 7-2 and, of course, then the match. That just gave us a lot of confidence going into singles."

At No. 1 singles, Sydney Jackson of Fort Wayne, Indiana (Carroll) defeated Saint Mary's Megan Davy, 6-0, 6-2.

At No. 2 singles, junior Saydee Johns of Holland, Michigan (Holland) topped Saint Mary's Lucy Chamberlin, 6-3, 7-5.

At No. 3 singles, freshman Annika Weeber of Rockford, Michigan (Grand Rapids Christian) posted a 6-1, 6-2 victory against Saint Mary's Lilly Chamberlin.

At No. 4 singles, freshman Angela Burke of Holland, Michigan (Holland Christian) split the first two sets against Saint Mary's Alyssa Gulli, 3-6, 6-6, but then dropped the third-set, 10-point tiebreaker, 5-10.

At No. 5 singles, sophomore Taylor Truman of Hudsonville, Michigan (Hudsonville) downed Saint Mary's Kathleen McLeod, 7-5, 6-2.

At No. 6 singles, junior Mackenzie Rhode of Frankfort, Illinois (Lincoln-Way East) was defeated by Saint Mary's Jane Price, 1-6, 0-6.

In doubles, Hope's No. 1  pair of Jackson and Weeber claimed an 8-5 win over Davy/Gulli; Hope's No. 2 pair of Johns and Truman topped Chamberlain/Chamberlain, 8-1; and Hope's No. 3 pair of Burke and Rhode won on a tie-breaker, 8-7 (7-2), over Nicole Becker/ Meredith Heckert.