SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – No. 18 Saint Mary's entered the final day of the West Coast Conference Midseason Tournament with a head full of steam, but fell just short of the title with a 4-1 loss to No. 13 Loyola Marymount in the final.
The Gaels took care of business in their first match of the day against San Francisco: SMC recorded their third sweep over the Dons this season (fourth victory over USF overall). Four out of the five contests were decided in straight sets with freshman
Chandler Cowell and sophomore
Jennifer "Boo" Laird earning the 3-set victory on court No. 4. This was their first-ever match as a pair.
Saint Mary's then headed to the Gold Medal match to face No. 13 Loyola Marymount for the first time this season. SMC snagged a victory in the No. 1 position with seniors
Sarah Chase and
Lindsey Knudsen defeating their Lion adversary 21-17, 21-17. However, that was the only win that the Gaels would claim. Juniors
Alexsa "Crash" Parker and
Sienna Young came close on court No. 3, pushing LMU to three sets after winning the second 21-16. They almost took the third, but ultimately fell 15-12.
"I thought our team did a great job of staying focused and playing hard," said head coach
Gary Hodge. "LMU is a fierce opponent and they came out a little more polished today. Overall it was a fantastic event and the team is excited to get back to work and prepare for the final conference championship."
"I'm really proud of the way our team battled this whole weekend," said Chase. "We gained some great experience playing in the wind, which will help us later in the WCC championships. We took care of business all weekend which set us up in the finals versus LMU. All courts fought hard and almost all of the matches could of gone either way. Overall, I would say it was a successful weekend for the Gaels and we're looking forward to tuning some things up at practice this week."
Results
#18 Saint Mary's 5, San Francisco 0
Main Beach -- Santa Cruz, Calif.
March 30, 2019
1.
Sarah Chase/
Lindsey Knudsen (SMC) def. Anna Dalla Vecchia/Carly Lowry (USF), 21-12, 21-11
2.
Emily Bible/
Lindsey Calvin (SMC) def. Madelyn LaFollette/Emily Zinger (USF), 21-19, 21-18
3. Alexsa "Crash" Parker/
Sienna Young (SMC) def. Ella Reames/Moana To'oto'o (USF), 21-17, 21-18
4.
Chandler Cowell/Jennifer "Boo" Laird (SMC) def. Camille Araujo/Victoria Rogers (USF), 21-13, 23-25, 15-10
5.
Selbie Christensen/
Morgan Kendrick (SMC) def. Tanner Shayne Pemberton/Sophie Sydenham (USF), 21-17, 21-8
#13 Loyola Marymount 4, #18 Saint Mary's 1
Main Beach -- Santa Cruz, Calif.
March 30, 2019
1.
Sarah Chase/
Lindsey Knudsen (SMC) def. Bo Culo/Megan Nash (LMU), 21-17, 21-17
2. Reka Orsi Toth/Savannah Slattery (LMU) def.
Emily Bible/
Lindsey Calvin (SMC), 21-16, 21-19
3. Sara Kovac/Jessie Prichard (LMU) def. Alexsa "Crash" Parker/
Sienna Young (SMC), 21-13, 16-21, 15-12
4. Erin Martin/Veronica Nederend (LMU) def.
Chandler Cowell/Jennifer "Boo" Laird (SMC), 21-19, 21-15
5. Ella Boehle/Emma Doud (LMU) def.
Selbie Christensen/
Morgan Kendrick (SMC), 21-18, 21-18
