MORAGA, Calif – In the first of two matchups against Santa Clara this week, round one went to the Gaels as Saint Mary's swept the Broncos all in straight sets at home. 
 
SMC was hot from the start: Selbie Christensen and Morgan Kendrick got the winning going with a 21-13, 21-11 victory on court No. 5 while Chandler Cowell and Jennifer "Boo" Laird defeated their adversary 21-10, 21-17 in the fourth position. Meanwhile, at court No. 3, Alexsa "Crash" Parker and Sienna Young came away as victors (21-15, 21-12). At No. 2, Emily Bible and Lindsey Calvin finished off the Broncos 21-12, 21-16 and all fans gathered at court No. 1 to watch Lindsey Knudsen and Sarah Chase defeat their opponent 21-16, 21-15.  Exactly zero Gael pairs allowed SCU to score more than 17 points in a set.
 
"We don't feel satisfied yet," said head coach Gary Hodge. "Every day we're working to improve because we feel that this year we have a lineup that can challenge for the West Coast Conference Championship."
 
"We try to play with a lot of joy," said Bible. "We're a better team when we're intense and emotional."
 
"We've really pushed each other this year and you can see that every match we're growing and implementing new things," said Calvin. "We're not done yet and we've all really bought into the mindset that we're going to keep getting better."
 
Results
 
No. 18 Saint Mary's 5, Santa Clara 0
1. Lindsey Knudsen, Sarah Chase (SMC) def. Tessie Powers, Michelle Gajdka (SCU) 21-16, 21-15
2. Emily Bible, Lindsey Calvin (SMC) def. Kathryn Decker, Liliana Light (SCU) 21-12, 21-16
3. Alexsa "Crash" Parker, Sienna Young (SMC) def. Chloe Loreen, Alex Anthony (SCU) 21-15, 21-12
4. Chandler Cowell, Jennifer "Boo" Laird (SMC) def. Gretchen Reinert, Brittany Gillingham (SCU) 21-10, 21-17
5. Selbie Christensen, Morgan Kendrick (SMC) def. Alexa Dreyer, Natalia Rentsch (SCU) 21-13, 21-11
6. Aeriel Sundt, Alex O'Sullivan (SMC) def. Caroline Caruso, Kathryn LeBaron (SCU) 21-11, 21-9