By: Brady Pfaadt
The Bellarmine’s women’s tennis team is well into its season and are currently sitting on a 13-1 record. The Knights are led by junior Maggie Walroth and seniors Mairin Cotter and Marissa Kovach. All have joined the prestigious 100-victories club this season. There are only six players in the program who have won at least 100 matches.
“It is exciting to reach 100 wins because it is just seeing your hard work pay off. I am very grateful to have been able to play so many matches. It is something that I never thought I would achieve with college tennis,” Kovach said.
Walroth ranks among one of the best in Bellarmine history. To add to the 100 career victories, Walroth has won Great Lakes Valley Conference Player of the Week, made the All-conference team, been the most valuable player of the team twice and holds the record for most double wins with teammate Ashley Jonathon.
“These awards have encouraged me to want to succeed more. I want to do the best I can during my four years of competing at the collegiate level. At the end of the season, when I see who is awarded the GLVC player of the year, my accomplishments make me realize that I am right there,” Walroth said.
The Knights are well-balanced with experience and youth. They have five upperclassmen and five underclassmen who show promising futures.
“There is a really good balance of experience and youthfulness in the lineup that helps create good chemistry. We have some underclassmen that play high in our lineup and others have already had some really good wins,” Cotter said.
The Knights’ expectations are high with such a talented roster. Last year, the Knights’ season ended with a first-round exit in the Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament.
“Expectations for this year’s team is to go further in the conference tournament and potentially make it to regionals. We definitely have the best team than we have since I have been here and there is more motivation to do well in conference matches. We believe we can compete at a very high level,” Kovach said.