GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Today the Calvin women's tennis team saw their season come to an end after a tough 5-4 loss to the Belles of Saint Mary's in the MIAA Tournament semifinals at Strikwerda Tennis Center.

The two teams were very evenly matched as they went back-and-forth and made it look like it could be anyone's match at any given moment.

Saint Mary's came out strong when the No. 1 team bettered Julia Hooker (East Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids) and Marina Ribeiro (Santos, São Paulo, Brazil) 8-5, and then they came from behind to defeat Catherine Grissom (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) and Rachel Grissom (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) 8-5 in No. 2 doubles.

Looking to keep Calvin in the match Elise Norman (Battle Creek, Mich./Lakeview) and Tessa Holman (Washington, Mich./Romeo) dominated in the No. 3 doubled match 8-1 to give the Knights a point.

The Belles picked up another win in the No. 1 singles match over Holman (0-6, 4-6) to extend their lead to 3-1. However, the Knights changed the tide when Averi Lewis (Tualatin, Ore./Tualatin) (6-0, 6-0) and Delaine Minnema (East Grand Rapids, Mich./Northpointe) (6-1, 6-2) each notched a win in their matches to tie things up at 3-3.

Maggie Shoemaker (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian) gave Calvin a brief lead when she won in the No. 4 singles match in straight sets (6-4, 6-4) but the Belles quickly bounced back when Riberio fell in a hard fought three set match (3-6, 6-1, 2-6).

With a trip to the MIAA Tournament finals on the line and the score tied at 4-4 both teams turned their attention to the No. 3 singles match between Catherine Grissom and Saint Mary's Evelyn Demblans-Dechans. Grissom came out strong as she dominated in the first set 6-2 but Demblans-Dechans refused to go down easily as she took the second set 6-1. In the final set of the evening both players went back-and-forth as they battled for lead but in the end Demblans-Dechans emerged victorious and the Knights fell to the Belles 5-4.

COACHES COMMENT: "Was a really tough match today, and credit to Saint Mary's for getting the win," Calvin head coach John Ross said. "I'm really proud of the season that we had and the things we accomplished without any seniors, and I'm excited to see all these young women come back next season as we look to build on this."