ZIONSVILLE – South Bend Saint Joseph shook off the frustrations of recent years to claim the state championship with a 3-2 win over Fishers here at the Pearson Automotive Tennis Club.
The Saint Joe program has now won three state titles in its history, but this is the first since 2010. Since that time, the No. 1 Huskies have advanced to the state finals five previous times, including the last three seasons.
Finally, behind the singles crew of Molly Bellia (No. 1) and sisters Ashi and Anni Amalnathan (at No. 2 and 3, respectively), coach Bill Mountford’s squad took home the championship trophy.
“We’ve been favorites all year,” Mountford said, “and I was proud of the girls for the way they competed and performed under pressure.”
The semifinal matches were played outdoors at North Central High School in Indianapolis before rain forced the tournament to be finished indoors.
“It was a tough day, playing two matches, starting outside then going inside,” Mountford said. “We had to roll with it and we did it.”
Fishers, ranked second, took the early lead in the title match as two doubles Cassie Maurer and Caroline Ober cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 win over Anna Walsh and Ella Michaels.
The Amalnathan sisters got the Huskies (22-1) on the board as Ashi scored a 6-0, 6-1 triumph over Madelyn Barron at two singles before Anni, a junior, recorded a 6-1, 6-3 win over Izzy Ireland.
The match came down to one singles, where Bellia and Briggs slugged it out with the Saint Joe senior eventually scoring a 6-1, 6-3 victory to clinch the match for the Huskies.
Bellia, a Naval Academy recruit, is a former state singles champion (2021) and runner-up (2023), but found herself eliminated from this year’s tournament after losing to Harrison’s Emma Gu in the morning semifinals in three sets.
Bellia, however, shook that off and finished the win over Briggs with an overhead forehand winner on match point.
“There were a lot of emotions during the day,” Bellia admitted, “but finishing this way is the best. Winning the team title was our No. 1 goal all year and we did it.”
The Tigers’ one doubles duo of Cassie Maurer and Caroline Ober closed the match with a three-set, 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 victory over Dani Graham and Libby Yergler.
The loss marked the second time Fishers has fallen in the state title match in the last three seasons. The Tigers were beaten, 5-0, by Carmel in 2022.
“We knew we had to win at both doubles and at No. 1 singles,” Fishers coach Dave Heffern said. “We were good and we battled at those spots, but we weren’t quite good enough.”
The Tigers finished 19-1.
Molly Bellia of South Bend Saint Joseph receives Mental Attitude Award
Following the match, the IHSAA Executive Committee announced Molly Bellia, South Bend Saint Joseph High School’s No. 1 singles player, as the recipient of the Mental Attitude Award presented by Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance.
The award is presented annually to a senior participant in each classification who was nominated by her principal and coach and has demonstrated excellence in mental attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability.
Molly graduated first in her senior class of 173 students with a 4.5 GPA and has achieved High Honors status each semester. She also excels in both the piano and cello, playing both instruments at her church, Saint Pius X Catholic Church, and performs at special occasions.
Molly’s athletic ability is just as outstanding by playing varsity tennis all four years and being team captain for the last three years. She was the singles state champion in 2021 and state runner-up in 2023.
Molly takes part in other school and community activities such as being the executive officer of the Student Athletic Advisory Committee and peer tutors in Algebra II, Pre-Calculus, and Chemistry.
Molly Bellia is the daughter of Tricia and Anthony Bellia of Granger, IN. Molly plans to attend the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD to study Pre-Medicine/Chemistry and to play collegiate tennis.
Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance presented $1,000 to South Bend Saint Joseph High School’s general scholarship fund, in the name of Molly Bellia.