HS tennis notebook: Bellia back on court for Indians
Molly Bellia was back where she belongs Tuesday night.
The Saint Joseph tennis star returned to her comfort zone on the court.
Bellia, a junior for the powerhouse Indians, had been sidelined to open the season due to foot injuries. She was cleared to play by a doctor on Monday.
"I was just really excited to be back and able to contribute to our team," said Bellia in a phone interview about her return for a league win at Elkhart. "It was just a great feeling to be back playing. You have something taken away and it makes you appreciate it and love it even more.
"It was definitely really tough to be out and not able to play. But I felt pretty good Tuesday night. I was a little shy at first, but once I got my feet under me and some confidence I got into more of a groove."
Bellia, who is as selfless as she is talented, has been one of the state's top players her first two seasons for coach Bill Mountford's program. She went 25-0 as a freshman in 2021 and won the No. 1 singles state title. She was the second state champion from St. Joe and also helped her team finish as state runner-up to Carmel at 18-2.
Bellia, a superb southpaw, was 26-2 a season ago as the NIC MVP. She lost to Park Tudor senior Lauren Long 7-6, 7-6 in the quarterfinals at state for No. 1 singles players. She had defeated Long 6-4, 6-3 in the state title match in 2021. Bellia helped the Indians finish 18-2-1 in 2022, where they lost to Carmel 3-2 in the state semifinals for teams. Carmel won its fourth title in the last five years and seventh in the last nine. The Greyhounds handed St. Joe both of its losses last season.
Bellia won 6-2, 6-0 at No. 1 singles in NIC play at Elkhart Tuesday night. The Indians, who face a tough as nails schedule every year, improved to 3-3 overall and 2-0 in the NIC with the win.
"She looked good," said St. Joe coach Bill Mountford of Bellia's return to action. "She needed a little time to get used to being back out there, but overall she looked good to me.
"She said she was comfortable. We will still ease her in with some doubles, but it was great to see her playing again."
Bellia said she felt pain in one of her feet in mid February. She was then diagnosed with stress fractures in both feet and had been resting for about the past month until being cleared to play last week.
"I've had no issues like this before and it kind of just came out of nowhere," Bellia said of the injury. "I'm not sure what happened. Initially, I was pretty upset and frustrated. But I maintained a positive attitude. I was able to do other things like swim and bike and some stationary hitting that helped.
"I'm not really in any pain now. There are just things that I have to do to take care of my feet."
Bellia said that she hoped to be cleared to play all singles starting this coming week.
"I'm really pretty excited about playing doubles," said Bellia. "I've never done that in high school before."
Bellia has made a commitment to play at the US Naval Academy. Her coach is thrilled with her decision as Mountford played there. Bellia's mother Tricia, who is a St. Joe assistant coach, played at Harvard. Her sister Kate, who won the IHSAA Mental Attitude Award as a senior in 2021, is a sophomore member of the Notre Dame women's tennis team.
"I've always wanted to be part of something bigger than myself and to serve others," said Bellia of her decision to attend Annapolis. "On my visit there, I just loved the team and the coaches. They are all just so supportive of each other."
Mountford, St. Joe's coach since 2009, boasts a loaded team once again this spring. The Indians returned not only Bellia, but also the incredibly talented Amalnathan sisters. Junior Ashi and sophomore Anni teamed to win the No. 1 doubles state championship last June. The pair, whose father Arul is a tennis pro at the South Bend Racquet Club, were 19-0 after pairing together last season.
The No. 10 Indians, who beat rival and No. 15 Penn 4-1 Thursday, returned all seven players from last year's team. The deep and talented group also includes seniors Lily Mayfield, Maggie Nguyen and Gracie Velasco and junior Dani Graham. Nguyen played No. 2 singles and Mayfield No. 3 singles at State in 2022. Velasco and Graham played No. 2 doubles a season ago.
Bellia teamed with Graham at No. 1 doubles versus Penn for a 6-1, 6-4 victory. She was also slated to play doubles Friday night versus Westfield and Saturday in the Park Tudor Invitational.
Ashi Amalnathan won 6-0, 6-2 at No. 1 singles versus Penn and sister Anni won 6-3, 6-0 at No. 2 singles play. Nguyen and Velasco posted a 7-5, 6-2 win at No. 2 doubles as the Indians moved to 4-3 overall and 3-0 in the NIC.
"There is a lot of potential in this team," Bellia said. "Everyone is working hard and all of us are super excited about this season. Ashi and Anni are looking great and did a great job when I was out. This team is deep all the way through our lineup."
Bellia says her focus right now is on the present.
"Right now, my focus is on getting healthy and back to the level I want to be at," said Bellia. "The end of the season is a lot more important than the beginning is."
Penn looking good
The Kingsmen boast yet another strong group for longtime coach Eric Bowers.
Penn started its season with convincing wins over Warsaw, Concord and Elkhart before falling to rival St. Joe.
The Kingsmen went 15-6 a year ago and lost 3-2 to St. Joe in a regional semifinal match. Penn graduated a pair of seniors in Mandy Baker and Jamie Hurst, who played No. 1 doubles in the regional loss a year ago.
Penn is led by Aileen Hu, Sophia Pischalko and Anna Yoon in its singles lineup. Yoon won at No. 3 singles for Penn's point versus the Indians.
The Kingsmen, who lost 5-0 in the regional final to St. Joe in 2021, have won 15 straight sectional championships. Penn won a regional title in 2019.
Penn also has a strong doubles lineup with Neely Langfeldt and Maren Woelfer at No. 1 and the duo of Angelina Smith and Clarissa Schmitt at No. 2.
Northern Indiana Conference Tourney on tap
St. Joe and Penn are sure to see a lot of each other again come this week.
The NIC Tournament, which St. Joe won last year, is scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday at Leeper Park in South Bend.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: St. Joseph junior Molly Bellia is back on the court after foot injury
