Graham, Yergler form unlikely doubles pair for South Bend Saint Joseph girls tennis
MISHAWAKA — It’s a whole new world this year for both Dani Graham and Libby Yergler, but in different ways.
While Graham navigates her first varsity tennis season without doubles partner Gracie Velasco, Yergler is just trying to learn high school tennis.
The rare senior/freshman No. 1 doubles pairing for the South Bend Saint Joseph girls tennis team this spring has already found success, including a 6-1, 6-0 against Penn Thursday to help the No. 2-state ranked Huskies complete a 5-0 sweep of the No. 19 Kingsmen in Northern Indiana Conference action.
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“I think having Dani with Libby is a great combo because (Dani) is so experienced in doubles that she can help (Libby) with things to look for and what to expect,” Saint Joseph coach Bill Mountford said. “I even said it to them during their match (Thursday): in singles, you’re hitting the ball every single point. You can play up to four points in a row potentially and not even touch the ball in doubles. You have to be ready.”
Helping Graham and Yergler is a combined family history with Saint Joseph tennis. Graham’s older sister, Kayla, is a 2020 Saint Joe graduate, while Yergler’s older sister, Maddie, graduated in 2018. Maddie finished as the IHSAA individual state runner-up her senior year before playing collegiately at DePaul University.
Since Yergler knew the Huskies’ top three of senior Molly Bellia, senior Ashi Amalnathan and junior Anni Amalnathan were locked into the top three singles spots on the team, the freshman figured she’d find a roster spot in a doubles tandem. She actually paired up with Graham during a summer tournament in case they were put together on the high school team.
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“It’s been super fun,” Yergler said. “Dani is a great doubles partner. It’s been nice jumping in because she has great energy, so it’s super fun to play with her. It’s an uplifting and positive environment. … I’ve always loved playing doubles. I’ve played it at tournaments in the summer and had great success so far.”
Playing doubles has become second nature for Graham, who’s been in the No. 1 slot for the majority of her high school career. It was a foreign concept to her four years ago, though, so she understands what Yergler is going through.
Given she’s the senior, Graham is trying to help the younger Yergler as much as she can.
“I think I have a go-getting personality, so getting to play with her is really fun,” Graham said. “I remember the nerves I had when I was a freshman, playing these big teams and the stage we play on. So, if (Yergler) gets nervous, I can go, ‘I’ve been here before, we’ve got this’; kind of lift her up as we’re playing. It helps me be better, too.”
With Bellia and the Amalnathan sisters at the top of the lineup, it will be tough for most teams to beat Saint Joseph. Should one of them slip and lose a match, however, Mountford is confident in his No. 1 doubles pairing to be there to pick up the slack.
“We’re trying to be the very best we can be, and we’re trying to be the best in the state,” Mountford said. “There have been teams that have won a state title with just three players, but you’re threading the needle. It just takes one girl to have a bad day to lose the match, so there is going to be a time where we count on one or both of our doubles teams to try and win a match for us. We absolutely want them to be as good as they possibly can be.”
Saint Joseph 5, Penn 0
SINGLES
No. 1 — Molly Bellia def. Aileen Hu, 6-0, 6-2. No. 2 — Ashi Amalnathan def. Anna Yoon, 6-0, 6-0. No. 3 — Anni Amalnathan def. Samantha Pischalko, 6-0, 6-0.
DOUBLES
No. 1 — Dani Graham/Libby Yergler def. Scarlett Biever/Clarissa Schmitt, 6-1, 6-0. No. 2 — Anna Walsh/Ella Michaels def. Angelina Smith/Maren Woelfer, 7-5, 1-6, 12-10 (super tiebreaker instead of full third set)
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Graham, Yergler form unlikely doubles pair for South Bend Saint Joseph girls tennis
