Saint Joseph's Molly Bellia caps girls tennis career in fitting fashion as a champion

Molly Bellia admits that there were plenty of emotions flowing through her body as she walked off the tennis court for the final time in her amazing high school career.

Pride, happiness and even sadness were chief among those for the South Bend Saint Joseph's star.

More: Saint Joseph girls tennis claims elusive state title with 3-2 decision over Fishers

The ultimate thing though for the mega-talented young lady, who was a standout both on and off the court, was the sheer satisfaction of finally winning an elusive state championship with her team.

Bellia's 6-1, 6-3 victory at No. 1 singles last Saturday was the clinching point as the No. 1 Huskies topped No. 2 Fishers 3-2 to win the state title. It was the fourth straight trip to the state finals for St. Joe, which had finished as runner-up to Carmel in both 2021 and 2023 and also lost to the Greyhounds in 2022 in the state semifinals. Carmel won state titles all three seasons.

"I was just really proud of what we did as a team," said Bellia of the third state title in program history. "To end it like that was really the sweetest way. As seniors, we finally did it together in our last year.

More: No. 1 Saint Joseph girls tennis powers past Jasper in state quarterfinals

"It just meant so much to me. Every year we had worked so hard for this goal and we finally did it as a team. That was what we put our mind to.

"There were just a lot of emotions for me when I got the third point for our team. There was happiness and also sadness knowing it was my last high school match too."

Bellia, who will play tennis at the United States Naval Academy, showed her mental toughness in the final last Saturday. She had lost a tough three-set final to close friend Emma Gu of Harrison (West Lafayette) in the team state semifinals earlier in the day as the Huskies won 4-1. That loss, in a match that had to be moved indoors to the Pearson Automotive Tennis Club in Zionsville due to inclement weather after starting outside at North Central High School in Indianapolis, knocked Bellia out of the No. 1 singles state tournament.

"I was definitely emotionally drained after the match with Emma," Bellia recounted. "But I had full confidence in my team that we could still do it and beat Fishers. I had confidence in myself too."

Bellia put the icing on a prep cake that was nothing short of incredible. She went 103-6 at No. 1 singles, led her team to the state finals four times and was an individual state qualifier three times, including winning the state singles title as a freshman back in 2021. Bellia, who was 26-3 this season, helped the Huskies post a 77-9-1 team mark the past four years.

Saint Joseph's coach Bill Mountford said the ending was only fitting for his four-year superstar.

"It was really poetic justice that Molly was the one who got the third point for us to clinch the state title," said Mountford, whose team finished 22-1 and loses three seniors in Bellia, Ashi Amalnathan and Dani Graham. "She, and all of us, have been chasing it so hard the past four years and had been so close.

"Molly is the player you would want in that situation to have to win a final point. You would want that outcome on her racket. She's just the kid who would make it happen. Not everyone wants to be in that position, but she did. She just had a great ability of the court to raise her level of play."

Mountford, who made Bellia a captain as a sophomore, had to fight back his emotions when talking about his well-rounded star.

"Molly meant everything to this program," said Mountford, who himself played at the Naval Academy. "She was just a joy to be around. She loved the game and was so dedicated and worked so hard at it. I never had to get her motivated to work.

"The thing that I will miss most about her are her intangible qualities. Things like her leadership, her maturity way beyond her years. She just set an example for everyone else about what it meant to be a leader.

"How many other tennis players in Indiana have won a No. 1 singles state title, won a team state title and been the valedictorian of their senior class. Molly was an incredible, accomplished tennis player that allowed our team to achieve real heights. But more than that she is just a really special person."

The Huskies, whose last state title came in 2010 under Mountford, won their final 22 matches of the season. They were undefeated against teams from Indiana, with the lone loss being a 4-1 decision to Kentucky powerhouse Sacred Heart Academy back on April 12 in the season opener. Senior Ashi and her junior sister Anni each won in straight sets at No. 2 and 3 singles respectively in the win over Fishers. The Amalnathan sisters were the No. 1 doubles state champions in 2022 and Ashi will play collegiately at South Carolina State. Ashi went 29-0 at No. 2 singles and Anni was 28-1 at No. 3 singles this season.

Bellia, who also plays the piano and cello at her church, was also the No. 1 singles state runner-up in 2023.

"I'm just really grateful I was able to be coached by him," said Bellia of Mountford, the longtime coach of the Huskies. "It was such an honor for me to play for him. He was so dedicated to our team. I know how much winning state meant to him too because of all of the work he put in for all of us to be successful."

Bellia's list of accomplishments is a long and impressive one. She was NIC MVP four times, earned a Cato Scholarship from the IHSAA and capped her prep career by being named as the recipient of the Mental Attitude Award. Her sister Kate won the Mental Attitude Award as a senior in 2021. She had a 4.5 GPA to rank first in her class of 173 students and spoke at commencement last Sunday at Notre Dame to her classmates as their valedictorian.

"I've always tried to be well rounded, that is really important to me," Bellia remarked of her diverse talents. "Tennis has never been the end all for me. You have to keep it in perspective and find other things that bring you joy. I love things like spending time with my family and running with my friends."

Bellia, who leaves later this month to begin training in Annapolis, is the daughter of Anthony and Tricia Bellia of Granger. Her mom, who played tennis at Harvard, is an assistant coach for the Huskies. Bellia plans to study pre-medicine/chemistry in college.

"Winning the state championship was my biggest accomplishment," Bellia said. "That was always our goal as a team and we worked so hard together to do it.

"To see how much it meant to my teammates. I took the most joy out of seeing their success.

"To be able to share it with my best friends like that was just the best thing."

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Molly Bellia finished her high school tennis career on top