After a week of training and competition in Mesa. Ariz., Saint Mary's will face a tough conference test this Friday, when they host MIAA foes Calvin and Kalamazoo.
Both Calvin (2-3) and Kalamazoo (1-2) will pose as stiff challenges to the Belles, as they both placed higher than Saint Mary's (0-3) at the Calvin Winter Invite on Dec. 1. The Knights and Hornets placed fouth and sixth respectively, while the Belles finished in a distant 11th.
"Those are some of the toughest teams in the conference, and generally we don't have a positive history with them," Belles senior captain Genevieve Spittler said. "But we will still go out and swim our best."
In spite of their earlier defeats, the Belles are looking primed to improve in this weekend's action, in part due to their winter training trip to Arizona. After spending much of the nine-day trip working as a team in the pool, Spittler said the team should be ready for their dual meets at Notre Dame.
"We're facing tough conference opponents, but we will be ready," she said.
Friday's meets are especially significant for Saint Mary's, as the dawning of 2013 has brought the MIAA Championships ever closer. After facing the Knights and Hornets this weekend, the Belles will have just one more conference meet - a Feb. 2 dual meet against Olivet - before traveling to the conference championships in Jenison, Mich.
But while the championships loom ever closer, Saint Mary's is focused only on the next step in the journey, and that's finding it's first win of the season this weekend.
The Belles will host Calvin and Kalamazoo on Friday at the Rolfs Aquatic Center. The meets will begin at 7 p.m.
Contact D.H. Kim at dkim16@nd.edu
