The Belles will participate in their first conference challenge of the season this Saturday as they face opponents Olivet and Hope, in a meet held at Hope College. Saturday marks the first day of contest within the MIAA swim competition. All of the schools in the conference will be making their first attempts at capturing conference points to start the season off in a comfortable position in the standings. The Belles will swim in three conference meets, including Saturday's, before the MIAA Swimming and Diving Championships at the beginning of February.With only two returning seniors on the team, captains Michelle Stanforth and Ashley Dyer, the Belles are going to have to deal with the challenges that inexperience will cause for the team. Eight freshmen joined the team this season, replacing the six swimmers that graduated after last year. But with the inexperience comes a fresh outlook that might be exactly what the Belles need. Saint Mary's will be diving in headfirst on Saturday for their competition against Hope and Olivet. Hope has won the league championship for three of the past five years, with Calvin claiming the title during the other two years. In order to really be successful in the 2004-05 season, Saint Mary's will have to overcome the deficit of divers that the team has experienced in recent years. Two new divers added to the roster should give the Belles the boost that they need in order to be really competitive within the conference. Saturday, Saint Mary's will be able to put its new roster to the test, and see what it has to offer to the conference competition for the 2004-05 season.
