During a stretch of the season where every stroke matters, the Belles came up with a huge first place finish in the Depauw Small College Classic this weekend.
The Classic played host to some of the country's top teams - including the hometown team, the No. 9 Depauw Tigers.
Going into the weekend with a slim 11-stroke lead in the conference, the Belles needed to generate some momentum heading into their last two conference jamborees of the season before the MIAA championship, which will begin on Oct. 9. While the tournament has no conference implications, a win provides confidence for St. Mary's at this point in the season.
The tournament got off to a slow start as play was suspended Saturday due to inclement weather. Despite having to play back-to-back rounds in the same day, the Belles shot an impressive combined score of 315.
Freshman Martyna Mierzwa earned her third medalist honor of the fall with rounds of 76 and 78 strokes to lead all 99 golfers at the tournament. She leads the MIAA with an average score of 77.5. Right behind Mierzwa was teammate Natalie Matuszak with a round of 77, the second lowest of the weekend.
Mary Kate Boyce, Perri Hamma, and Rosie O'Connor rounded out the top five for the Belles. Boyce and Hamma finished in a tie for ninth with a pair of 162's while O'Connor's 171 was good enough for 27th place.
The Belles will hope to carry on this momentum as they look forward to the third MIAA jamboree of the year this Thursday at Kalamazoo.
