Saint Mary's will have little time to dwell on Tuesday's disappointing loss to Albion as they will play again today at 4 p.m. against Bethel at the SMC Tennis Courts.
"It's a really big advantage for us to be able to get back out there so quickly after the Albion match," senior co-captain Kristen Palombo said. "We have a chance to put the Albion match behind us and move forward with a win."
After winning three straight conference matches to move into second place in the MIAA, the Belles were defeated 9-0 by Albion, dropping Saint Mary's back to third place in the MIAA. After the match, the team talked about their failure to win the key points of the many close games they played in.
"We're going to really try and focus on converting the key points [against Bethel]," Palombo said. "We have to capitalize on our opportunities when we have them."
Bethel has only played one match so far this spring, a 5-4 loss to Olivet. Saint Mary's beat the Comets earlier this season by the score of 6-3. Although Thursday's match will not be a conference match, the Belles view the match as a good opportunity.
"Since it's not a conference match, it's a good opportunity for us to practice different aspects of our game and try new things," Palombo said. "It's like a practice for us except we get to play against new opponents."
Thursday's match will be the last opportunity for the Belles to fine tune their game before they play their final conference match of the season on Saturday against Calvin. Individual conference tournament seeds will be at stake against both the Pilots and Knights.
The Calvin match will begin at 9 a.m. at the SMC Tennis Courts.
