Saint Mary's will compete in Illinois-Wesleyan's Spring Fling this weekend, the last tournament before the NCAA qualifiers are set to conclude.
"We need to get some karma going for us before the qualifiers," coach Mark Hamilton said.
The Spring Fling will be a very competitive field for the No. 28 ranked Belles. However, competing with and beating tough teams is nothing new for them.
"There are going to be four of the top-10 teams in the country at the tournament this weekend," said Hamilton. "Last weekend we were able to beat five different teams that were ranked ahead of us so I'm not worried."
Peaking at the right time this spring has been Freshman Rosie O'Connor. She has led the Belles in the past three tournaments including a second-place overall individual performance last week at the Vassar Invitational.
"She [Rosie O'Connor] has worked really hard this spring and now it is really starting to pay off for her," Hamilton said. "She has finally made the adjustment to playing on the collegiate level."
The final two rounds of the NCAA qualifiers will take place a week after the Spring Fling and the Belles have their eyes set on one goal - qualifying for the national tournament.
Currently the Belles are in second place just 18 strokes behind No. 12 Olivet after the first round of the qualifiers. If the Belles are unable to clinch the automatic bid by overtaking Olivet in the MIAA conference qualifying tournament, they may still be able to receive an at-large bid based on their performance in tournaments like the Spring Fling.
