Although the Belles came back rejuvenated from their week-long spring training in Orlando, they will have to wait a few days to put their additional energy to use.
The beautiful, sunny weather in Florida was perfect for the Belles because they needed reconditioning for their upcoming matches, which will be critical for making the top four and qualifying for playoffs. Coming back to their regular season, the Belles (2-4) were scheduled to play an away match against Indiana Wesleyan on Wednesday, but the match was abruptly canceled due to foul weather conditions.
"They said the game had to be rescheduled because the weather was bad and they have no indoor facilities," Belles coach Dale Campbell said. "Normally it has to be at least 50 degrees or else it's just too cool and windy to play outdoors for athletes."
Both coaches from Saint Mary's and Indiana Wesleyan have talked about possibly moving the game to early April, but no date has been confirmed yet. The staff members are likely to release a date next week.
The Belles will continue their regular season when they face St. Francis on Friday. Ironically, the Belles were scheduled to face St. Francis last year during spring training in Orlando, but that match was canceled due to weather conditions, one of more than three games the team missed due to rain and wind last season.
"It rained out last year in Orlando, and [this] would have been our second time playing St. Francis, which would have made us familiar with them," Campbell said.
The Belles look to finally face St. Francis (7-9) on Friday. Campbell has said the team is healthy and charged to start its regular season.
"It's a non-conference opponent, but they are pretty local in the Fort Wayne area, so this match will be interesting," he said.
St. Francis is currently in a two-game losing streak and has lost four of its last six games, including a tough 5-4 loss against Manchester College. St. Francis is likely to be motivated to get the team out of its losing skid.
The Belles are expecting a win soon, as they are getting desperate for some much-needed momentum to gain confidence before returning to their conference schedule next week. Luckily for both teams, the match will be held indoors at the Eck Pavilion.
Contact D.H. Kim at dkim16@nd.edu
