Saint Mary's finished fourth Tuesday but held onto second in the conference standings at the third and final MIAA Jamboree of the fall, held at Buck's Run Golf Course in Alma, Mich.
The Belles posted a total score of 351 Tuesday and failed to gain any ground on first-place Olivet College, which held on for the lead. Saint Mary's dropped 27 strokes in the overall MIAA standings but kept its overall spot in second.
Olivet College led the day with 324, Hope College finished second with a 345 and Tri-State University came in third with a 349. Rounding out the top five was host Alma with a 376.
Senior captain Kate O'Brien once again led the way for Saint Mary's with a final round of 84, which was placed her sixth overall. Unfortunately for the Belles, five Olivet players scored as well or better. Hope senior Julie Hoogerhyde was the medalist, 10 strokes ahead of O'Brien at 74.
Belles freshman Emily Gore continued to impress in her rookie season as she finished second for the team two strokes behind O'Brien. Three more freshmen rounded out the scorers for the Belles - Rosie O'Connor shot an 89, Michelle Hird posted a 92 and Amanda Mainstone entered the clubhouse with a 97.
Saint Mary's junior Meredith Fantom scored an 85, freshman Meghan Lehr shot an 87, and junior Perri Hamma came up with a 94 in the individual competition.
The Belles now stand in second place in the MIAA conference with a total of 1,029 strokes in three Jamboree events. They trail Olivet by 41 strokes.
The conference championship is decided by the combined scores of the three previous Jamborees and the two championship rounds on Oct. 5-6 at Battle Creek, Mich.
No players or coaches were available for comment following the Jamboree Tuesday night.
