Saint Mary's took first with a team score of 317 Thursday at Albion in its first of four MIAA Jamborees this season.
Freshman Martyna Minerzwa tied Trine University's Katlyn Pero for the top spot for the day with a round of 76 on the Par-72 course at the Medalist Golf Club in Marshall, Mich.
"The team is improving everyday," Minerzwa said. "We practice hard during the week and play hard on the weekends. The time we put in during the week is worth it when we take home first place titles."
Defending conference champion Olivet placed second behind the Belles with a total of 332, followed by Hope with 341. Trine took fourth with 354, trailed by host Albion in fifth with 371. Kalamazoo was six strokes behind with a 377 while Calvin took seventh with a 389. Alma and Adrian rounded out the nine-team set with a 404 and 412, respectively.
Minerzwa, a Ponzan, Poland, native, has led the Belles in all three of their competitions so far this fall.
Three strokes behind Minerzwa was senior captain Perri Hamma, taking third overall and second for Saint Mary's. Juniors Mary Kate Boyce and Rosie O'Connor each took a share of fourth for the day, shooting an 81. Sophomore Natalie Matuszak tied for 28th with a 97 to round out the Belles scoring.
Saint Mary's individual players all had successful scores for the day, with freshman Cara Kielty shooting an 87, tying her for 13th, sophomore Christine Brown an 89 and tied for 17th and freshman Andrea Fritsch a 105, giving her a share of 40th.
"Before we went out today we understood that after a great weekend like we just had that we should be confident but not cocky," Hamma said. "We needed to go out there, play well, and back up the good scores we had at the Warren. We had great scores today and have a great start off lead in the conference this fall."
MIAA runner-up last season and 10th at the NCAA Tournament, the Belles are looking to take back the title of conference champion that they held from 2002-2005. Next up for the Belles is the second MIAA Jamboree at Hope on Sept. 23.
