Saint Mary's will enter spring play with some momentum and high expectations. After a strong fall and a second-place finish at the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association's End of Season Weekend Jamboree, Belles coach Jason Kolean was optimistic about the Belles' chances this spring.
"We have quality golfers on this squad, all competitive and driven, that will continue the success of the past years," Kolean said. "We have high goals and expectations of ourselves and I am excited to see each and every one of them succeed on and off the course."
The Belles returns a squad that may have the experience to reach those high goals. Saint Mary's returns two players from last spring's 2012 NCAA Division III championship squad. Even more recently, the Belles had four players - junior Justine Bresnahan, sophomore Janice Heffernan, freshman Claire Boyle and freshman Amanda Graham -named to the all-MIAA second team for the fall. For a sport that only counts a team's top four scores, these talented golfers will help the Belles compete at a high level this spring.
"Each one of these young ladies brings a different aspect to the game of golf and helps to make working with them fun and exciting," Kolean said.
One of the key leaders on this year's roster will be the lone senior, Jessica Kinnick, who will also be the team's captain. After a rocky fall, Kinnick will look to drop nearly 10 strokes from her scoring average and return to her level of play last year.
Another Belle making an impact already is Graham. After shooting an outstanding 76 in the first round of her young collegiate career, the freshman proceeded to put up the second-lowest scoring average of the season on the squad.
The Belles will begin play over spring break on March 14 in Peoria, Ariz., at the George Fox Phoenix Invitational.
Contact Cole Schietinger at cschieti@nd.edu.
