Saint Mary's will begin the heart of its schedule when it opens MIAA play against Albion today at 1 p.m. at The Medalist Golf Club in Marshall, Mich.
Though the Belles will only compete against the Britons, all nine conference schools will be at the 18-hole jamboree and will be paired to play against one or two other teams. Five golfers will take the course for each squad, with the lowest four scores counting toward the overall total. Belles coach Kim Moore said senior Paige Pollak, junior Janice Heffernan, sophomore Sammie Averill and freshmen Courtney Carlson and Ali Mahoney will hit the links for Saint Mary's in the conference-opening match.
The Belles played at The Medalist on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 in the Olivet Labor Day Tee-Off, where Saint Mary's took third place out of eight teams.
Moore said her team's recent trip may help but the familiarity does not necessarily create an advantage over Albion, who did not compete in the Olivet tournament.
"I think we definitely have some familiarity with most of our players at that course," Moore said. "I think the majority of teams in our conference have played that course, so I wouldn't say it would be an advantage. But it is nice to be able to know the layouts and know the holes."
The Britons played at The Medalist the weekend of Sept. 6 at the Olivet Invitational, in which the Belles did not compete, so this match marks the first head-to-head play between the two teams this season.
Sophomore Celine McClimans leads Albion, which last played Friday at the Scottie Invitational in Alma, Mich., where the team finished in fourth place out of four teams. McClimans shot an 88 in that tournament, the team's low benchmark for the season.
With the Britons improving as their season progresses, Moore said it is important for the Belles to keep getting better with each tournament as well.
"I'm looking forward to the team playing well," she said. "I think it'll be definitely nice if we do win, but I'm looking for a more overall team performance, and if that's a win, great, and if that's second place, third place, fourth place, that's great, too."
Saint Mary's will take the course against Albion today in the conference-opener at 1 p.m. at The Medalist Golf Club in Marshall, Mich.
Contact Mary Green at mgreen8@nd.edu
