Saint Mary's is set to compete in the fourth annual WUSTL Spring Invitational at the Gateway National Golf Links in Madison, Illinois, on Saturday and Sunday.
Teams the Belles will meet at the tournament include host No. 3 Washington University in St. Louis, DePauw, Huntingdon, Wittenburg, Central and fellow MIAA opponent Olivet.
“Heading into the WUSTL tournament, I expect to see good efforts from our team,” Belles head coach Kim Moore said. “The last two weeks of practice have been very good, but it has been a challenge only being able to be outside twice. The unexpected spring snowstorm a couple days ago really put a damper on our practice plans. However, we still work hard during our practice sessions, regardless of the circumstances, so I expect nothing but a good showing.”
The Belles were last in action two weekends ago in the Jekyll Island Collegiate Invite in Jekyll Island, Georgia, where they finished 15th. Sophomore Courtney Carlson led the Belles in the opening round with an 85, senior Janice Heffernan had the best score on the team, 82, Saturday, and junior Katie Zelinski led the team with a final round of 79 on Sunday.
“As a coach, I am hoping all of my players step up and play to their best potential every tournament,” Moore said. “I have really been seeing some good things out of our freshman players, Kaitlyn Cartone, Kelsey Conkright and Lydia Lorenc, so I'm really looking forward to seeing how they step up this weekend. I also feel that our junior player, Katie Zielinski, can continue where she left off in [Georgia] and shoot another great score.”
The host school of the event, Washington University in St. Louis, is coming off a second-place finish at the Joe Duncan Rhodes Invitational, which took place last weekend. Freshman Erin Drolet shot a 74 for the Bears on the second day of the event to lead Division III’s third-ranked team.
“Every time we play in a tournament with [Washington University in St. Louis], I expect them to be on top of their game and play the way a No. 3-ranked team in the nation should,” Moore said. “I expect this tournament to be no different, especially since this is an event they are hosting and will be played on a course they are very familiar with.
“I really look forward to having our team play in such a quality tournament against some good quality teams. The competition for this event will be very good, and I am excited to have our team play with these quality of players.”
The Belles get underway in Madison, Illinois, on Saturday evening with a shotgun start.
