Saint Mary's made a run at Tri-State and Olivet in its third MIAA Jamboree tournament Tuesday, but ultimately fell short - placing third in Holland, Mich.
Olivet and Tri-State beat Saint Mary's by 31 strokes, but the Belles were satisfied with their third place finish - given the ramifications it has on conference rankings, the deciding factor in the MIAA Championship.
"To come in third was our goal so that we could maintain good standing in our conference," Saint Mary's sophomore Meredith Fantom said.
The temperature was 79 degrees and sunny for the entire day. Saint Mary's freshman Kate Doornbos, who led the team with an 86 (14-over par), said the team was forced to adjust to a "super fast" course given the heat.
Doornbos said she cut down on making errors and adapted to the tough pace of the greens in order to record her score. Saint Mary's sophomore McInerney encountered similar problems with the course.
"The weather was the best we've had for a tournament ... but the greens were really difficult," Katie McInerney said. "The whole team had difficulty on the greens."
McInerney fired an 88 to record the second lowest score on the team.
"I tried to take each shot one at a time," she said. "I just focused on what I needed to do for each shot."
Sophomore Perri Hamma shot a 105 and came close to a hole-in-one.
Meredith Fantom (96), Alex Sei (102) and Theresa Tonyan (106) also contributed in the Belles third place finish, and freshman Caroline Doubeck entered the tournament as an individual.
Joanna Dick (back problems) and team captain Katie O'Brien (illness) did not compete in the tournament. They hope O'Brien is healthy before the Belles face Tri-State and Olivet in MIAA Championship.
With O'Brien back, Doornbos said that the team is confident they can beat their main competition.
"We have to shoot better than we have been and we have to catch everyone on a good day," she said.
The Belles will compete for a fifth consecutive MIAA Championship on Oct. 13-14 in Battle Creek, Mich. at the Bedford Valley Golf Club.
