As Saint Mary’s golf prepared for the Trine Spring Classic on Friday, its first competition of the spring, head coach Susan Holt expressed excitement about playing all eight golfers on the roster. Five would compete under team ramifications with the other three working individually.
Those golfers validated their coach’s confidence on Friday, helping the Belles to a team win at the Trine Spring Classic. Saint Mary’s shot 331 in the one-round competition, beating Hope (332) and Indiana East (334) among a tight top three.
Just three teams — Hope, Saint Mary’s and Indiana East — placed multiple golfers inside the top 15 at Zollner Golf Course. The Belles finished with six women in that position and three scoring for the team.
Senior Haley Angel led team scorers with an eighth-place finish, shooting an eight-over par 81. A stroke behind her, junior Katelyn Tokarz tied for 12th with an 82. Next in line, sophomore Julia Lizak’s 83 placed her in a tie for 14th. Sophomore Amanda Melling’s 85 (24th) and sophomore Breana Harrington’s 95 (64th) rounded out the Belles’ team contributions.
Most encouraging for Saint Mary’s, perhaps, was its results from non-scorers. All three individual golfers cracked the top 15, with junior Joanna James leading Belles golfers overall with a seventh-place round of 80. Right behind her, junior Georgie Kersman added an eighth-place 81, while freshman Colleen Hand’s 83 tied for 14th.
Next weekend, the Belles will look to extend their momentum across state lines at the Bluffton/Ohio Northern Spring Invitational. The competition will run from April 5-6 at Colonial Golfers Club in Harrod, Ohio. The sprawling par 72 and home base for Ohio Northern University golf sits on rolling terrain in the Ohio countryside.
