For the Saint Mary's golf team, year one under head coach Susan Holt could not have gone much better. The Belles finished off their run to the 2024 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Championship in April, earning their 11th conference crown and reaching the NCAA Division III Championship for the 12th time.
Senior Haley Angel steered the Belles toward success all season. Not only did she land on the All-MIAA Women's Golf First Team, but she emerged as the conference's Most Valuable Golfer, finishing with the lowest season score in the league. To secure the distinction, she entered a three-way playoff at the end of the MIAA Championship, becoming the 10th player in Saint Mary's golf history to earn MIAA MVP honors. Angel also ended April with back-to-back MIAA Athlete of the Week awards.
Of course, to turn the 2023-24 season into a successful one, plenty of additional golfers needed to contribute. Though the Belles finished the fall in great shape having won two of the first three MIAA Jamboree events, previous head coach Jordan Koehler departed for Denver. But the expertise of Holt and the depth of her roster proved more than enough to keep Saint Mary's atop the conference leaderboards.
Sophomore Julia Lizak played a significant role, achieving MIAA Athlete of the Week status in mid-April by finishing ninth out of more than 100 golfers at the Illinois Wesleyan Kathy Niepagen Spring Fling. She would later place inside the MIAA Championship's top 10, earning All-MIAA First Team recognition alongside Angel. Amanda Melling, another sophomore, joined Angel and Lizak on the all-conference squads with her efforts throughout the 2023-24 season. Having posted a 14th-place finish at the MIAA Championship, Melling found a home on the All-MIAA Second Team for the first All-MIAA honor of her career. Though she didn't qualify for an all-conference list, Colleen Hand also came on strong down the stretch of her freshman season. Hand shared medalist honors with Angel at the fourth MIAA Jamboree in the middle of April before also sharing MIAA Athlete of the Week honors with her in the following days. Finally, although junior Katelyn Tokarz remained quiet on award lists throughout the season, she contributed in a big way for Saint Mary's, tying for eighth at the MIAA Championship.
In the middle part of next week, the Belles will compete at the three-day NACA Division III Championship at Keene Trace in Nicholasville, Kentucky. The competition will run from Tuesday through Thursday.
