The Saint Mary's women's golf team battled rainy conditions and several national golf powerhouses to place fourth in a field of 20 teams at the Knox Invitational in Galesburg, Ill., Friday.
The Belles were led by junior Chrissy Dunham and sophomore Megan Mattia, who both fired rounds of 81s in the one-day tournament. Those scores were good enough to finish tied for fourth individually. Lacy Wicksall of Hope finished first with a 78.
Stefanie Simmerman also added an 84 for Saint Mary's, who finished the tournament with a 337, nine shots off the pace set by University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire's 328.
"We did well as a team, but there's always room for improvement," Simmerman said.
The one disappointment from Friday's tournament was that MIAA rival Hope College took second-place, two better than the Belles, by shooting a 332.
"You don't want to ever lose to a conference team," Simmerman said.
Saint Mary's had to fight off and on rain throughout the round Friday, but still managed to finish in the top five for the second straight tournament. The Belles took fifth at the Ferris State Invitational earlier in the season.
Saint Mary's faced some of the best teams in the country at the Knox Invitational, including three teams that participated in the D-III National Championship Tournament last spring. Wisconsin-Eau Claire, the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater participated in the tournament and finished first, third and ninth, respectively.
The Belles will participate in the Briton Fall Invitational at Albion College Tuesday. Most teams in the tournament are also part of the MIAA conference. The biggest challenge for the match may have been the golf course the teams played on. The Medalist has given some of the Belles players difficulties in the past.
"The Medalist has always given some of us problems," Simmerman said. "I'm looking forward to going out there and playing well."
