No. 3 Saint Mary's traveled to warm Fayetteville, N.C., to open its spring slate with a highly competitive meet on Friday. The Belles finished tied for second with familiar MIAA opponent No. 10 Olivet, falling to No. 1 Methodist on its home course.
The Monarchs' four best scoring players shot a combined 331, while the Comets' and Belles' four best each shot a combined 347. Sophomore Natalie Matuszak led the fall MIAA champion Belles with a round of 79, earning medalist honors for the day's low round in the process. Junior Mary Kate Boyce took 86 strokes and junior Rosie O'Connor was close behind with a score of 89. Sophomore Christine Brown carded a 93, while senior captain Perri Hamma had a round of 101 that did not count towards the team's overall score.
Holly Shupe was Methodist's low scorer, taking one fewer stroke than Matuszak, and Lauren Campbell paced Olivet with an 84. Playing as individuals for the Belles were sophomore Megan Ryan, who had a 91, and freshman Cara Kielty, who finished 18 holes in 95 strokes.
Saint Mary's next competes in a week and half when it travels to Georgetown, Texas, to participate in the Southwestern Invitational, hosted by No. 12 Southwestern.
