On Monday, Saint Mary’s golf traveled to Grand Rapids, Michigan, to compete in the first Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Jamboree. The event is the first of four conference jamborees throughout the year. For the conference, the champion is determined by total scores through the four jamborees and two rounds in the MIAA Championship in April. Last year, the Belles took home the MIAA Championship and advanced to the NCAA Division III Championships. They will be looking to continue last year’s success after finishing fourth in Monday’s contest.
Sophomore Melanie Maier led the Belles, carding a 77 in the event. Her performance was enough for her to finish tied for fifth on the individual leaderboard. Shooting a 38 through the first nine would tie a team low through nine, and she would follow that with a 39 on the back nine. Maier began her career averaging a team-best score of 76.6 in her freshman year. She has carried this momentum into her second year, serving as the top performer for the Belles in each of their three events so far.
Freshman Katharine Swain and junior Colleen Hand tied for the team's next-best score, each shooting an 82. Freshman Kate Plessinger competed in the event as an individual and also carded an 82. The three golfers would all tie for 17th.
Saint Mary’s found notable success in its freshmen. Swain competed in her third collegiate event at the Jamboree and tied her career best round. Furthermore, Plessinger had a top 20 finish in her first collegiate event.
Birdies on the fifth hole propelled seniors Amanda Melling and Breana Harrington to scores of 83 and tied for 21st individual finishes. Melling’s two birdies tied her with Maier for the most on the day. Every golfer for the Belles placed within the top half of the individual leaderboards and scored under the event average of 84.31. Ultimately, the Belles would conclude the event +36, which slotted them fourth out of the nine teams competing.
Kalamazoo had the best team performance in the event and thus now sit atop the MIAA standings. They were led by sophomore Jacey Merkle, who finished just two over par with a score of 74. Freshman Gabrielle Sluss had another top ten finish for the Hornets, carding a 79. Kalamazoo finished with a score of 315, which was the second-lowest score in the program’s history. Additionally, Merkle’s score was also the second-best in school history. The Jamboree was the second consecutive first-place finish for Kalamazoo this season. They also took the top spot earlier in the Kyle Campbell Invitational, an event where Saint Mary’s finished second.
The Belles will next travel to Big Rapids, Michigan, to compete in the Bulldog Fall Classic hosted by Ferris State. Shortly after, they will resume conference play with the second MIAA Jamboree on Sept. 30. Saint Mary’s currently sits nine strokes behind first place in the MIAA standings but will have the opportunity to close that gap over the next three Jamborees.
