Women's Golf | April 20, 2017

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – For the first time in program history, the La Salle University women's golf team will take part in a conference championship event.

Led by head coach Jason Calhoun, the Explorers - who began their first season as a varsity sport this past fall - are set to compete at the 2017 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship on April 21-23 in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

The women will tee-off from the 1st hole at 7:30 a.m. on each day, and live results for all three days of action can be accessed via the link above. The final day of play will be broadcast live on ESPN3 beginning at 10 a.m.

Five freshmen, a junior and a graduate student comprise La Salle's roster that will join eight other teams at Disney's Magnolia Golf Course for three straight days of golf. Rated "4 Stars" by Golf Digest, the par-72 Magnolia Course will play 6,007 yards on day one and 6,022 yards for the third and final round.

La Salle graduate student Kendra Heyer is the lone member of the squad with Division I championship experience.

Heyer, who earned CoSIDA Academic All-District Team honors as a member of the softball team last year, played in the 2015 Atlantic 10 Softball Championship for the Explorers, doubling and scoring a run in a 5-4 win over Saint Louis.

"Given the opportunity to play a brand new sport was something that I couldn't pass up," Heyer said of joining the golf team this fall. "I've been playing sports my entire life. It's been humbling, but I am so proud to be a part of the team. I try to set an example for the younger girls for when things are not going as well as they could. I'm going to enjoy my last competitive hurrah."

Freshman Rebecca Smith, who holds the team's top scoring average in her first season at La Salle, is excited to be in Florida for a week of golf and team building.

Smith has posted eight of the top nine rounds by an Explorer this year, including season-best rounds of 81 at both the Navy Fall Invitational and the Bucknell Women's Invitational this fall.

"I think it's very exciting to play in our first conference championship," Smith said. "We are excited to play in Orlando and at the Magnolia Course. We are locked into this location [for conference championships] until 2022, so the team can anticipate what to expect in the years to come. It's a good way to end our season and will definitely be a great team bonding opportunity."

Another player with championship experience is junior Mariam Colon, who played her first two seasons of collegiate golf at Division II Newberry College in South Carolina.

The Toluca, Mexico native, who joined the Explorers for the second semester, believes her time at Newberry can help La Salle in its first conference tournament experience.

"My experience at Newberry was great," Colon said. "It was interesting and fun, and I hope I can take what I learned there and show that as an Explorer."

Joining the trio in the starting lineup are two more freshmen – Havertown, Pa. product Gabby Morganti and Margate City, N.J. native Bella Ritzel.

Though the Explorers are not expected to compete for a championship this season, Calhoun is a firm believer that this season will lay the foundation for future runs to conference titles.

"Our goals for this tournament are self-imposed," Calhoun said. "We want to have our best scores of the year, and this is the biggest stage that any of them have played on. They'll gain some valuable exposure to the golf course that will host us for the next several years, and hopefully this puts us into a position to compete for a title."