2015 Outlook: Comets look to finish back on top of the standings

Over the last 10 years, The Olivet College women's golf team has finished in first-place in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association standings six times and the other four times, the Comets placed second. One of those four times was last year after a string of three straight first-place finishes.

With three returning All-MIAA golfers, head coach Bill Maas is optimistic Olivet can climb back to the top spot in the standings. Leading the way for this trio is senior three-time All-MIAA golfers Brooke Kastamo and Casey Lamp.

After being a second-team selection as a freshman and sophomore, Kastamo landed a spot on the All-MIAA first-team last year as a junior. She averaged 81.8 strokes over 12 total rounds during the fall. Kastamo dropped her average to 80.4 in 10 spring rounds. Lamp has been a second-team pick each of her first three years at Olivet. Last year, she had an 83.3 stroke average in the fall and 84.0 average in the spring.

After being an individual scorer for all of the rounds during her freshman campaign, junior Laura Bacso moved into the top five last year and earned second-team All-MIAA honors. After posting an 87.2 stroke average in the fall, she lowered her average by more than three and one-half strokes during the spring to 83.5. Bacso also had a 77 for her career-best, 18-hole score.

Senior Kirstin Langer returns for her final golf season at Olivet. She played outside the starting lineup in each of her first two seasons before moving into it last year, averaging 89.6 strokes in the fall and 90.2 in the spring.

Three freshmen – Hayley Cooper, Ashley Potter and Rachel Stoneburner – will battle for playing time in the starting lineup. Cooper and Stoneburner competed at the 2014 Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 4 Girls Golf Finals.

Olivet opens the 2015 season Friday afternoon at the Trine (Ind.) University Kick-off Classic. Play from the Zollner Golf Course gets started at 2:30 p.m. The Comets will then host back-to-back tournaments the following two weekends at The Medalist Golf Club in Marshall. The first is Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 5-6, and the second will be Friday and Saturday, Sept. 11-12.