By By SCOTT NOVAK / Dowagiac Daily News
The Dowagiac girls' golf team will open its season today at Sturgis.
The Chieftains return five of their top six players from last year and has 12 girls out for golf this season.
Leading the way will be junior Carly Gantt, who was All-Big 16 and All-West Division.
Also back for the Chieftains are Tonya Scherer, Alyson Wheeler, Becca Howe, Brooke Lamb, Aislinn Frantz and Brittany Munson. Newcomers to the squad are Jessica Hargett, Jessica Krueger, Chelsea Thompson and Chelsea Whiteoak.
"I think the girls are feeling pretty decent about their play so far," veteran Dowagiac coach Van Johnson said. "We should be more competitive than we were last year. But really, we have no idea about this new conference."
Girls' golf is not an official Wolverine Conference sport because 80 percent of the league schools have to sponsor it and only seven schools currently have golf programs.
Dowagiac will fill out the remainder of its golf schedule with former Big 16 opponents, especially from the former West Division.
Johnson said that this year will most definitely be a learning experience for his team.
"The girls have a lot of new golf courses to learn," he said. "Hopefully, somewhere down the line things will kick in for us."
Johnson added that confidence would be a key for his squad. He also wants to make sure they are motivated throughout the season and that it continues beyond that.
"We need to make sure these girls know that it's okay to play golf outside of March through June," he said. "We need to keep them motivated so that they continue to improve."
Dowagiac will have its first home match on Wednesday, April 25.