With a core of experienced upperclassmen returning and an exciting summer behind them, the Michigan women"s golf team was eagerly anticipating its first tournament this past weekend the Fossum Invitational. The Wolverines were disappointed when the event was canceled, but understood the decision, and now they"re even more anxious to open the season this Friday at the Lady Northern in Urbana.

"We"re ready and raring to go compete," Michigan coach Kathy Teichert said.

The unexpected weekend off gave the team a chance to get in some extra practice time and stage its second qualifying tournament of the young season. In the first qualifier, Stephanie Bezilla beat Bess Bowers in an 18-hole playoff to join Courtney Reno, Misia Lemanski, LeAnna Wicks, Kim Benedict and Laura Olin on the squad that was supposed to play the Fossum Invitational. One week later, the same group emerged, but this time Bowers edged out Bezilla.

That tight competition amongst the team is a result of Michigan"s depth. Nearly all of last year"s team which won three tournaments and competed in the NCAA Regional for the first time in Michigan women"s golf history is back. The nucleus is formed by the five seniors Reno, Lemanski, Wicks, Bezilla, an Bowers who all provide leadership and set the tone on the course.

"They"ve worked really hard over four years. They"ve all come a long way," Teichert said. "The more they play and the better they play, I"ve seen in the way they carry themselves that they"re so confident and focused on what they want to do.

"If they have a bad hole, they know they can come back from that adversity."

The Wolverines are solid all the way down the roster. Benedict, a junior, starred for the Wolverines last season and is expected to do so again this year, and true freshman Olin has also shown promise.

The depth "can only make the travel team really work hard. They have to stay on top of their games to stay in the lineup," Teichert said, adding that she knows any one of her players is capable of performing well in tournament play.

In the Lady Northern, Michigan will face 15 teams, including seven others from the Big Ten and a talented Kent State team. Tomorrow"s practice round will have added importance because none of the Wolverines have played the links course at Stonecreek Golf Club.

The players will spend the round learning the layout of the course and determining club selection for the weekend.

The Wolverines had strong showings in amateur tournaments throughout the summer, and Benedict and Lemanski excelled. Benedict defeated Lemanski for the Michigan Women"s Amateur title in July, and both players qualified for the U.S. Amateur. Lemanski survived the 36-hole cut to advance to match play.

Those experiences, coupled with the success of last season, leave Michigan confident and excited going into its first tournament.

"I feel good about how we"re leading into this year," Teichert said. "We have to see what our players bring to the table now, what our strengths and weaknesses are, and then really work on our weaknesses. We have a lot of high expectations on us this year. "I"m hoping we can be successful."