WINONA, Minn. — Home sweet home.

The Saint Mary's University women's golf team closed out its regular season on the same course that they will compete on for the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships — their home course.

And if the Cardinals' performance in the Winona State Fall Foliage is any indication, SMU could be poised to make a big jump up the conference ladder.

Led by Andrea Hanke (Janesville, Wis.), the Cardinals placed fifth in the six-team, predominantly NCAA Division II Fall Foliage field. But more importantly to Messmann, the Cardinals turned in some of their best scores of the season.

"It was the perfect last match (before the MIAC Championships," said Messmann, whose team shot a first-round score of 360, equalling their best-ever 18-hole team score. "The conditions were pretty rough the second day, but we hung in there and did a nice job.

"I think this tournament really sets us up well for next week."

Hanke careded rounds of 83-87 for a 170 total, placing her 13th overall. Dani Lynch (Williston, N.D.) chipped in a 92-94—186, followed by Emily Nordstrom (Mendota Heights, Minn. / 94-94—188), Caty Beel (Tucson, Ariz. / 94-99—193), Kristi Pugal (Brookfield, Wis. / 92-104—196) and Katie Omdahl (97-105—202).

"It was good to see us shoot so many scores in the 80s and 90s," said Messmann, whose team is the host for this weekend's MIAC Championships at Cedar Valley Golf Course. "The fact that we get to play back-to-back tournaments on our home course is nice — hopefully we can have a repeat of this performance next week."