The tournament to decide the Mid-American Conference championship is seven months away, but after Monday, coach Katherine Mowat likes her team's chances to win a title.
The Ball State University women's golf team shot a school-record 294 and is in first place following the first round of the MAC Tournament Preview in Indianapolis. In addition to the team record, freshman Brittany Kelly shot a 3-under-par 69 to set a school record for the lowest 18-hole score.
"Back in the summer I knew this was going to be the best team this program will have seen," Mowat said. "So its been holding true."
Prior to this season, Ball State's highest finish in the MAC was third place, including a sixth-place finish to end the 2007 spring season.
Ball State entered Monday's tournament after winning its season-opening tournament, the Tri-State Invitational. In that competition, the Cardinals had three golfers finish in the top five, with Kelly finishing in first place, shooting a 77 during the 18-hole event.
Before starting her college career, Kelly won the 2006 Indiana PGA Women's Open and an Indiana high school state championship in 2003.
Mowat said Kelly's mentality on the golf course is why she's been successful in her first two college tournaments.
"Brittany isn't afraid to go out there and get low scores," Mowat said. "She is so tough and competitive that the only place she wants is at the top of the leaderboard."
Ball State leads second-place Indiana State University by four strokes, with the tournament's final round beginning Tuesday.
If the Cardinals remain in first, it will be the first time in Mowat's four years at Ball State the team has won more than one tournament during a season.
Mowat said her players are looking forward to the final round and potentially winning another tournament.
"This is something we can get use to," she said. "We have a lot of work ahead of us, but it has definitely been a new experience for us."
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