The SIU women’s golf team has its sight set on the top of the conference standings despite losing four seniors.

The women’s golf team hopes to return to its 2007 championship form as it introduces three freshmen to the squad. The Salukis held their qualifying rounds over the weekend to find out who will fill the top five spots on the roster for Monday’s Towson Golf Classic and the Payne Stewart Memorial on Sept. 21.

Sophomore Alisha Matthews said the golfers have already broken their qualifying round scores from last year and should start the season strong.

Women’s golf coach Diane Daugherty said while the team is young, she still expects a strong performance from the Salukis to start the season.

‘We’re awfully young, and we look young on paper, but I think we are going to come out this season and surprise a lot of people,’ Daugherty said.

Freshmen Jenna Dombroski and Shaina Rennegarbe qualified for two of the five designated spots on the team this year.’

‘They are steady golfers, and they definitely keep us upperclassmen on our toes,’ said junior Alex Anderson.

The women’s golf team travels to the east coast to play in the Towson Golf Classic in St. Michael’s, Md., Monday. The Towson Golf Classic is a nonconference tournament, but Anderson said it would set the tone for the rest of the season.

‘We’re ready for a fresh start, and we want to play well this weekend to set a standard to stick to for the rest of the tournaments,’ Anderson said.

Last season the women’s golf team finished ninth out of the 10 teams that competed at the Missouri Valley Conference. Daugherty said the toughest challenge this season would be competing with conference foes Illinois State and Missouri State.

‘ ‘Last year at the conference championships we lost focus, and this year we have a better mentality and we want to win bad. It really shows during practice,’ Mathews said.’ ‘ ‘ ‘

Anderson said the team is focused on winning the conference championships and getting the rings.

‘In the locker room we have a picture of the conference rings, which is a motivator for us and keeps us focused on our goals,’ Anderson said.’