The High Point University women's golf team returns to the links next week after a disappointing fall which resulted in just two top-10 finishes. The Panthers and head coach Paige Stalcup have been hard at work since the fall and will look to emerge as a more dangerous team this spring.

“In the fall we performed poorly and we did not live up to our capabilities,” Stalcup said. “My expectations for the spring are to be in the top five or ten in each tournament. We have struggled to get out on the course to practice between the weather and the course conditions but we have spent time in the hitting rooms making some adjustments to their swings and they have been in the weight room three days a week building up their strength.”

One of the changes that Stalcup instituted this spring is a different qualifying system which she hopes will allow the team to not only feature a stronger lineup in tournament but to improve on the little things in their games due to a shortened qualifying period.

“I believe that with the new qualifying system will allow for more practice time and a lot less play,” Stalcup said. “We will be able to focus more on the actual things that need to be worked on. We trimmed the qualifying days from four to two so there is a little more pressure to perform well. Also some spots will be picked by me based on strategy and who is playing up to their capability.”

The Panthers will be tested early in the season, opening the spring at the JMU/Eagle Landing Invitational in Jacksonville, Fla. The tournament features 18 Division I teams including No. 8-ranked Florida and No. 31-ranked Chattanooga, the defending champion.

“Our first tournament is at Jacksonville where we will be playing a lot of Division I schools and that will be the first test,” Stalcup said. “I think that first tournament will be the hardest tournament that we play all spring season. It will give us a good outlook on the rest of the semester as far as how we do against difficult competition.”

Three golfers have already been selected to play in the JMU/Eagle Invitational and the Winthrop University Intercollegiate the following week, with the final two members of the team to be determined in qualifying. The three picked by Stalcup to play in the season's first two meets are senior Lisa Chandler and freshmen Audra McShane and Jessica Neese.

“They each have good qualities that they bring to the team and are playing pretty consistently,” Stalcup said. “Lisa didn't play many tournament is the fall but her stats in qualifying and practice stood apart from some of her teammates. Also her tournament scores from last spring at these first two tournaments were very good. Audra has gained a lot of distance and control on her shots and that is a good thing because these courses are both pretty long. Jessica just has the mentality of a tournament player. I feel that when she gets to the tournament she will just feel comfortable and be the player I know she can be.”

Following the Winthrop Intercollegiate, the Panthers will play at the Mimosa Hills Intercollegiate in Morganton, N.C., on April 5 and 6 before wrapping up the year at the Big South Championship in Greenwood, S.C., on April 14 and 15.