After an outstanding 2016-17 season that saw the Mammoths place ninth overall at the Division III National Championships, Amherst women’s golf is poised for continued success after losing only one senior, returning four of the five golfers that competed in May.

Further helping the Mammoths’ cause is the return of head coach Elizabeth Davis, who in her first season leading the program last year garnered East Region Coach of the Year honors from the WGCA.

Davis’s first recruiting class, the class of 2020, was essential to the team’s deep postseason run, and will once again form much of the Mammoths’ spine. Morgan Yurosek ’20, especially, will hope to further pad her already-impressive resume, which includes a NESCAC Rookie of the Year award and WGCA All-East Region honors.

Meanwhile, Yurosek’s classmate Jessica Jeong ’20 will aim to show that her performance at May’s National Championship, where she posted Amherst’s second-best score, was no fluke. Emily Young ’20, the final first year to compete at nationals last year, will be the third member of the Mammoths’ impressive sophomore triad.

Further boosting Amherst’s hopes for the fall campaign are the team’s returning upperclassmen, especially junior Kate Weiss, who impressed at nationals, and captain Zoe Wong ’18. These two, along with juniors Maggie Schoeller and Katie Rosenborg, will form the team alongside what will likely be another talented class of first years.

Even with such a well of talent and experience, success for the Mammoths is no guarantee, as the team faces an imposing gauntlet of fall tournaments.

With contests every weekend from Sept. 9-10 through Oct. 7-8, not a single of which will be played on Amherst’s home course, the Mammoths’ mettle will be thoroughly tested. The nearest thing to a home tournament the team will play is the Mount Holyoke Invitation on Sept. 23 and 24.

However, the toughest test will undoubtedly be the Williams Fall Invitational, the final tournament of the season, which will pit the up-and-coming Amherst team against the perennial powerhouse Ephs in a battle for NESCAC supremacy. This tournament will likely be the best barometer of the Mammoths’ fall season, as it offers an opportunity to showcase Amherst’s talent heading into the spring portion of the season.

The Mammoths will open the season in just over a week when the golfers take part in the St. Lawrence University Invitational on the weekend of Sept. 9-10.