That line was quoted in the preseason by Monmouth College women’s golf coach Bill Turner, and if his sophomore class makes the kind of progress that star junior Molly McNamara (Alexis, IL/HS) made between her first and second seasons, Turner believes his squad has a chance to unseat two-time defending Midwest Conference champion Knox.

A year ago, McNamara emerged as the top MC golfer by grabbing the lead at the halfway point of the MWC Championships. Her 86 helped the Scots forge a first-day tie with Knox, but the Prairie Fire pulled away on the second set of 18 holes to top runner-up Monmouth by 14 strokes.

"I think it’s very true," said Turner of McGuire’s famous phrase. "In our first practice round, we were three shots off of our top round from last year. Most of our freshmen last year put in noticeable work over the summer. I’ve noticed that the comfort zone for some of them is getting 4-5 shots lower than it was last year."

This year’s sophomore class includes Liz Gard (Arvada, CO/West), Amy Rassman (New Lenox, IL/Lincoln-Way) and Nicole Auclair (Darien, IL/Hinsdale South). Although they’ve all made progress, they should still be looking up at McNamara.

"She finished with a bang last year," said Turner. "She’s accepted that she’ll play in the No. 1 positions this year."

McNamara has the lowest round in the history of the two-year-old program, an 83 at Gibson Woods last fall, and Turner believes she could be the first Fighting Scot to break 80.

"After Molly, there’s good competition for the second spot," said Turner, who listed senior Michelle Vazquez (Waukegan, IL/HS) as the current leader. "She’s really gotten off to a good start in practice rounds and practice sessions. She’s just as long off the tee, if not longer, than she was last year, and she’s hitting it strong all around the course. She’s one that is really starting to lower

her comfort zone. If she can keep her mental focus and improve her mental toughness, she’s a great candidate to be all-conference."

Next up is Rassman, who opened some eyes with an 86 on the second day of the MWC Championships to capture the 10th and final all-conference slot.

"She’s looking very solid," said Turner. "Her mental approach is a lot stronger, and she’s taking the good with the bad. In practice, she’s scoring six strokes lower than she did a year ago."

Turner knows that his No. 5 player, Auclair, can hit a ball with a stick. In her freshman season on the softball team, Auclair hit .420 with four homers. Of course, the two sports feature different swings, and Turner said Auclair "is tweaking some things in her golf swing" to try to lower her generally consistent scores.

Other players on the squad are senior Sarah Pearson (Monmouth, IL/Black Hawk CC), junior Casey Owen (Darien, IL/Hinsdale South) and freshmen Dede Santiago (Galesburg, IL/HS) and Becky Gillengarten (Antioch, IL/HS).

"Last year, we’d get two good scores, but no support," said Turner. "This year, I think the support will be there."

Turner will get his first look at the Scots in intercollegiate action today (Sept. 4) when Monmouth travels to Jacksonville to play in the Illinois College Invitational. The Scots’ lone home meet is the Monmouth Invitational on Sept. 15, and the MWC Championships are set for Oct. 6-7 and will be hosted by Carroll College.

"In terms of team goals, we’re hoping to pass our friendly competitors down the street (Knox)," concluded Turner, whose team finished the 2000-01 academic year ranked 30th in the nation of the approximately 90 teams in Division III. "I believe they’re the team to beat. They won’t slow down and back into us, though. We’ll have to speed up and catch them."