A lack of confidence continued to hurt the women's golf team as it placed seventh out of 13 teams with a total score of 992 at the Peggy Kirk Bell Invitational March 20-21, in Altamonte Springs, Fla.

"We could have finished in the top five if we had played a little more confidently," Assistant Coach Denise St. Pierre said. "The experience and confidence we're working on. Potentially, I think we have it. It's all how we organize ourselves, believe in ourselves."

Freshman Kristin Clark had a three-round total of 242, including a Penn State low of 76 in the third round. Wendy MacTurk posted the second-best score for the Lady Lions with 243, and Cathy Gitzendanner, Brenda Williamson and Kerry O'Leary shot 254, 257 and 262, respectively.

"Everybody's probably shooting three or four strokes over average," St. Pierre said. "Seventy-six was an exceptional comeback. Kristin hasn't been used to shooting that. She needs to shoot more 76s to bring her comfort zone down."

A "comfort zone" is a range in which each golfer is used to scoring. Each individual must concentrate on scoring beneath that range to improve.

"I felt better the last day with the 76. I had lost my confidence with my putting the day before," Clark said. "It (the 76) had a lot to do with team support."

San Diego State, ranked among the top 20 in the country, took first with a team total of 935. Host Rollins College did not compete as a team due to lack of players, but Bettina Walker of Rollins ranked first individually with a 221.

After the first day, the Lady Lions were tied for eighth with Mississippi with a first-round total of 328 and a second-round total of 334. The team moved into seventh after scoring a 330 in the third round.

"I'm pleased with placing seventh," Clark said. "There were 36 holes on Monday, and we'd only played a few rounds before this.

"It (the golf course) didn't play very long, but we had to place the ball well because there was a lot of definition," Clark continued. "There were a lot of traps and undulations in the course."

With a 992, Penn State was also 22 points away from reaching its team goal of 970.

"The team scores, as a whole, were a few shots higher," St. Pierre said. "The golf course, Timacuan, was an exceptional and very challenging golf course. There were a lot of things that typically we don't see, a lot of island greens.

"The girls liked the golf course, and that's a big factor," the coach continued. "I was really happy with the practice round Sunday. We walked the course backwards. You get a whole different perspective. Had they not prepared themselves, they may have been 10 over par."

Next up for the Lady Lion golfers is the Duke Invitational, March 31-April 2, in Durham, N.C.