The Penn State women's golf team will look to pack a lot more into its suitcase when it travels to the Finkbine Golf Course in Iowa City, Iowa this weekend.

The Nittany Lions' lineup for this weekend's Lady Northern Invitational will be comprised of seniors Katie Futcher, Meghan Mull, Keri Dugan and Cynthia Skilton, as well as freshmen Katrin Wolfe and Amber Weinerth.

In its third tournament of the year, the Penn State squad will also have its longest outing of the very young season.

Packing an extra pair of shoes may come in handy for Saturday, a day in which the schedule calls for 36 holes of golf.

A big part of the game plan will be conditioning and staying focused for the two rounds.

"If you can mentally stay focused for 36 holes, that will be better than physically conditioning," Mull said.

Another important aspect of the weekend will be the weather.

As the season moves into late September and early October, the cool breeze of summer turns into the cold wind of fall. With expected temperatures in the low 60s, Futcher says she's sure she'll pack her Hot Hands and mittens.

"I lose so much feel [when it gets cold]," Futcher said. "Your hands are the only part of your body connected to the club."

As if the other two conditions weren't enough, the course also features an island green.

When confronting the 13th hole, a 199-yard par-3 with virtually nothing between the tee and the green but cold, blue water, the athletes are hoping they don't need to pack their swimsuits.

"It's easy to stand on the tee and see where you don't want the ball," Penn State women's golf coach Denise St. Pierre said.

"We're focused on where we want to put the ball."

As for the rest of the course, the tough stretches come at the beginning of the front nine and then again at the start of the back nine.

However, St. Pierre said that she is more concerned with the easy stretches and with her players keeping their attention focused during the practice round.

"Sometimes on a golf course like this, you can get cocky," St. Pierre said. "It's sort of a tease. You have to play it conservatively."

Although it's coming off its first win of the season, the Penn State team figures to face a tougher field at the Lady Northern than at the Yale Women's Intercollegiate.

Kent State, the No. 24 ranked team in the country according to Golf World magazine, won last weekend's Mary Fossum Classic and boasts a talented roster.

The Golden Flashes' squad includes junior Martina Gillen, one of Golf World's Top 50 Female Players to Watch, and sophomore Gabrielle Wedding, who was named Mid-American Conference's Freshman of the Year last season.

The field also features Indiana, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Michigan and host Iowa, all teams Penn State figures to see a lot more of this season. Even with the talented competition, Penn State just wants to worry about its own game.

"As long as we all keep doing what we're doing, I think we can be there with the other teams," Dugan said.