PALM DESERT, Calif. - Saint Mary's College Golf closes out their 2026 season with their third straight NCAA Division III National Championships appearance. The Belles finished T23 and missed the cut after shooting 638 with scores of 319-319 on both days.
Senior Amanda Melling (East Lansing, MI) led the way for the Belles while shooting a 148 on the first two days of the tournament with scores of 77-71. Her 71 was a career low score and tied the program record for an 18-hole score at the NCAA Championships. After the second round, while the team did not make the cut, Melling found herself as one of the top six remaining individuals and advanced into the final two rounds. She becomes just the third Belle in program history to advance past the cut line as an individual. She would finish the tournament with a 304 final score and finished T46 after shooting rounds of 77-71-79-77 over the four days. Melling tied the program record for a 54-hole at the NCAA Championships with her three round score of 227 and set the program record for a 72-hole score at the NCAA Championships with her 304.
In her first two rounds, Melling tallied six birdies including an incredible five in round two. In the first round, she would birdie the par-five first hole on the Firecliff Course. In round two, she would kick off her day on the Mountain View Course with back-to-back birdies on the par-five ninth and par-four tenth holes. She then followed that up with threes on the par-four 14th and 17th holes before closing out her round with a birdie on the par-four fourth hole to finish in red figures. Back on the Firecliff Course for round three, Melling added another birdie to her total on the par-four sixth hole. She added another birdie on the par-four 16th to start her afternoon in round four before adding another on the par-five first. . Melling tallied five nine-hole scores of 38 or lower on the tournament while adding an even par 36 on the front of the Mountain View Course and a one-under par 35 on the back nine.
Melling completes her Saint Mary's career with a scoring average of 82.39 while averaging a career best 79.13 in her final season. She took home an individual win at the MIAA Championship tournament this season and earned her second All-MIAA honor while being named to the First Team for the first time this season.
Sophomore Melanie Maier (Richmond, TX) finished second for the Belles after shooting 158, carding rounds of 77-81. Maier added five birdies in her two rounds, three in round one and two in round two. She added one on the par-four sixth hole in round one before adding two more in her final four holes on the par-four 15th and par-five 18th. In round two, she added one early on the par-five ninth hole, her third hole of the day. She then followed that up with another birdie on the par-five 12th to bring her score back to even par. Maier finishes her second year with a 77.4 scoring average while taking home two individual wins at an MIAA Jamboree and the Trine Spring Classic. She also earned her second consecutive All-MIAA First Team honor.
Junior Colleen Hand (Royal Oak, MI) followed Maier after tallying a 163 with rounds of 84-79. Hand added four birdies on the tournament with one in round one and three in round two. In round one, she would birdie the 116 yard par-three eighth hole. In round two, she started off with a birdie on the par-five 12th hole before adding one on the par-four 17th. Hand tacked on one more on the par-four fourth hole. Hand finished her junior season with an 82.9 scoring average while adding five rounds in the 70s on the season.
Senior Julia Lizak (Riverview, MI) followed after totalling a 170 with scores of 82-88. Lizak tacked on two birdies in her two rounds, one in each. In round one, she birdied the final hole of the day, the 513 yard par-five 18th on the Firecliff course. In round two, she would birdie the par-five 12th hole, being one of three Belles to birdie the 12th on the day. Lizak completes her collegiate career with a 79.5 scoring average in her final season. Lizak posted nine rounds in the 70s during her senior year. Lizak ends her Saint Mary's career with a 79.53 scoring average in 72 rounds across her four years.
Sophomore Ella Notaro (Crystal Lake, IL) made her first career Nationals appearance, shooting 171 while carding rounds of 83-88. Notaro also added in two birdies of her own in the tournament, one in each round. Notaro kicked off her Nationals appearance hot as she birdied her first hole of the tournament, the par-five first on Firecliff. She then added a birdie on the par-five ninth hole in round two, her third hole of the day. Notaro finishes her second season with the program with an 88.25 scoring average in 11 rounds played. She shot a career low 82 on two occasions, most recently during the second round of the MIAA Championships.
As a team, in their first season under the direction of Head Coach Kristin Holt, the Belles took home four team wins on the season including two MIAA Jamborees, the Trine Spring Classic, and their third consecutive MIAA Championship. The Belles also finished the season tying the program record for scoring average in a season, 318.29, which was set last season (2024-25). They also set a new program record for a 36-hole tournament score with a 606 at the MIAA Championships after shooting 307-299.
