ELMIRA, N.Y. -- Following a brief break, the Elmira College women's golf team is set to hit the links at the Ballston Spa Country Club in Ballston Spa, New York, for the 2017 Empire 8 Conference Championships. The 36-hole tournament tees off on Saturday, October 14, at 1:00 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
The Soaring Eagles last participated in the annual Martin-Wallace Invitational on Saturday, September 30, and Sunday, October 1, at the Cortland Country Club. Although EC finished seventh out of nine teams, the Purple and Gold carded their lowest 36-hole cumulative score since the 2008-09 season with a 751 (+175). Audrey Clarke '18 and Meghan Fonfara '18 led the Soaring Eagles by finishing in 14th and a tie for 18th place, respectively. Clarke followed up her opening-round 86 (+14) by carding a 10-over par 82 on day two, equaling 168 (+24). Fonfara was two strokes behind with a two-day score of 170 (+26).

LOW ROUNDS
Elmira turned in rounds of 372 (+84) and 379 (+91) nearly two weeks ago at the Cortland Country Club in its final tune-up before the league championship tournament. Combined, the team's 751 is the seventh-lowest two-day score in program history and is the best since EC tallied a 746 at the William Smith Invitational in September of 2008. The Soaring Eagles shaved seven strokes off of their previous season-low 36-hole score, which they fired in late September at the Yahnundasis Golf Club, as part of the Utica College Invitational. Individually, both Fonfara and Cassie Chun '18 (211, +67) registered the lowest two-round scores of their collegiate careers, while Sarah Hiltbrand '19 (230, +86) finished just one stroke shy of her lowest two-day score.

RECORD SEASON
Clarke is on the verge of establishing a new program record for the lowest scoring average versus par in her final collegiate season. The senior standout enters this weekend's E8 Championships with an average versus par of +9.86, which slightly better than the +10.10 posted by former Elmira great Tory MacNeil '08 during her senior year in 2007-08. Clarke, a native of Churchville, New York, already owns three of the top-five lowest scoring averages versus par, with her previous best coming in the 2015-16 campaign (+13.17).

NEW CONFERENCE CONTENDERS
The Empire 8 Conference expanded its associate membership for women's golf over the summer, more than doubling the field to 12 teams this fall. In addition to full-time E8 members Utica, St. John Fisher, and Nazareth, Elmira will be competing against SUNY Canton, SUNY Cortland, Husson University, Johnson and Wales University, Keuka College, Rhode Island College, Suffolk University and Westfield State University. EC has seen several of these new teams at tournaments throughout the fall season, including the Red Dragons of SUNY Cortland, who look to be a top contender for this year's title after placing second at both the William Smith and Martin-Wallace Invitationals.

THE COURSE
The Ballston Spa Country Club was established in 1925, in what the course website describes as the "golden age of course architecture." The scenic course offers some fantastic views and challenging holes. The back nine boasts several tight tree-lined fairways, and there a couple of narrow creeks that come into play on the front nine. One of those creeks guards the front of the greens on the first and second holes, while the second green also has a large pond to its left. There are multiple doglegs that the golfers will need to navigate, with the 14th being regarded as the most difficult hole on the course. "This dogleg right needs a well-placed drive to set up a long approach to an elevated green that is sloped from back to front. Be happy with a bogey and proud of a par," says the course website.

For more information on the Ballston Spa Country Club, please click here.

COVERAGE
Fans can follow along with all of the action from this weekend's Empire 8 Championships by visiting the conference's tournament homepage by clicking here. Live scoring for the first and second rounds can also be found by clicking here.

LOOKING AHEAD
The 2017 Empire 8 Championships mark the final competition for the Soaring Eagles this fall. The team will resume play in the spring, following an extended winter break. The complete spring schedule will be announced in the near future.