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The Griz golf team could be peaking at just the right time. In their last round at the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic last Tuesday, 4 ladies combined to shoot even par. Their score of 288 broke the Montana single-round school record by 6 shots.

"It was a great confidence boost for us," said junior Ashli Helstrom. "And I think for us to throw away a 76, it was huge. I was the one that shot the 76, and I was proud to throw it out for a 70, 72, 73, 73."

"I absolutely knew that we could break the school record," said junior Lauren Howell, who shot the Grizzlies round of 72 on that record-breaking day. "It was just a matter of all of us having confidence in the same tournament, and all of us coming together putting rounds up at the same time. And, now that we've done it, I think we know that we can keep doing that."

Now the Griz are gearing up for next week's Big Sky Championship in Arizona. The record is even more impressive because the weather has prevented the team from practicing outside until a couple weeks ago. But that's just part of the game for a Division 1 golfer living in Missoula.

"It's difficult whey you can't go outside and practice," said Helstrom. "And when you do your swing is tight. It just feels completely different than when we are down in the warm weather. A lot of time in the gym hitting almost-golf balls. And, just hoping that it is actually going as well as it looks."

"We have to stay mentally tough, because if not then we're not going to play very well," said Howell. "But, I think we've done a pretty good job with the weather conditions being what they are. So, we've come out and played pretty well for not being able to practice very much."

The Griz leave for the Big Sky Championship Saturday. They will tee off the first of three rounds on Monday.