Sunday and Monday may be the season opening tournament for Western Michigan University's women's golf team, but the nine players haven't exactly been sitting around all summer.

''Everyone has been playing tournaments this summer,'' head coach Kim Moore said. ''I never tell them they have to play in a lot of tournaments, because they have to schedule playing around work or internships, and it's tough to travel a lot.

''Regardless if it's a USGA event or a nine-hole lady's league, they can compete.''

Many of them have been having a good summer, too. Graduate students Natalie Samdal and Alissa Fish along with sophomore Megha Vallabhaneni made it through the stroke play competition of the Michigan Women's Amateur Championship last month and Fish and Vallabhaneni made it to the round of 16. Samdal lost her first match, but it was a marathon, going 24 holes.

Fish and Vallabhaneni played in a USGA qualifier in Muncie, Ind., last Wednesday.

''Natalie was actually the best qualifier of our Western Michigan team in the Amateur, finishing third in stroke play,'' Moore said. ''It was a good showing by our team members and hopefully that gives us momentum and confidence heading into our fall schedule.''

The Broncos (sixth in the Mid-American Conference tournament in the spring of 2023) will play in five tournaments this fall before watching it snow in Kalamazoo and practice indoors. They pick back up in February and continue playing through the MAC tournament, hosted by Ohio University.

WMU returns seven members of their eight-person team who played last fall and spring. Fish is the top returner, having averaged 77.14 through 11 tournaments. Vallabhaneni was next at 77.42. The only golfer WMU lost was Haley Barclay, who graduated. She averaged 77.92.

Sophomore Jenna Hayes played in 10 of the team's 12 tournaments and is back along with Samdal, junior Ally Barth, sophomore Kailey White and junior Madeline Blum. The newcomers are freshmen Macy Beeson and Isabella Brooks.

To make the lineup for a tournament, Moore has qualifying rounds to give everyone a chance to play.

''Last year, all eight players qualified to play in at least half of our tournaments during the season which shows the depth we have,'' Moore said. ''Megha and Natalie were the only ones who played in all 12 tournaments.''

Beeson has already shown she can be a contributor right away. She made the five-person lineup who will play in the first tournament at the A-Ga-Ming Invitational at the Sundance Golf Course, north of Elk Rapids. In fact, she had the lowest score during the three rounds of qualifying. Also going are Fish, Samdal, Vallabhaneni and Barth.

''I think the team is definitely stronger and it shows with players like Bella (Brooks) who shot a 75 in one of the qualifying rounds,'' Hayes said. ''Overall, our team chemistry is amazing and I see great things for this team.''

Hayes is looking to work on her short game and hitting more greens. This summer, she played in four tournaments and all her rounds were in the low to mid-70s.

''I'm pretty much a range rat,'' she said with a smile. ''I practice for two or three hours a day.''

She's hoping to be one of the seven team qualifying members who will play at her home course in Dayton on Oct. 16 and 17.

Samdal also had a busy summer…a really very, very busy summer.

''I played in four tournaments, worked Monday, Wednesday and Friday and also had two summer classes,'' she said. ''In the Match Play, I played really well, but just lost to a person with a hot putter at the end.

''It was a big confidence booster in how my game is shaping up.''

Confidence is what she is hoping she and her teammates can have throughout the fall.

''in the fall, we have better weather on good courses, and I think as a team, this is where we can strike and gain confidence for the spring,'' she said. ''I think we have a chance to finish in the top 5 in the MAC.''

Moore looks at the fall schedule as being just as important as the spring portion.

''The fall gets us into tournament mode and allows me to see who the top players are and how everyone competes for spots,'' she said. ''And then we get going in the spring and have six tournaments before we get to the MAC.

''By that time, hopefully their games are getting better and their short games are getting better.''

Last fall, the Broncos finished fifth or higher in all five tournaments.