The Missouri State women's golf team opens its 2015-16 campaign this weekend at the Diane Thomason Invitational in Iowa City, Iowa. The Bears are one of 11 teams in a field that will tee off at 8:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday (Sept. 12-13), playing 54 holes over two days at the par 72, 6142-yard Finkbine Golf Course on the University of Iowa campus. Fans can follow live scoring for the event at http://golfstatresults.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=participants&tid=8448

MSU returns its top three players in scoring average from last year's team that finished second at the Missouri Valley Conference Championship and was the highest-ranked team in the league at the end of the regular season.

The Bears are led by last year's Valley Newcomer of the Year Stine Pettersen, who ranked second in the league with 75.85 scoring average. Fellow sophomore Verena Gimmy was fourth with a 76.39 mark and senior Megan Furnish, a two-time Iowa Amateur champ from nearby Cedar Rapids, was 11th with a 77.31 average. Freshmen Hailey Burgen and Ashley Childers will be making their collegiate debuts for the Bears after standout high school careers.

Other teams in the field include host Iowa, Boston, Bowling Green, Bradley, Delaware, Harvard, North Florida, Northern Illinois, South Dakota State and Wichita State.