For the second-straight year, the BCLUW girls will be making the rounds in the state tournament, looking to improve on last year’s seventh-place finish as a team.

Comets head coach Stacy Simpson said after qualifying for the state tournament by placing second at the Region 3 meet at Town & Country Golf Course in Nashua, a sigh of relief was felt throughout the team.

“As soon as they did make it all of a sudden they became much more relaxed and ready to play,” Simpson said. “Practices have been pretty relaxed but also focused on what they all need to do individually.”

Another thing that helps the girls to be less stressed about the meet is playing at the Legion, which is less than 30 minutes away from their home base in Union at the South Hardin Recreation Area.

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“We’ve had three or four girls that are fairly familiar with it, it’s almost like playing in your backyard, being able to be comfortable with what you are doing,” Simpson said.

With that proximity comes fans as well, as Simpson said there will be a host of Comets down to cheer on the likes of Lauren Anderson, Madison Trinkle, Mackenzie Trinkle, Bailey Ashton, Lili Wilson and Katie Garber.

“We are going to have a nice following of people for the two days,” he said. “A lot of parents will be showing up and I even heard some of the kids will be coming down a little bit later because they are getting ready for their tests and that stuff, but some will be coming down in the morning and some in the afternoon. We will have a good following with everybody.”

Anderson specifically has a shot at not only placing well as a team, but doing something special individually. She placed 14th last season in the 2A state meet, and Simpson said that could easily be higher in her senior year.

“Lauren has a real good opportunity to go forth and be in the top-10 or better, which would be a very nice thing for us to look back on,” he said.

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As for the team’s goals, Simpson said he would like his Comets to of course come home with a trophy, but improving on last year’s seventh-place finish would also be fantastic.

“Our biggest goal is to beat where we were last year, so better than seventh place,” he said. “If we look at specific numbers and that sorts of things we will probably find ourselves in the top 5 or somewhere in there, but if we come out and play extremely well there’s no reason we can’t come out and be No. 1.”

BCLUW won’t be the only team in attendance, however, as Grundy Center sophomore Frannie Brown and North Tama senior Claire Schafer will both be in action at the Legion.

Schafer is appearing in her second-straight state meet, after placing 18th in the 1A state meet.

Brown will be appearing in her first state tournament as a Spartan, but she said her familiarity with the course should give her a leg up.

“We played there once this year already, I didn’t play my greatest but that was also when I wasn’t shooting my best score. I am really excited to get out there,” Brown said. “I learned how to play the course and not the girls. I have an advantage to other girls I think since I’ve played there my freshman and my sophomore years. I think I should be able to have an advantage on them.”

Grundy Center head coach Jocilyn Onnen, an individual state champion for the Spartans herself, has talked about Brown’s ability all season, and she said she’s happy to see that ability come to fruition.

“I am extremely proud of her, she finally peaked,” Onnen. “We thought she could be doing this all year, so to have her finally see it and believe in herself is phenomenal, that’s what us as coaches want. We want to see the kid’s reactions to when they play the best they can play.”

The 1A Girls State Golf Tournament will begin with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. at the Legion this morning.