BRUNSWICK, Maine -- First-year Mehar Nijjer shined in her collegiate debut and the Bates women's golf team took third place at the two-day Polar Bear Shootout at Brunswick Golf Club to start the 2023-24 season on a strong note.

Nijjer (Chandigarh, India) finished in a tie for fourth place out of 46 competitors with a two-day score of 157, seven strokes back of individual medalist Grace Sun of Wellesley. On Sunday, Nijjer fired a 77, the low round of the tournament for the Bobcats. She birdied the 16th and 18th holes, while recording 10 pars. 

As a team, Bates shot a 653, third-lowest out of the eight teams competing at the tournament. Wellesley sent two teams to the tournament, with their "Blue" team finishing first with a 626 and their "White" team taking second with a 643. The Bobcats finished ahead of rival Bowdoin (668), Babson (678), Suffolk (679), Trinity (689), and Husson (741).

Senior Alex Voight-Shelley (State College, Pa.) contributed to the Bobcats' strong performance with back-to-back rounds of 79. She finished in a tie for seventh place, one shot back of Nijjer. Junior Maddy Kwei (Pasadena, Calif.) and senior Mira Shind (Wellesley, Mass.) rounded out the scoring for Bates with two-day scores of 168 (T-19) and 170 (T-22) respectively.

A number of golfers competed as individuals, including Bates sophomore Ruby Haylock (Hartford, Maine), who finished in a tie for seventh place with Voight-Shelley, as they both shot identical rounds of 79 on Saturday and Sunday. 

The Bobcats are back in action Saturday, Sept. 23 and Sunday, Sept. 24 when they travel to the Williams Invitational, held at Taconic Golf Club.