After having an astounding season last year, the University of Alabama women’s golf team begins its season ranked third in the nation by the Golf World/NGCA Division-1 Preseason Coaches’ Poll, and the expectations for this year’s team are high.

No one has higher hopes for last year’s Southeastern Conference champions than returning senior Brooke Pancake.

“Our expectations are very high,” Pancake said. “We had a great season last year and during the offseason we were able to fix some of the mistakes we made last year.”

Head coach Mic Potter, who is entering his seventh year as the Alabama coach and was named last year’s Southeastern Conference coach of the year, always has big expectations for his team no matter what their ranking.

“I think rankings are meaningless,” Potter said. “We play the best we can. We did amazing last year and right now it’s hard to know where we stand, but we will be competitive this year.”

When asked about the outlook of the team, Pancake, a pre-business major, had nothing but praise.

“The team looks really good, and we have worked very hard,” Pancake said.

Pancake, an All-American from Chattanooga, Tennessee, who qualified for the U.S. Amateurs Championship, has produced the best freshman and sophomore seasons in Alabama history, boasting a 72.29 career scoring average while maintaining a 4.13 grade point average.

The Tide also returns two more All-Americans; 2010 SEC Freshman of the Year Jennifer Kirby, who has qualified for the past two U.S. Open’s, and sophomore Stephanie Meadow, who last year led the team with a school record 72.15 scoring average.

Also returning for the Tide is sophomore Hannah Collier, who finished last season with a sixth place finish at the SEC championships. Newcomers to the team are junior transfer Courtney McKim, who helped lead Oklahoma State to a top 10 finish last year at the NCAA championships, freshmen Daniela Lendl, Taylor Manning, Johanna Tillstrom, and redshirt freshman Jessica Schall.

Potter sees nothing but promise in his team and has especially high hopes for his returning All-Americans.

“They have all continued to play well over the years and I know Brooke, Stephanie, and Jennifer will lead the team to great success,” he said.

When asked how the newcomers have looked, Pancake shared the same aspirations.

“The freshman have looked great,” Pancake said. “They are all experienced and they are really amazing. I think it shows how that future of the team looks really good.”

Pancake, who plans on going professional after her college career ends this spring, also had nothing but praise for her coach.

“Coach Potter has helped me improve these past few years, he has really been a mentor to me and it is going to be really sad leaving him.”

Last season, the team boasted a record of 160-35-1, were never ranked lower than third, and at one point during the season were ranked number one.

The team recorded five victories in the regular season and were national favorites throughout the post season, finishing tied for eighth at the NCAA championships and ending the season ranked third.