The story lines this year between the University of Hawai`i Hilo women's golf team and the Vulcans men's squad are striking.

Both teams begin their 2016-17 seasons in the Pacific Northwest, with the Lady Vuls teeing off on Friday (Oct. 7) at the Saint Martin's Invitational in Olympia, Wash. and again on Monday in Bellingham at the Western Washington Invitational, just like the men did last week.

Both squads also return just one player from their 2015-16 teams. UHH women's coach Jim DeMello will pencil in a number of new names into the line-up for each tournament, just like his men's counterpart Earl Tamiya.

Andi Igawa is the lone returnee for the Vulcan women. A junior, the Hilo native (Waiakea HS) averaged just over 80 strokes a round last year, playing mostly at UHH's No. 2 spot. She inherits the No. 1 role this year, vacated by four-year letterwinner Kristen Sawada, who was a Third-Team All-Pacific West Conference honoree last season.

"I look for a big year from Andi," said DeMello, who started the Vulcan women's program in 2004 after assisting with the men's team for many years. "Equally important is that the rest of the team works hard and improves throughout the year. Your team is only as good as your fourth and fifth players."

To begin the year, the No. 2 slot goes to Erin Costes, a sophomore from Irvine, Calif. who red-shirted last season. Three freshman and a junior make up the rest of the squad.

"I think we will be deeper this year and should score better as a team," DeMello predicted. "I think we will be more consistent. Our fourth and fifth players need to be around 85 per round, that is what I am hoping for."

Those players hoping to hold up that end of the bargain for DeMello include freshmen Kristeena Locke (Maui), Alexandra Hopkins (Salt Lake City) and Keely Kitamura (Hilo/Waiakea), who red-shirted last year. Mariah Paiste (Waimea) is a junior who played last Fall, but then was injured and wasn't available in the spring. Kimberly Katayama, who played last season, will red-shirt this year.

"It's a matter of how hard are they willing to practice," DeMello added. "If they buy into getting better, we will be alright."

They will get a lot of opportunity to work on their games in live time this weekend. Including practice rounds at each tournament, they will play six consecutive days—including 36 holes in one day, twice.

"This will be tough on the girls, but good for me to be able to see how they respond," DeMello smiled. "It's a great way for us to start the season. We will see some west region teams and get a bit of a feel for where we are at and where we need to be. These tournaments will show us a lot."

The Vulcans will begin the Washington trip at the Olympia Golf and Country Club, competing against 11 other schools at the St. Martin's Invitational. Western Washington will host a similar field for Monday and Tuesday's WWU Invitational at the Bellingham Golf and Country Club.

It's a long season, one that spans from October to May. Ultimately for the Vulcans, they want to peak for the Pacific West Conference championships in late April and for the NCAA West Regional in early May.

UHH's region spans the western half of the United States and includes Texas. "Our region has gotten so tough," said DeMello, whose Vulcans won the PacWest title in 2014 and advanced to the regional tournament for the first time. "In the last five years, all of the teams have better players and our region itself has grown with more teams."

The PacWest is also stronger, with California Baptist ranked fourth in the West Region pre-season poll. Fellow conference teams Academy of Art is sixth and Point Loma is seventh.

One thing is for sure—if you play golf at Hawai`i Hilo, you are going to see a lot of the country. In addition to the trip to the Pacific Northwest, the team will play tournaments in San Antonio and Austin, Texas, in Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, and of course on Oahu and the Big Island.

"The girls get a great schedule with lots of travel and lots of golf," DeMello said. "It all starts this weekend, and I am anxious to see how we will begin."