CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- The 2009 America East Golf Champions will be named on Sunday, April 26 at Shaker Ridge Country Club in Loudonville, N.Y. The championship, hosted by University at Albany, tees-off this Saturday at about the same time a wave of 80-degree temperatures and mostly sunny weather should sweep through the Northeast, making for a pleasant weekend.

Albany, Boston University and University of Hartford will compete for the team title, while medalist honors will be awarded to the top 36-hole finisher on the 5,805-yard, par-72 course at Shaker Ridge. Albany won the team trophy a year ago for the second time since the conference began sponsoring a women's golf championship in 2004. Hartford took home the title once (2005), while Boston U. earned top honors twice in consecutive years (2006, 07).

The Great Danes are led by junior Amanda McPhee (Winchester, Mass./Winchester), who will be teeing-off in the team's number one position. McPhee shared medalist honors in 2008 with teammate Corrin Conroy (Oswego, N.Y./Oswego) and University of Hartford's Juliana Carrillo, and earned America East Performer of the Week once this spring. Freshman Annemarie Kissane (Albany, N.Y./Albany), the reigning Performer of the Week after winning the Hartford Invitational Tuesday in on the fourth hole of a playoff,  will play as Albany's No. 2 golfer. Conroy is slotted third for the Great Danes, while Stephanie Klein (Thornhill, Ontario/Community Hebrew Academy of Toronto) and Jessica Signorelli (Fairport, N.Y./Penfield) will play fourth and fifth.

Hartford, which finished second at last year's championship, will look to bring the championship crown back to West Hartford with youth at the top of their lineup. Freshman Emily Linn (Englewood, N.J./Dwight Englewood) is the Hawks' top performer and will enter the championship as Hartford's No. 1 golfer. Linn was Hartford's top performer at their final invite earlier this week, carding a 169 over 36 holes for an 11th-place finish. Senior Megan Claxton (Calgary, Alberta/Bishop O'Byrne) will golf in the No. 2 spot, while a trio of juniors--Sadie Heald (New Haven, Conn./Hopkins) , Paige Gauthier (Claremont, N.H./Stevens) and Kara Sikorski (Hatfield, Mass./Smith Academy)--round out the Hawks.

Two seniors sit atop Boston U.'s lineup. Allison Hamilton (Falmouth, Mass./Falmouth) was the Terriers' top finisher last year, placing sixth individually. Lauren Stong (Miami, Fla./Palmetto Senior) was the 2007 medalist at the America East Championship and earned Performer of the Week once this season. Junior Kaitlyn Mardeusz (Novi, Mich./Mercy), and sophomores Ana Johnson (Oconomowoc, Wis./Heritage) and Dana DeStefano (Melville, N.Y./Half Hollows Hills) will compete for the Terriers in the three, four, and five spots. Boston U. welcomed Bruce Chalas as its new head coach in January of this year and will be vying for the championship for the first time under Chalas' guidance.

The order of play will be based on last year's championship finish, with Albany playing each hole first, Hartford second and Boston U. third. Five groups will tee-off in 10 minute increments beginning at 1 p.m. each day. Day one's pairings are based off individuals' team rankings (ie: the No. 1 golfer from each team will be grouped together, the three No. 2 golfers will also play together, etc.). Day two's pairings will be determined by team and individual rankings after the first 18 holes.

Tee-times for the 2009 America East Golf Championship
Day One (Saturday)
Time    Order of Play: Albany/Hartford/Boston U.
1:00    Amanda McPhee/Emily Linn/Allison Hamilton
1:10    Annemarie Kissane/Megan Claxton/Lauren Stong
1:20     Corrin Conroy/Sadie Heald/Kaitlyn Mardeusz
1:30    Stephanie Klein/Paige Gauthier/Ana Johnson
1:40    Jessica Signorelli/Kara Sikorski/Dana Destefano

Day Two (Sunday)
Time    1st Place Team/2nd Place/3rd Place
1:00    Players 1st After Day One
1:10    Players 2nd After Day One
1:20    Players 3rd After Day One
1:30    Players 4th After Day One
1:40    Players 5th After Day One