Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Win in Florida
10/22/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
October 22, 2002
Mission Not Impossible - In Fact...Easy as 1, 2, 3
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HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. - Indiana University women's golf team... You're mission, if you choose to accept it, is to travel to the Mission Inn classic, your last event of your fall season, and win. Win every possible thing you can.
If you are successful in your mission, your team will win its second event this fall; junior Karen Dennison will win her third medalist title in four events; and two other Hoosiers will set their career-high finishes.
MISSION COMPLETED.
The Hoosiers may not have carded a round they were pleased with, but it was good enough to win the Mission Inn Classic at Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla., Tuesday. Indiana fired a final round 310 to finish with a total of 614, 19 strokes better than Big Ten rival Wisconsin.
Junior Karen Dennison, the No. 4 ranked golfer in the nation, struggled for the majority of her round Tuesday, but carded five pars in her last five holes to win her third collegiate medalist title in four events this fall. The Madison, Ind., native finished with a 5-over-par total of 149 (70-79), one stroke better than teammate Danah Ford.
"I started pretty good today, but began to struggle a bit on the back nine," said Dennison. "I got myself into some trouble and couldn't make birdies to cancel out the bogeys I was making. I kept my confidence though and I am just really proud of this team right now."
The individual win for Dennison marks the first time a Hoosier has won back-to-back titles since Erin Carney won the Hawkeye Invitational and the Big Ten Championships in the spring of 1999.
And Dennison continues to sketch her name into the Hoosier record book as she now joins a host of Hoosier All-Americans with three wins in a season. Erika Wicoff won five events in three consecutive years, while Erin Carney and LPGA Tour star Michele Redman each won four over a span of one year. Dennison currently stands tied with Sarah DeKraay with three wins.
Ford was one to watch this week as she looked for revenge at this tournament, after last year's dismal 244 (79-86-79) showing. The junior from Indianapolis, Ind., recorded a final round 74 to finish at 150. The second-place finish is a career best for Ford, topping her sixth-place finish at the Lady Northern three weeks ago.
Senior Cara Stuckey fired the low round of the day for the Hoosiers with a 1-over-par 73 on the tough El Campeon Golf Club at the Mission Inn Resort, and finished third, one stroke behind Ford at 151.
Stuckey set her new career best finish, shattering her ninth-place mark she recorded at the 2002 Hawkeye Invitational.
"I am really proud of Danah and Cara. They had some great scores on a tough golf course," said Carmichael. "Danah was an absolute warrior today."
Ford was 1-under-par entering No. 7, but proceeded to double-bogey her next two holes. She answered back with birdies on No. 9 and 10, but erased those shots with bogeys at No. 11 and 12. Ford birdied the 16th to finish 2-over, which surprised the Hoosier coach.
"I think I really surprised Coach today, because he saw me double No. 7 and 8 and then left for a while," said Ford. "He told me that he would of shot 81 after stumbling like that. You have to just hang in there, because you never know what is going to happen."
Hanging in there has been a bit of a problem for the Hoosiers this season. After being in contention to win the Lady Northern and the Shootout at the Legends, the Hoosiers faltered in the final rounds, finishing second and third, respectively.
"We knew we had to finish strong today and win our last tournament," Ford said. "I think the lead we had coming in helped us a little, but we remained focused throughout the day and got the win."
Stuckey was not only determined to help the team finish strong, but she knew she too had to turn it on in the stretch to finish well.
"We wanted to end the season the way we started, so we had to focus on finishing strong," said the Terre Haute, Ind., native. "I made some really nice five-footers to save par today, and I finished my round birding two of the last three holes."
Rounding out the lineup for the Hoosiers was junior Ambry Bishop with a 33rd-place finish at 164 and freshman Molly Redfearn at 170, tied for 55th.
For Dennison, the All-America candidate couldn't be happier for her teammates.
"Every single girl in this lineup can win at the collegiate level," said Dennison. "I have been fortunate enough to win these tournaments this fall, but the fact that our team is winning is key. This win really helps us to finish on a good note and only gives us more confidence for the spring."
Coming off one of the most successful fall seasons in school history, Indiana will look to keep the momentum going in the spring. The Hoosiers return to the links February 24-25, 2003 at the Central District Invitational in Parrish, Fla.
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Place
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Team
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18
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36
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Score
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1
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INDIANA
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304 | 310 |
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2
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Wisconsin
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316 | 317 |
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3
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Jacksonville State
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320 | 321 |
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4
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Illinois
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325 | 321 |
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5
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Rollins
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324 | 324 |
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Georgia State
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333 | 315 |
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Southern Methodist
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325 | 323 |
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8
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Florida Atlantic
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325 | 325 |
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9
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Campbell University
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331 | 324 |
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10
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Florida International
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331 | 325 |
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11
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Iowa
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331 | 325 |
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12
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Central Florida
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339 | 324 |
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13
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Florida Southern
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334 | 342 |
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14
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Western Michigan
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331 | 346 |
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15
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Stetson University
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337 | 349 |
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Bethune-Cookman
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341 | 345 |
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17
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Troy State
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344 | 349 |
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Place
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INDIANA
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18
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36
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Score
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1
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70 | 79 |
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2
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76 | 74 |
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3
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78 | 73 |
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T-33
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80 | 84 |
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T-55
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Molly Redfearn | 81 | 89 |
170
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Wednesday, August 12
Wednesday, August 12
Tuesday, August 11
Tuesday, August 11