Indiana University Athletics
The 19th Hole with Sam Carmichael
2/21/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
February 21, 2002
A Look at the Central District Invitational with Hoosier Head Coach Sam Carmichael
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Senior Tiffany Fisher, Coach Sam Carmichael and sophomore Karen Dennison look to lead Indiana to their eighth Big Ten Championship. |
IU: First of all Coach, it's nice to be back in the swing of things here, having the ladies out on the tee hitting some shots. Let's get your impressions about the upcoming tournament, the Central District Invitational.
SC: The Central District Invitational is really going to be a great tournament. All the Big Ten teams, top Big Ten teams, Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State and us are going to be there. Outside the Big Ten you've got teams like Kent State, Oklahoma and Texas Tech. It's really going to be an outstanding field, so for our first tournament of the year, it'll be rough. But all those teams haven't been playing either, but they're all rated very high. It'll be an excellent tournament to play in and very competitive.
IU: You mentioned that there will be some good Big Ten teams in the tournament, isn't this the first time Indiana has had a look at Ohio State?
SC: Yeah, this will be the first time this year. They have an outstanding team, I think they're ranked third in the country right now. They're really good.
IU: Let's talk a little about the girls' off-season. What are your feelings on how the girls did?
SC: Well, I don't know if we have improved, but I think we're stronger, in good shape, and very enthusiastic about playing. I think that towards the end of the fall season, we got a little stale, but that was only because they played all spring, summer and fall. They needed a break. I think they're ready to play and prove that they can play. And I don't think we played to our potential this past fall. We had some good scores, but I don't think Mary Lidester played to her potential. Tiff (Fisher) didn't play up to her standards, and Danah (Ford) didn't play the golf that she is capable of playing. I think we can improve two or three shots right there, with those girls playing to their potential.
IU: With three fourth-place finishes and one third-place in the fall, it has to make you optimistic about the spring, knowing that the girls weren't playing to their potential.
SC: I think they'll perform because they want to perform well. Each of those girls is a competitor. These girls work hard together and we have a chance to make an improvement. We are young too. Tiff is our lone senior and the rest are sophomores except for (Cara) Stuckey who is a junior. I look for Stuckey to play better than she did last fall too. She's a good player, she's strong, and she can certainly get out there and score. They'll do a good job because they want to play well.
IU: Finally Coach, talk a little about sophomore Karen Dennison. Here is a girl that provided nothing but consistency in the fall, posting the low-70 numbers day in and day out.
SC: Karen just has to continue to play like she was doing, that would be great. She's such an outstanding player. She played well as a freshman and she has improved this year. I expect to see Karen continue where she's at and she'll continue to get better. She has such a consistent swing and she doesn't get her ball going sideways too much. Scoring is pretty easy for Karen because she's not looking for her ball all the time. She's good around the greens, but she needs to get better both around and on the greens. Karen makes some more putts and she'll shoot lower. She's a great competitor and she's just a kid that wants to play...she loves to play.
IU: Coach Carmichael, thank you for your time and best of luck to you and the girls at the Central District Invitational.
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