Indiana University Athletics
Mary Fossum Preview
9/17/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Tournament Information
The Indiana University women's golf team will open its season at the 2003 Mary Fossum Invitational, Saturday-Sunday, Sept. 20-21 in East Lansing, Mich. Michigan State will host the event and will be held on the Forest Akers West Golf Course, which will be setup at a par 72 and a yardage of 6,053 yards.
The 54-hole event will field 15 teams: Arkansas, Eastern Michigan, Illinois, Illinois State, Indiana Kent State, Marshall, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio, Southern Methodist, Toledo, Western Michigan and Wisconsin.
Along with Indiana, Michigan State, Kent State and Wisconsin was selected to particpate in 2003 NCAA regionals. Kent State and Wisconsin advanced to the NCAA Championships
The tournament begins Saturday with a 9 a.m., followed immediately by the second round. The final round will begin Sunday at 9 a.m.
The Starting Five
Indiana's five players to compete at the Mary Fossum Invitational will be seniors Danah Ford, Karen Dennison and Ambry Bishop, junior Bethany Brunner and sophomore Molly Redfearn.
Tournament Format
Scoring for the Mary Fossum Invitational will be five players with the low four scores from each round counting toward the team overall total.
Tournament Results
Complete tournament results will be made available on the web at IUHOOSIERS.com following the event. Results can be viewed and printed out by choosing the Women's Golf link from the main menu. For more information, contact Danah Allen at (812) 856-0215 or through e-mail at allendm@indiana.edu.
"Quoting" the Coach
Indiana Coach Sam Carmichael: "We had excellent scores in the qualifying rounds. Karen Dennison led with a four-under par for four rounds. She is playing extremely well. We have also had a number of good scores from Molly Redfearn, Danah Ford and Bethany Brunner. Molly was three-under one round, and Danah and Bethany each shot one-under during qualifying."
"The competition this weekend will be strong. Michigan State and Kent State each have good teams. We need to continue to play as we have in qualifying. I feel as if the girls should have a good tournament."
Hoosiers to Watch
Indiana opens the season with the majority of last year's starters returning. Senior Karen Dennison was last season's team scoring leader with 73.94. Dennison also captured a share of the individual Big Ten Championship title.
Senior Danah Ford played strong for the Hoosiers throughout last season. Her best finish came at the Mission Inn Classic when she finished second.
Fellow classmate Ambry Bishop, returns after having her most successful season in 2002-03. Bishop lowered her average to 78.44
Junior Bethany Brunner will be making her second appearance in the starting lineup. Last season she finished 49th at the Lady Buckeye Invite with a 250.
Sophomore Molly Redfearn returns after a successful freshman season in which she played 26 rounds for the Hoosiers.
Dennison Comes Off an Impressive Summer
2003 All-American and Academic All-American Karen Dennison had an active summer.
The Madison, Ind., native accepted a sponsor's exemption to compete in the LPGA Giant Eagle Classic at Squaw Creek Country Club in Vienna, Ohio. She finished with a 153 (75-78) to miss the cut by eight strokes.
Dennison went on to win her first IWGA State Amateur with a 215 (70-71-74).
Teammates Danah Ford, Ambry Bishop and Mary Lidester also participated in the IWGA State Amateur. Ford finished five strokes behind in second with a 220 (76-74-70). While Bishop finished in13th with a 235 (82-76-77) and Lidester finished ninth in the second flight with a 257 (86-86-85).
"Karen is an outstanding player who has continued to make the effort to improve," said Indiana coach Sam Carmichael. "She has a complete game. The team will be depending on her to lead us as she did last year with her excellent play and consistent scoring."
Bishop Earns Well-Deserved Success
Junior Ambry Bishop had quite the productive offseason this past summer.
The Franklin, Ind., native won the Women's Golf Association Match Play Championship.
Bishop also finished 13th at the IWGA State Amateur with a 235 (82-76-77).
Last season, Bishop improved her stroke average by two points from the previous season to 78.44. Her best finished was second in the Wolverine Invitational, the Hoosiers first tournament of the fall last seaosn.
"Ambry needs to improve her consistency," said Hoosier coach Sam Carmichael. "If she can get a few more puts to drop in, she should be looking to win."
Hoosier Hopefuls
This year's Indiana squad will need consistent play not only out of the top four positions, but perhaps in the key No. 5 and No. 6 positions.
A couple of Hoosiers to watch for are senior Mary Lidester, juniors Bethany Brunner and Aylse Tankanow, sophomore Katie Carlson and newcomers, sophomore Lissa Putnam and freshman Anne Gorman.
Brunner qualified for the season-opening Mary Fossum Invitational, however senior Mary Lidester will challenge Brunner for the final traveling spot.
Over the summer, Brunner was a quarterfinalist at the State Match Play Championships and the WGAMUI Indianapolis Women's City. At the Women's Western Golf Associate, she was defeated after two matches in the second flight. Brunner also finished tied for 20th at the Indiana State Open
Lidester looks to enter the season with a higher level consistency after she struggled at times last season. She split tournament time with Molly Redfearn last year and will look to continue to improve her game, as competition for traveling spots on the Hoosier squad is sure to heat up.
Tankanow and Carlson will add depth for the Hoosiers and both look to move into the lineup. Putnam played one year at Purdue before transferring last year to Indiana. She was raised in Bloomington and won her fifth Bloomington City Championship this summer.
During the summer, Gorman participated at the Western Women's Golf Association, where she shot 84-84, only to lose in the 19th hole of the first match-play round. She also competed at the Florida Junior Open, where she finished the 54-hole event with a total of 246 (79-89-78).
