Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers To Compete At Mary Fossum Invitational
9/15/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Sept. 15, 2005
Mary Fossum Invitational Notes 9/17/05
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Indiana women's golf team will travel to East Lansing, Mich., to compete at the Mary Fossum Invitational on Sept. 17-18. This marks the third consecutive season the Hoosiers will compete at the event, and the sixth appearance overall. The Hoosiers have claimed the championship title on two occasions, 1997 and 1999.
The Field Joing the Hoosiers at the Mary Fossum are six other Big Ten teams in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, tournament host Michigan State, Northwestern and Wisconsin. Other teams participating in the event are Eastern Michigan, Illinois State, Iowa State, Kent State, Oklahoma, Princeton, Southern Methodist, Toledo.
Starting Off On The Right Foot Playing in her first tournament as an Indiana golfer, senior transfer Shannon Johnson overcame a three-stroke deficit to earn co-medalist honors with a 7-over par 223 at the sixth annual Notre Dame Invitational. After carding rounds of 72 and 76 during Saturday's opening 36 holes, Johnson fired a 75 on Sunday's final round to tie with Notre Dame's Noriko Nukazaki for top honors. "I am really excited," Johnson said. "I thought I played decent and I was excited to finally be playing collegiate golf again. I think it really helps to play for a team with such good chemistry and for a coach who believes in your abilities as a player." After playing three years at the University of New Mexico, Johnson captured her first tournament medalist honor of her career, besting her previous career-high finish of a second-place tie at the 2004 Mountain West Conference Championships.
Together Again After a two-year stint as an assistant coach at New Mexico, Indiana head coach Clint Wallman is reunited with one of his former players. Senior transfer Shannon Johnson comes to Indiana from UNM, where she played under Wallman during her sophomore and junior seasons. Both seasons, Johnson earned all-conference accolades. She finished the 2004 campaign ranked No. 85 in the nation by Golf Week and No. 90 by Golfstat.
Playing In The Sand Last season, Katie Carlson led the Hoosiers and ranked 43rd in the nation in sand saves (.408). That number and her consistent play throughout the season propelled her to receiving the team's most improved player in 2005. She also received the coaches award, which is given annually to the Hoosier who best exemplifies leadership, work ethic, passion and commitment.
Hoosiers Heating Up The Summer Shannon Johnson, Elaine Harris, Tiffany Hockensmith and Amber Lindgren had excellent summers in 2005. Johnson, who began the summer by competing in the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship in Kansas City, where she reached the round of 16, claimed a third consecutive South Dakota Golf Association Women's Stroke Play championship at Minnehaha Country Club. In doing so, Johnson became just the seventh woman in state history to win at least three straight stroke play titles, and the first since Kris Tschetter of Sioux Falls accomplished the feat from 1983-86. Harris, a rising sophomore, collected a total of 11 birdies en route to winning the Pacific Women's Golf Association Championship at Eagle Ridge Golf Course in Gilroy, Calif., with a two-round total of 146 (77-69). Harris' victory marked the second year in a row that she has won the event. The title capped a summer of strong play by Harris on the California women's amateur circuit. The San Francisco, Calif., native also tied for eighth overall at the Northern California Golf Association's Inaugural Women's Championship, played at Poppy Hills GC, Pebble Beach, Calif., on July 12-13. In addition, she tied for ninth at the California Women's Championship on July 18-20 and reached the quarterfinals of the California Women's Golf Association Match Play Championship on May 16-20. Hockensmith claimed the 2005 Bloomington Herald Times City Women's Championship. The Indiana recruit and Bloomington South grad won four of the last six holes to claim a 4-and-2 victory. She also had a terrific showing at the 82nd Indiana Women's Golf Association State Amateur Championship, where she finished in a tie for fifth. "I think this shows the future is very bright for Hoosier golf," Indiana head coach Clint Wallman said. "Each of these girls had outstanding summers."
Head Coach Clint Wallman's Thoughts How you feel about the team as it heads into its second tournament this season: "I feel extremely optimistic. Last week gave us an opportunity to really look at what we need to do to improve. This week, we have devoted all of our time and energy into improving in those areas. Those areas in particular are the greens in regulation. That was the main statistic that really hurt us last weekend at the Notre Dame Invitational. If we hit more greens in regulation, we won't have as many up-and-down attempts which will in turn translate into better scores."
How strong is the field: "This is a much stronger field. We will have pretty much all the Big Ten teams, as well as some regional powers, so it is very good for us to have this as our second tournament. We got our feet wet in the opening tournament, and this tournament we will tee it up against some good teams, which will certainly give us a good indicator of where we are at."
On Shannon Johnson's performance last weekend: "I have no doubt that she is capable of winning any tournament she enters. I think last weekend was really good considering she hadn't played collegiate golf in over a year and playing on such a difficult course. Winning an event gives her a lot of confidence, so heading into this week with that confidence, she will be primed to make another good showing."
