Indiana University Athletics
Coach's Corner With Clint Wallman
4/25/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
April 25, 2007
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana women's golf head coach Clint Wallman sat down with IUHOOSIERS.com to discuss the lineup and his thoughts on the tournament as the Hoosiers prepare for the Big Ten Championship on April 27-29, in East Lansing, Mich.
On how the team feels heading into the tournament with freshman Kellye Belcher returning to the lineup: "We're excited to have Kelly back in the lineup and healthy. It's just a big boost mentally knowing she's there. She's had a great freshman year and I think having all of our top players in the lineup at one time, we feel pretty prepared."
On what the team is working on: "Putting. From a technical side, we need to address our short game a little bit. That wasn't as good as I had hoped it would be at OSU. We have spent some time just trying to focus ourselves on the Big Ten's and not evaluating our season by any point of it. It's been a season that has had some really fantastic ups and some dips, and that's just part of a college athletic season, so I think it's really important not to define a season by the super highs and the super lows."
On how the team is preparing mentally with three freshmen and a transfer in the lineup: "I think the three freshmen are really not freshmen anymore. You hear that a lot at the end of year conference championships in various sports, and in this case it's very true. They've all played in all of the tournaments or most of the tournaments. They have a ton of competitive rounds, they know what to do and they know what the routine is. We're treating Big Ten's as just another tournament with an extra day. Kellye (Belcher) obviously played very well there (at Michigan State in the fall), finishing second. Anita (Gahir) played well, didn't quite finish it off but it's a golf course that is very, very good for her, with her length. That was a start where Laura (Nochta) started to really come on and excel as a player. I think Lauren (Harling) is very much looking forward to the opportunity to play in her first Big Ten Conference Championships. Coming from the ACC, it's a little bit different and I think she's very much looking forward to playing and she'll be ready to go."
On how the familiarity with the course will help the team: "I think the familiarity of the golf course will make it less of a big deal. Sometimes when you go to courses, such as Crooked Stick, for example, it's almost larger than life. Michigan State's golf course is a good course. It's a course we've played a lot. It's very basic in terms that there's no hidden things you need to know. Everything that's there you can see in front of you in terms of trouble. It's a fairly easy course to navigate. It's not visually intimidating, it's not super fast with the greens, it's just a very good, solid, quality golf course."
On the teams' chances: "I think you have to look at the Big Ten Conference being a very, very good conference. Obviously, top to bottom, it's very, very solid. Any of the teams that are in the field are capable of winning the tournament. For us, I just think that if we really just stick to our game plan, which is just what we do best - hitting fairways, hitting greens and playing the percentages - we will be in the mix on Sunday."
Players Mentioned
