Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
IU Invitational
Hoosiers Finish Eighth at Indiana Invitational
4/8/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
April 8, 2008
Team Results
Individual Results
Watch video from the third round of the Indiana Invitational
CARMEL, Ind. - Wrapping up two days of competition at the Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Ind., the Indiana Hoosiers shot a 310 on the final day for an eighth-place finish at their own Indiana Invitational.
Purdue took a commanding lead on day one and never looked back, coming into the clubhouse with a 12-under 852 (279-282-291). They were followed by Ohio State with an 894 (295-300-299), Illinois (294-307-297=898), Texas (302-300-297=899) and UNLV (299-291-310=900). Purdue's Junthima Gulyanamitta was the individual medalist with a 7-under 209 for the tournament.
"This was not quite the final round that we wanted to have, but there were some really bright spots," said head coach Clint Wallman. "We just made a couple of compound errors out there that pushed us down the leaderboard. There are some things we have to think about and clean up before we head to Big Tens."
Sophomore Anita Gahir posted the low round of the day for Indiana, shooting a 1-over 73 to finish the tournament tied for 13th at 223 (73-77-73). Gahir tallied four birdies on the afternoon, including the par-5 hole five and the par-4 hole seven. She also carded the low round in the first round with another 73.
"We made birdies," Wallman said. "That is the best thing that I saw the entire weekend. It is one thing if you go to a tournament and play kind of average, but we made a lot of birdies out there. That tells me we are capable of really rocking a golf course. We hit it close, we just have to be more consistent in that area."
Playing in her final home event, senior Elaine Harris tied for 24th with an 11-over 227, posting a 77 on the final day (77-73-77). After opening with a par on hole five, Harris birdied six and added another on nine. Over the back nine she pared seven of nine holes as one of just two IU players to finish under 80 for the round.
Sophomore Laura Nochta completed the tournament in a tie for 33rd with a 15-over total of 231 (75-76-80). Nochta posted a birdie on the par-5 ninth hole in the third round and added one more on the par-4 14. Nochta was 3-over for the round until a double bogey on one followed by a bogey on two and a round-ending double bogey on four put her at 80 for the day.
After opening the final round with a bogey on hole six, senior Lauren Harling brought herself back to even par with a birdie on 11 and stayed there until a triple bogey on 13 put her three over. A difficult stretch from 15 through 17 added three more strokes to her score but she came back with pars in the next three rounds. She closed the day with an 80 and finished with a 233 overall to place in a tie for 40th (75-78-80).
Sophomore Kellye Belcher placed 54th with a 239 (83-76-80), 23 strokes over par. Belcher finished in a three-way tied for third on the team with a final-round score of 80, highlighted by birdies on 11 and 15.
Competing as an individual, junior Amber Lindgren moved up three spots on the final day to finish tied for 55th with a score of 240 (78-81-81). Lindgren was nine over on the final day, putting up pars on nine of 18 holes. Teammate Lauren Giesecke closed out her first-ever collegiate competition with an 88 to finish in a tie for 64th (77-78-88=243).
The Invitational marked the Hoosiers' final regular-season competition. They will now gear up for the 2008 Big Ten Championship, being played April 26-28 on Penn State's Blue Course in State College, Pa. Last year IU finished fifth at the championship, with Gahir the top finisher in a tie for 15th.
"(Heading into Big Tens) we need to focus on overall improved short game," Wallman said. "We need to be better with the putter and better with the wedge. The second thing is we need to make better decisions in the shots that we select; identifying the shots that are available to us and then going and hitting those shots."
INDIANA INVITATIONAL
8th- 912 (300-302-310)
T-13th Anita Gahir 223 (73-77-73)
T-24th Elaine Harris 227 (77-73-77)
T-33rd Laura Nochta 231 (75-76-80)
T-40th Lauren Harling 233 (75-78-80)
54th Kellye Belcher 239 (83-76-80)
T-55th Amber Lindgren 240 (78-80-81)
T-64th Lauren Giesecke 248 (77-78-88)
Players Mentioned
