Indiana University Athletics
Golf Opens Season at Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational
9/17/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Sept. 17, 2008
Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational Match Notes 
Coach Clint Wallman talks about the upcoming season-VIDEO
BRANCH LAW FIRM/DICK McGUIRE INVITATIONAL
Sept. 18-20 University of New Mexico Championship Golf Course- Albuquerque, N.M.
Tournament Field: New Mexico, BYU, Campbell, Colorado, Colorado State, Hawai'i, Indiana, New Mexico State, Pepperdine, San Diego State, TCU, Texas, UC-Davis, UNLV, UTEP and Wyoming
Course Information: University of New Mexico Championship Golf Course Par 73 • 6,176
Results: golfstat.com (Live Scoring) IUHOOSIERS.com (post-tournament results)
SETTING THE SCENE
• Indiana opens its 2008-09 season this week at the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational at the University of New Mexico Golf Course.
• The 16-team field will play one 18-hole round each of the three days, beginning on Thursday, Sept. 18.
• Three of the teams in the tournament field are in Golfweek's preseason top 30: No. 8 Pepperdine, No. 19 New Mexico and No. 23 TCU.
• Teams will use tee times off No. 1 and No. 10 at 8 a.m., on Thursday, Sept. 18 and Friday, Sept. 19, and a shotgun start at 8 a.m. for the final round on Saturday, Sept. 20.
THE LINEUP
• Junior Laura Nochta
• Junior Anita Gahir
• Junior Kellye Belcher
• Senior Amber Lindgren
• Sophomore Cecilia Orevik
Individual
• Freshman Sara Poppas
HOMECOMING
• The University of New Mexico Championship Golf Course is a familiar place for IU head coach Clint Wallman as he spent two seasons (2002-03, 2003-04) as an assistant coach with the Lobos.
WALLMAN'S THOUGHTS
• "This golf course requires a lot of local knowledge, which I think will play into our favor."
• "It is a great layout. The greens can be challenging, especially with the influence of the canyon and the river."
•"Our main focus is to make sure we are prepared really well."
• "From a team standpoint I am really excited for the girls to get out and play. We've been playing against each other in qualifying, so I think they are excited to get out and take on the field."
• "This trip will be a bit of a shake-down for us to figure out where we are at. I have been very pleased with the play from our top-five spots."
• "Laura had a great qualifying. Anita, in returning from an injury, was very strong. Kellye was very consistent throughout the entire qualifying, and Amber had one of her better qualifying outings in her time here. Cecilia, being new, really showed a lot of poise."
• "I think those five are really ready to play together and carry the IU banner."
• "Sara, our individual, survived a very challenging qualifying and is going to her first tournament. I think it will be a good opportunity for her to get her feet wet."
• "The field has a West Coast flavor and there will be some really strong teams there. I think the field is strong and challenging, but I also feel the lineup we have going is very capable of competing with any of the schools in this tournament."
• "I expect us to come out and compete really hard. I think we are more mature than we were at the end of last season. I feel really good with the addition of Cecilia to our team. I expect us to hit our stride fairly quickly."
FIRST TRIP
• Two Hoosiers will be making their debut in the Cream and Crimson this weekend as sophomore Cecilia Orevik and freshman Sara Poppas have made the traveling squad.
• Orevik is a transfer from Middle Tennessee State, while Poppas was a senior at Northwestern High School in Kokomo, Ind. this time last year.
NOCHTA HAS HOT SUMMER
• Coming off a solid sophomore campaign, junior Laura Nochta did not rest on her laurels this summer.
• On Aug. 12, Nochta finished second at the Ohio Women's Open with a two-round score of 146 (76-70).
• Nochta finished four strokes behind winner Whitney Wade but was honored as the top amateur finisher at the event which took place at the Kettenring Country Club in Defiance, Ohio.
• In July, Nochta advanced to the second round of the Women's Ohio State 85th Amateur Championship, held at the Elyria Country Club.
• Nochta set a course record with a personal-best 67 for the low score of the qualifying round. Her score broke the nearly 20-year-old record of 69 set by Vicki (Singleton) Harshberger.
• In an interesting twist, Harshberger's son, Troy, served as Nochta's caddie for the event.
PRESEASON RANKINGS
• Two Big Ten teams are in the Golfweek Preseason Top 30.
• Defending Big Ten champion Purdue leads the way with a No. 7 ranking.
• Michigan State holds the No. 30 spot.
GAHIR EARNS ALL-BIG TEN HONORS
• Sophomore Anita Gahir was named to the All-Big Ten second team in 2007-08.
• Gahir finished the 2007-08 season with a team-best 76.16 stroke average.
• Gahir recorded two top-10 finishes and five top-25 showings.
• She was the top IU finisher at the Big Ten Championships, finishing in a tie for 14th.
ACADEMICALLY INCLINED
• Anita Gahir was named to the National Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholar Team over the summer. A total of 402 women's collegiate golfers at the Division I, II and III levels were honored.
• Gahir was also named to the Academic All-Big Ten squad in the spring.
• The criteria for selection to the All-American Scholar Team are some of the most stringent of all college athletics. The minimum cumulative GPA is 3.50 and student-athletes must have competed in at least 50% (Division I) or 66% (Division II & III) of the college's regularly scheduled competitive rounds during the year.
OUT OF THE GATES
• 2007 marked the first time the Hoosiers opened the fall with four-straight top-five finishes since the 2002-03 season.
• In 2007-08, Indiana finished with 10 top-10 finishes in 12 tournaments.
• Indiana finished the year with a scoring average of 305.00 per round, ranking fourth in school history.
FRESH FACES
• Five newcomers have joined the Indiana women's golf team for the 2008-09 season.
• Sophomore Cecilia Orevik is a transfer from Middle Tennessee State and is a native of Mariefred, Sweden.
• Freshman Emily Habbel hails from just up the road in Martinsville, Ind.
• Marina Karamanis is a freshman from Barrington, Ill. Karamanis was an all-state selection as a junior and senior.
• Freshman Lauren Knutson is from Brook, Ind. and is a graduate of South Newton HS.
• Sara Poppas ia s freshman from Kokomo, Ind. and comes from Northwestern HS, the same high school as sophomore Lauren Giesecke.
Players Mentioned
