Indiana University Athletics
Women's Golf Resumes Tournament Action in Hawai'i
3/15/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
March 15, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format 
DR. DONNIS THOMPSON INVITATIONAL
March 16-18 Kane'hoe Klipper Golf Course- Kane'hoe, Hawai'i
Tournament Field: Indiana, Boise State, Hawai'i, Idaho, Kansas State, Lipscomb, Nagoya University, Nevada, Northern Colorado, Osaka Gakuin, Texas A&M, UTEP
Course Information: Kane'hoe Klipper Golf Course • Par 72 • 5,907
SETTING THE SCENE
• After a month-long break, the Hoosiers begin their spring stretch run with the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational at the Kane'hoe Klipper Golf Course in Kane'hoe, Hawaii.
• Sophomore Lauren Gieseke is making her first trip for the Hoosiers.
THE LINEUP
• Junior Laura Nochta
• Junior Kellye Belcher
• Junior Anita Gahir
• Senior Amber Lindgren
• Sophomore Lauren Giesecke
ABOUT THE DR. DONNIS THOMPSON INVITATIONAL
• The three-day tournament features 18 holes each day with shotgun starts at 7:30 a.m. HST (1:30 p.m. ET).
• Texas A&M is the top-ranked team in the field at No. 32 in the latest GolfWeek rankings. The Hoosiers are next at No. 59, followed by Idaho at No. 84.
• The field also features two foreign teams in Nagoya University and Osaka Gakuin from Japan.
• The Kane'hoe Klipper Golf Course is located on Marine Corps Base Hawai'i.
• None of Indiana's players have ever played the course.
• "We are excited to get out there," head coach Clint Wallman said. "It has been three weeks (since the last tournament) and the three weeks have gone by pretty fast. This part of the year is the most exciting part of the year. We are in a position where if we take care of our business we will be fine for the postseason."
COACH WALLMAN'S THOUGHTS
On what the team's focus has been during the layoff:
"We have had a lot of practice. It is nice to get outdoors. A lot of our practice has been on course, dealing with different situations as they come- short-sided greens, elevated greens, that sort of thing. We looked at our stats after Puerto Rico and assessed where we were at. We then got after it in those areas, which mainly was short game and scoring."
On the importance of starting this stretch run successfully:
"This is our stretch run. And actually, we treated last weekend (scrimmage with the IU men's team) as the start of that run. The objective for us was to get into a competitive frame of mind. We treated it as a tournament, getting any nerves out. That was a very productive and beneficial couple of days.
"I think it is going to be important to get off to a good start because that will set the tone for the rest of the tournaments that we play. I like the Hawai'i course. It is a good golf course; it is not super challenging, but it is not super easy. It is just a good, solid test. The field is varied in range from a couple of really strong teams to teams we haven't seen. I anticipate us getting off to a very good start."
On sophomore Lauren Giesecke making her first start:
"This will be really exciting for her. I think it is a great way to start her travel. I know she is very excited and she has been working very hard over the last three weeks to get her game in shape.
On the team's improvements over the last couple of weeks:
"We have had some great play since we got back from Puerto Rico. We really looked a lot at where we needed to be not only on the golf-course side, but also on the mental side. Things like application, how we are approaching shots, how we are approaching golf in general, was a focus.
"Kellye (Belcher) probably had the record low in our qualifying. She posted rounds of 74, 69, 72, 74. She had a great qualifying. Laura (Nochta) played great coming off the win (in Puerto Rico). Anita (Gahir) played really well this past weekend. She was our low scorer in the competition with the men. And Amber (Lindgren) played really well. So we had a lot of strong play from all of them."
On the competition among the players in the 5-6 spots:
"I think our top four are pretty set. With five and six we are trying different combinations and seeing who is playing really well and who needs a break. We are just trying to get ourselves in a good position for the rest of our tournaments. We've had a great history at Mountain View (March 28-29), so we want to make sure we take our best five there. Big Tens is six count four, so we are really trying to get our lineup set for the Big Ten Championships. Substituting people in that five spot is really going to help that out."
LADY PUERTO RICO RECAP
• It was an historic tournament for junior Laura Nochta as she picked up her first career win in the top-flight field at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic, Feb. 8-10 in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.
• Nochta finished with a three-round score of 219 (72-74-73). Her 73 tied her for the low round of the final day with six other golfers.
• Her three-round total of 219 gave her a share of the individual tournament title along with Purdue's Maria Hernandez, the defending Big Ten champion.
• Junior Anita Gahir finished tied for 47th with a 237 (83-77-77).
• Junior Kellye Belcher posted two-straight rounds in the 70s and tied for 56th with a 239 (83-77-79).
• Senior Amber Lindgren broke 80 for the first time in the tournament with a 79 in the final round and tied for 69th with a three-round score of 242 (80-83-79).
• Sophomore Cecilia Orevik came home with an 84 in round three and placed 87th with a 256 (84-88-84).
NOCHTA SHARES BIG TEN GOLFER OF THE WEEK HONOR
• After finishing tied for first at the ultra-competitive Lady Puerto Rico Classic in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, junior Laura Nochta earned a share of the Big Ten Golfer of the Week, the conference office announced on Feb. 11.
• Nochta finished the tournament with a score of 219, tying her with Purdue's Maria Hernandez, with whom she shares the Big Ten weekly honor. She opened the tournament with an even-par 72 on Sunday before posting a 2-over 74 in the second round.
• Nochta's 73 in round three tied her for the low round of the day with six other golfers and gave her the first individual victory of her career.
Players Mentioned
