Indiana University Athletics
Women's Golf Faces Wisconsin in Match Play
1/29/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Jan. 29, 2010
IU vs. Wisconsin- Match Play Notes 
MATCH PLAY VS. WISCONSIN
January 31
Union Hills Golf Club
Tournament Field: Wisconsin
Course Information: Union Hills Golf Club
Results: IUHOOSIERS.com (post-match results)
SETTING THE SCENE
• The Hoosiers begin tuning up for the spring season as they travel to Phoenix, Ariz. to take on Big Ten foe Wisconsin in match play.
• The teams will play a practice round on Jan. 30, followed by a nassau on Jan. 31.
• In a nassau, six pairs will play the course, with one point awarded for low score on the front nine, one point for low score on the back nine and one point for overall low score for each pairing.
THE LINEUP
• Senior Laura Nochta
• Senior Kellye Belcher
• Freshman Pamela Burneski
• Freshman Kate Coons
• Freshman Jacqueline Yanch
• Junior Cecilia Orevik
WALLMAN'S THOUGHTS
On the match with Wisconsin:
• "The last two years, it has come down to the final match. It has been very close. I think the girls this year are really motivated. We are going to just try and concentrate on ourselves."
On why this warm-up event is important:
• "My first three years, we would head right into the Puerto Rico or Central District tournaments, which are huge tournaments. We would have no warm-up and it would take three of the four rounds to get oriented. It is a great team. The team has a good time and it has been very beneficial. I don't think Laura would have won Puerto Rico last year had we not done this. It knocks the rust off and gets us out playing."
On what the team has been working on since the fall:
• "I am really pleased with a couple of things. A majority of the girls went and played or practiced over break. (Lauren Giesecke) played in Florida, Jackie was playing, Pamela was working hard. Kate worked really hard. They worked quite a bit at it this year. From what I have seen being back the last week or two, there hasn't been that much rust.
"The second part is I see them having grown from last semester to this semester. And you really see it in the freshmen. The attitude that they have right now, their belief system, and knowing what to expect with a semester under their belt is all positive. Having finished strong at Texas in November really gave them a lot of confidence. They've been working hard, and they've been working on the right things."
On heading into the spring season:
• "I am very optimistic. The energy they have is really good. It is some of the best energy I have seen since we went to the national championship (in 2007). They seem motivated, confident. There is a quiet calm confidence amongst them. I think they are ready to go out."
CHALLENGE AT ONION CREEK RECAP
• Thanks to a strong second and third round performance, the Indiana women's golf team capped its fall season with a fifth-place finish in the 21-team 2009 Challenge at Onion Creek in Austin, Texas in November.
• After darkness forced play in round two to be suspended on day one, the Hoosiers came back out the next morning to finish the round with a 286. They immediately began third round play where they combined for their best round of the season at 283, giving them a season-low 866 for the tournament which was good for fifth place. Texas A&M took first with an 839, followed by San Francisco (842), Texas State (863) and Texas (864).
• "We played really well today,' said head coach Clint Wallman. "We started out well and got good play form top to bottom of our lineup.
• "I think they are excited we ended the fall season well. This gives us something to work toward going into the spring, which we know is going to be a very challenging schedule. But this tournament gave them the confidence that they know they can compete."
• For the fourth time in the last four tournaments, senior Laura Nochta was the top IU finisher with a tie for 15th at 214 (73-70-71). Nochta jumped out to a fast start in round three by going -2 over the first 10 holes with birdies on six and 12. She added a stroke with a bogey on 14 and stumbled on 18 with a double bogey before finishing out the tournament with four pars. In round two, Nochta was -1 after seven holes before being tripped up by a bogey on 11. She added another birdie on the par-4 14th hole, followed by a bogey on 15 and a birdie on 16. She went to -2 with her fourth birdie of the round on one, but ended with a double bogey on two and a par on three for an even-par 70.
• Senior Kellye Belcher finished just a stroke behind Nochta in a tie for 18th at 215 (72-71-72). Belcher birdied the first hole of round three and dropped another stroke on hole nine before back-to-back bogeys on 12 and 13 put her back at even par. Another bogey on 15 took her to one over, and she finished with pars on six of the final seven holes. Belcher tallied five birdies in round two, including back-to-back score of three on the par-4 15th and 16th holes. A double bogey on 13 and bogeys on 10 and 18 meant she was even with four holes remaining. She added her fifth birdie on hole three, but closed the round with a double bogey on four to finish with a 1-over 71.
• Freshman Jacqueline Yanch made the most dramatic improvement in round three, tallying a team-best 67 to finish tied for 32nd at 218 (75-76-67). Yanch's low round of the fall included six birdies and just one double bogey, along with a single bogey on 17. After posting an even round through 15 holes. She finished the day with three-straight birdies on holes three, four and five. The second round got off to a rough start for Yanch with a double bogey on six and a bogey on seven, but a birdie on nine eliminated one stroke from her tally. After bogeying 10, she would go -2 over the next five holes to sit at +1. She moved to +2 with a bogey on 16, but would par the next dive holes before ending the round with a triple bogey on four and a bogey on five to finish with a 6-over 76.
• "Jacqueline has been working extremely hard to get back into the lineup," Wallman said. "She was very close to having three exceptional rounds here, but today she putted better and took advantage of her opportunities."
• Freshman Pamela Burneski tied for 73rd with a score of 224 (77-74-73). She opened the final round with a birdie on five but fell to +2 with bogeys on seven, nine and 10. She would go -1 over the next eight holes thanks to a birdie on 11, but bogeys on two of the final four holes left her at 3-over for the round. Burneski had a solid second round with 13 holes of par or better, including birdies on seven and 16. The birdie on the par-4 16th hole put her at +2 for the round, but she came back with a bogey on 17. Burneski would par the next four holes before ending the round with a bogey on four to finish with a 4-over 74.
• Freshman Kate Coons tied for 82nd with a tally of 227 (81-71-75). Coons was 3-over after seven holes with bogeys on nine, 11 and 12, but picked up her first birdie of the round on the par-5 18th hole to move back to +2. She would add another stroke with a bogey on one, followed by a double bogey on two. She birdied three before a bogey on four left her at 5-over for the round. Coons came back with a strong second round, finishing with a 1-over 71. The round started with a bogey on six, but she wiped the extra stroke away with a birdie on the par-4 10th hole. Bogeys on 12 and 15 put her at +2, but she responded with a birdie on 16 and would par her way home on the remaining seven holes.
UP NEXT
The Hoosiers open the spring tournament season at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic, Feb. 7-9. Senior Laura Nochta is the defending individual medalist.
Players Mentioned
