Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Close Regular Season at Lady Buckeye Invitational
4/14/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
April 14, 2010
IU at Lady Buckeye Invitational - Tournament Notes 
LADY BUCKEYE INVITATIONAL
April 17-18, 2010
Ohio State University Golf Club - Columbus, Ohio
Tournament Field: Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, Kent State, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Youngstown State
Course Information: OSU Golf Club, Scarlet Course • Par 72 • 6,275 Yards
Results: GolfStat.com/Live Scoring • IUHOOSIERS.com (post-match results)
SETTING THE SCENE
• Indiana is coming off its first tournament victory since 2008 after taking the title at the IU Invitational last weekend.
• This is the fifth time IU has played in the Lady Buckeye since Clint Wallman took over as head coach for the 2004-05 season.
• IU's best finish under Wallman came last year when they took fifth (919).
• This is a 6-count-4 tournament
• This is the final tune-up before the Big Ten Championships, April 23-25 in Madison, Wis.
THE LINEUP
• Senior Laura Nochta
• Freshman Pamela Burneski
• Senior Kellye Belcher
• Freshman Kate Coons
• Freshman Jacqueline Yanch
• Junior Lauren Giesecke
WALLMAN'S THOUGHTS
On last week's team victory at the IU Invitational:
• "It has been a great last couple of weekends for the team. There is obviously a lot of confidence any time you win. It is the first win for us in two years, and playing well down the stretch gave everyone that extra boost of confidence."
On the Lady Buckeye Invitational:
• "We are familiar with the course. Laura, Kellye and Lauren have all played the course, and they know what Ohio State is about. It is a fairway and green type of course with huge bunkers. I always tell people you have to understand the designer of the course, who in this case is Jack Nicklaus. If you understand that, and you understand how Nicklaus plays, then you will be able to play the course well.
"It is very much a fairway and green type of course where you are trying to hit it to the center of the green and then shape the ball in the direction you need it to shape. But there are no great surprises there. I think we are excited with a very positive outlook. The team is starting to believe at a molecular level that it is capable of consistently shooting good scores."
On individual positives from last weekend:
• "Laura's play continues to be steady and she continues to elevate her game every time she comes out. She didn't have her best ball striking weekend, but she has learned over the course of her time here how to turn a mediocre round into a very solid round.
"That was a big weekend for Kellye. She didn't play as well in the first round but she really closed hard. That has been a concern of hers, not closing tournaments out the way she wants to. She threw in two really good rounds that were key for us to win the tournament.
"Pam had her first top-10 finish, so that should give her confidence. She is a very good player who is starting to peak at the right time. Jackie continues to be a very solid contributor for us and I look for her to have a really good stretch from here on out. She is comfortable with her game.
"Kate has a big-time game. She has made the commitment to address some areas to really elevate her game. And we saw some of that this weekend, closing out with a 69. All-in-all, I am pleased with everyone."
On using this weekend as the final tune-up for the Big Ten Championships:
• "I want to see more of the same. What we have tried to do all year has been to eliminate our big numbers, keep our putts down, and just play. We are a very good ball striking team. From that perspective, Ohio State is a good golf course for us."
IU INVITATIONAL RECAP
• On a picture-perfect spring day at the Indiana University Golf Course, the Hoosier women's golf team showed its mastery of the course by posting a 291 to win the 2010 IU Invitational. It is the first home event victory for Indiana since the 1999-2000 season.
• Indiana's 54-hole tally of 886 (304-291-291) was six strokes better than runner-up Colorado (892). Iowa State took third (895), with Minnesota fourth (896) and Michigan fifth (898). Illinois' Hailey Koschmann was the individual medalist with a score of 214 (71-74-69).
• "We had some really good momentum coming in after the Mountain View Invitational," said head coach Clint Wallman. "They played really well in that last round, and they have been practicing really well and it was just a good week for us. I knew that we were prepared and I knew that the golf course was set up for us, and I knew that if we just went out and played we would be ok.
• "There are always high expectations when you are playing on your home course. But I knew once we got past our nervousness and played the course like we have all year that it would shake out."
• Senior Laura Nochta finished one stroke off the championship pace, earning runner-up accolades after a 69 on Sunday gave her a score of 216 (75-71-69). Nochta had five birdies on the day, including a three on the par-4 18th hole to finish at -3 for the round. It is the third time this year Nochta has posted a round in the 60s, including rounds of 69 in each of her last two tournaments. It is also her best finish of the season and fifth top-five finish of 2009-10.
• "Laura has been steady all year," Wallman said. "She had a really good opportunity to win, and you have to tip your cap to (Illinois') Koschmann for great play on her part."
• Freshman Pamela Burneski recorded her best finish of the year, taking seventh with a score of 221 (73-73-75). It also marks her first career top-10 placing. Senior Kellye Belcher was one stroke behind at 222 (79-73-70), finishing tied for eighth. Belcher's 2-under finish in the final round mark her fourth under-par round of the season and her second in as many tournaments.
• "Kellye's play was huge for us," Wallman said. "Especially coming down the stretch and making a couple of birdies."
• Freshman Jacqueline Yanch tied for 33rd with a final tally of 230 (79-74-77). Junior Lauren Giesecke tied for 50th with a score of 235 (77-77-81).
• Competing on Indiana's B squad in the tournament, freshman Kate Coons set the course on fire in her final round with a career-best 69, and finished the tournament tied for eighth at 222 (77-76-69). Coons' Sunday round included 14 pars, birdies on holes six and seven, and an eagle on hole one. It is her second under-par round of the year and the first time she has broken 70 in her collegiate career.
• "Kate's score of 69 was a breakout for her," Wallman said. "She has demonstrated periodically throughout the year that she can play at a very high level. And today she put it together."
• Junior Cecilia Orevik tied for 67th with a score of 239 (82-83-74). Freshman Molly O'Connor was 86th (88-84-85/257), with freshman Kylee Wierks 88th (88-92-88/268).
DID YOU KNOW?
• Senior Laura Nochta has been the top IU finisher in nine of 10 events this year.
• Her top finish came at her final home course event of her career, taking second at the IU Invitational, April 10-11.
• She finished tied for seventh at the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational. She also tied for seventh at the Mountain View Invitational.
• Nochta shot her low rounds of the year, 69, at the Mountain View Invitational and the IU Invitational.
• Her low score of the year came at the Challenge at Onion Creek where she shot a 214 (73-70-71) to placed tied for 15th.
• The IU Invitational victory was the third team victory under head coach Clint Wallman, and the first since the 2007-08 season. It was also the first IU Invitational victory for the Hoosiers since the 1999-2000 season.
• Freshmen Jacqueline Yanch (67) and Kate Coons (69) have both shot rounds in the 60s this year, their first at IU. Yanch's 67 at the Challenge at Onion Creek is the lowest round by a Hoosier this season.
Players Mentioned
