Women's Golf Travels to Big Ten Championships
4/21/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
April 21, 2010
Indiana at Big Ten Championships - Tournament Notes 
BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
April 23-25, 2010
University Ridge Golf Course - Madison, Wis.
Tournament Field: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Wisconsin
Course Information: University Ridge Golf Course • Par 72 • 6,224 Yards
Results: GolfStat.com/Live Scoring • IUHOOSIERS.com (post-match results)
SETTING THE SCENE
• The Hoosiers travel to Madison, Wis. for the 2010 Big Ten Championships at University Ridge Golf Course.
• Indiana is coming off a sixth-place finish at the Lady Buckeye Invitational last weekend. IU posted top-10 finishes in three of five tournaments this spring.
• Indiana played this course in the fall at the Lady Northern Invitational, finishing seventh.
• The Hoosiers finished sixth at the 2009 Big Ten Championships in West Lafayette, Ind.
THE LINEUP
• Senior Laura Nochta
• Freshman Pamela Burneski
• Senior Kellye Belcher
• Freshman Kate Coons
• Freshman Jacqueline Yanch
• Junior Lauren Giesecke
ABOUT THE BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
• University of Wisconsin's University Ridge Golf Course is the site of this year's 72-hole Big Ten Championship.
• The Robert Trend Jones, Jr.-designed course last played host to the women's Big Ten Championship in 2000.
• The Hoosiers finished sixth at the 2009 championship with scores of 332-317-315-302 (1,266).
• Anita Gahir was the top finisher for IU, placing ninth (80-74-79-78).
• Kellye Belcher (85-86-77-75) and Laura Nochta (85-79-81-78) tied for 32nd. Cecilia Orevik tied for 42nd (86-82-85-72), while Lauren Giesecke tied for 61st (85-82-92-81).
• Purdue is the defending team champion, while the Boilermakers' Maude-Amiee LeBlanc is the defending individual champion.
• The Big Ten Network will air its championship coverage on May 16 at 4 p.m. ET.
WALLMAN'S THOUGHTS
On University Ridge Golf Course:
• "We love the golf course. We have had success their. The current seniors, in their very first tournament as freshmen, won there. They have very fond memories of University Ridge. We are very familiar with the golf course.
"It is similar to Otter Creek in a lot of ways. Fairly generous driving, big greens. I think it is a golf course that suits our game very well. It is going to come down to a matter of execution for us."
On using the Lady Buckeye as a confidence builder for Big Tens:
• "We told the team that they are not going to find any tougher golf course in any tougher conditions than what they faced last weekend at Ohio State. The benefit to that is a course like that really exposes weakness. Depending on the player, it allowed us to identify some areas that we need to work on over the next couple of days to prepare for University Ridge.
"The second part of that is after a tough start, they got it back together and played really hard. They were not intimidated by anyone in the field. That gives them a lot of confidence. We have shot really good numbers this spring. We have played fairly well relative to the conditions after a sluggish start. I think they are confident that they can post really good numbers anywhere. They are really looking forward to this trip up to Madison."
On the Big Ten field:
• "The perennial powers of Michigan State and Purdue are the top two ranked heading into the tournament. Ohio State is very solid. Northwestern played great at Ohio State and have improved all year. And I think we are in that mix too. We are trending the way we need to be trending. We have shot some good numbers and have confidence. I count us in that top five group that can compete for the championship title."
On the importance of this weekend to secure a spot at the NCAA Regional:
• "I think that not thinking about the regional will be the first step in the right direction. From a rankings standpoint, if we hold our position in the conference, if we finish above the middle of the pack, we'll be fine.
"But that is not why we are going. We told the team after we got back from Ohio State that the regular season is done. Now we are into our championship season, and this is a four-round season. I think if we approach it as a brand new season, take what we learned along the way, take the positive momentum and just go play then I think everything will work out."
HOOSIERS AT UNIVERSITY RIDGE
• This is the fourth trip to University Ridge for a Clint Wallman-coached team and the Hoosiers have found success on the course.
• In their first-ever tournament, seniors Kellye Belcher and Laura Nochta helped lead IU to the 2006 Badger Invitational title. IU shot a 922 (313-307-302) at the Invitational, with Belcher finishing tied for 6th and Nochta tied for 12th.
• In 2009 Indiana placed sixth at the Badger Invitational with a score of 929 (304-314-311).
• Belcher tied for 32nd, while Nochta tied for 22nd.
• At the Lady Northern this past September, Indiana finished seventh with a score of 910 (303-296-311).
• Belcher was 34th, with Nochta tied for 18th.
• Freshman Pamela Burneski played the course for the first time and finished tied for 52nd. Freshman Kate Coons tied for 46th in her first collegiate tournament.
• Lauren Giesecke and Jacqueline Yanch are the only two of the six traveling that have never played University Ridge.
LADY BUCKEYE INVITATIONAL RECAP
• On a sunny but windy day the Indiana women's golf team wrapped up play at the Lady Buckeye Invitational Sunday, posting a score of 311 for the final 18 holes to finish sixth at the OSU Golf Club Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio.
• The Hoosiers finished with a 54-hole tally of 952 (330-311-311). The Buckeyes took their own tournament with a score of 919, followed by Michigan State (933), Northwestern (937), Kent State (947) and Iowa State (949) in the top five.
• "It was a cold wind to deal with on a hard course, but I thought we played well today," said head coach Clint Wallman. "From top to bottom of our lineup I thought everyone did fine relative to the field."
• Senior Kellye Belcher posted her third-straight top-10 finish with a ninth place showing after a score of 235 (+19). Belcher led the Hoosiers with a 76 in her final round to go with scores of 82 and 77 on day one. Fellow senior Laura Nochta moved up into a tie for 17th with a 78 on Sunday, finishing at +22 (82-78-78/238).
• "Kellye seems to be at ease with herself and her game," Wallman said. "This is what I would expect from a senior and I look for it to continue next week."
• Freshman Kate Coons continued her solid play, placing tied for 26th with a score of 241 (+25). Coons carded an 83 in Sunday's final round after posting scores of 83 and 75 on Saturday. Coons has finished in the top 30 in each of her last two outings.
• Also placing in the top 35 among IU's freshman brigade was Jacqueline Yanch, who finished tied for 32nd with a score of 243 (+27). Yanch broke 80 for the first time in the tournament on Sunday with a low round of 79, to go along with scores of 83 and 81. Freshman Pamela Burneski tied for 40th with a score of 246 (+30). Her best round of the tournament also came in Sunday's final 18 holes with a 78, bettering her tallies of 86 and 82 on Saturday.
• "I told everyone that these conditions, on this course will be the hardest we face this year," Wallman said. "These freshmen are ready to go out and face the challenges of the Big Ten Championship."
• Rounding out the Hoosier contingent is junior Lauren Giesecke who placed 71st with a score of 266 (+50). Giesecke finished with an 86 on Sunday, after shooting scores of 94 and 86 on Saturday.
DID YOU KNOW?
• Senior Laura Nochta has been the top IU finisher in nine of 11 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.
CURRENT HOOSIERS AT THE BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
Kellye Belcher
2007 28th 84-78-77-77/316
2008 T-16th 77-74-73-79/303
2009 T-32nd 85-86-77-75/323
Lauren Giesecke
2009 T-61st 85-82-92-81/340
Laura Nochta
2007 T-33rd 78-80-81-79/318
2008 T-19th 76-76-76-77/305
2009 T-32nd 85-79-81-78/323
Players Mentioned
