In late October, the Northwestern women’s golf team was sitting pretty.
The Wildcats ended their fall season on a high note with a seventh-place finish at the 2002 Mercedes-Benz Collegiate championships in Knoxville, Tenn.
NU, ranked No. 43 at the time by the Golfweek/Sagarin Index, posted three top-10 performances in its four fall tournaments.
The Cats began the spring season with dreams of a strong showing in the Big Ten tournament and a bid to the NCAA championships. They made it halfway with their third-place finish at Big Tens. But as the nation’s top teams competed at NCAAs, NU found itself at home.
The Cats’ spring season started indoors at the Gleecher Golf Center in Patten Gymnasium. After months spent inside, the Cats finally moved outdoors at the end of February with a trip to Bradenton, Fla.
But unfortunately, there was no sign of the team that had played so well in the fall, as the Cats finished 13th in the 15-team field at the Central District Classic.
“Each of us just needs to get back into tournament mode since we haven’t been playing competitively for so long,” said junior Lauren Grzebien after the first tournament. “We just want to be as competitive as we can because we know we are as good as any of the teams we play against.”
But it would be a while before the Cats’ road trips wore off their winter rust.
Texas was especially unforgiving to NU. In March, the Cats played two disastrous tournaments in the Lone Star state — failing to crack the top 10 in either event.
“Everybody across the board was equally frustrated and disappointed in the way they played.” NU coach Chris Regenberg said in March. “Nobody really peaked or hit their potential.”
The Cats would fall a little further before clawing their way back up, as they finished last in a 13-team field at the Purdue Boilermaker Tournament in West Lafayette, Ind., held April 12-13.
“We felt like maybe we could start off the season slowly and that would be okay, but by now — we are in the heart of our season — we should be in our peaks,” said sophomore Mary Ellen Grzebien before the tournament.
The Cats had reached rock bottom, but in mid-April they suddenly got their groove back.
A fourth-place finish at the Lady Buckeye Spring Invitational held April 19-20 in Columbus, Ohio, paved the way for the Cats’ ultimate success at the Big Ten championships, where they placed third.
The Cats had their work cut out for them at the tournament on April 25-27 in Iowa City, Iowa. After the first round, NU stood in 10th place.
“We have always been behind at every tournament this season, and this time we were able to make it up — and it was Big Tens, so that was really nice,” senior Elizabeth Burden said after the tournament.
Burden, the teams most consistent performer all season, was the only NU golfer to earn a trip to the NCAA regionals in Lincoln, Neb. She again battled cold, windy weather and finished 59th.
While the Cats had to pack away their clubs before they were ready, Regenberg was pleased with their ability to bounce back in both the conference tournament and the season.
“It was a fun climb,” she said.
