With eight of Northwestern’s conference rivals in the field this weekend, the Lady Buckeye Spring Invitational is shaping up to be a rehearsal for next week’s Big Ten Championships.
This tournament is an opportunity for the Wildcats to test their conference competitors, including host squad Ohio State.
“It is a predominantly Big Ten field,” coach Emily Fletcher said. “It’s an opportunity for us because Michigan State and Ohio State have been ahead of us. It will be important to knock down some of these teams ahead.”
No. 30 Kent State, No. 36 Washington, No. 10 Michigan State and No. 21 Ohio State are the only teams ranked higher than NU. With an average ranking of 63.2 (excluding Division II No. 1 Rollins College), the Lady Buckeye presents a respite from a tough run of fixtures.
“(Doing well) will give us confidence heading into the Big Tens,” Fletcher said. “Beating the ones behind us won’t be much of a benchmark.”
NU finished in fourth place at last year’s Lady Buckeye, two spots ahead of Michigan State. The Cats got top-20 finishes from sophomore Alex Lederhausen, juniors Rebecca Lederhausen and Innapha Tantanavivat and then-senior Jennifer Hong.
Innapha is not playing this weekend, but the Lederhausen sisters are returning to the course where they notched their top individual finishes last season.
“(Experience) plays a factor when you play at a golf course that you’ve played before,” Fletcher said. “The girls have different course management situations and it gives them credibility also. As a freshman, you’re going to a new site each week.”
The Bryan National Collegiate two weeks ago presented more than just a new site for freshman Anne Ormson. It was also her collegiate golf debut.
“At the end of the day, I felt good about it,” Ormson said. “The first two days were disappointing but I was happy that I finished well. My score counted, and it helped our team score the best score of the year, so just being part of that was great.”
Fletcher said freshman Lauren Weaver will be an exception this weekend, when she plays a course she competed at last summer. Freshman Mei Liu and junior Kelsey Lindenschmidt will round out the six-member travelling squad.
In the “five-count-four” system of team golf, the lowest score is discarded and the top four scores are counted. On an exceptional last day of competition at the Bryan National, sophomore Kylie Fuller’s 1-under 71, Weaver’s and Lindenschmidt’s even-pars, and Ormson’s 1-over 73 added up to a score of 288. The even-par round was a season-best, and it marked the second-lowest round in school history.
After the tournament, Fletcher said the team would use that last round as a springboard for the rest of the season. Strong performances this weekend could give the Cats a final boost as they head to the Big Ten Championships next week.[email protected]
