Last season, Northwestern headed to Indiana as a 13-seed at the NCAA Central Regional and let the course beat them.
They won’t see the same course, as the location has shifted from Columbus to Notre Dame, but as they head to Indiana with the same seed in the same tournament, NU has learned lessons from last year.
“We were a little bit mismatched with the golf course,” coach Emily Fletcher said. “The more you practice, the more prepared you are. We got off to a terrible start last year, and as we talked about, we just have to stay patient.”
Last year, the Cats faltered, struggling with their play around the green on a course that punished their mistakes. NU fell into 18th place on the first day of the tournament, finishing 15th. The Cats’ hopes of finishing in the top eight and qualifying for the NCAA Championships are better, as Fletcher and the Cats are headed into the tournament at the right time.
Led by sophomore Lauren Weaver, who was named to the All-Big Ten first team, NU stormed back from a slow start at the Big Ten Championships to go from seventh place to third in the last two rounds. Merely a stroke off the lead, Weaver took second, junior Alex Lederhausen close behind in third.
Weaver has been a high point all year for the Cats. Currently on track to finish with a school record with a 74.24 scoring average, Weaver has finished in the top 10 of seven tournaments and took home first at the Lady Northern Invitational, breaking a school record for lowest round with a 6-under 66, NU’s only individual win of the season.
“Lauren was an outstanding player for us the last two years, but her play this season has been very impressive,” Fletcher said. “She’s hitting full stride in her game, and the way she handles herself on the golf course and gets the most out of a round of a golf whether her ball-striking is at its best or not.”
Lederhausen’s performance in the Big Tens came as more of a shock. The junior has the second-best scoring average on the team but hadn’t registered a top-10 finish for the Wildcats until taking eighth at the Lady Buckeye Invitational before following that up with third at the Big Tens.
“She has the skills and talent to play at this level for us, but she hasn’t quite gotten over the hump,” Fletcher said. “I think it kind of surprised her a little bit, but with better finishes, she’s feeding on that confidence and momentum. She’s learning she doesn’t have to play perfect golf.”
With Weaver’s consistency and Lederhausen’s newfound mindset, the Cats hope to capitalize on their strong play of late and extend their season to the NCAA Championships.
“We’ve done a good job playing well at the tail end of the season, and that’s the most critical part of the season,” Fletcher said. “You want to play well all the time, but certainly you want to have everybody’s game at their best this time of the year.”
