Team takes time out

For senior and team captain Tiffany Fisher, it's been all golf for the past 10 months. Fisher has competed in 12 IU tournaments since the beginning of the year and also played during the summer. For Fisher and the women's golf team, the upcoming winter break will be a time to relax, but also a time to stay focused on the spring season.\n"They're probably pretty tired right now," coach Sam Carmichael said. "They've been playing since last February and they played all summer, so at some point it's nice to get away from it. I think it's really good and that way they come back a little more energized, excited and enthused about playing. And I think that's important."\nWhile the team had initially been scheduled to already have their midseason break under way, the cancellation of the Mary Fossum Invitational forced the addition of one more tournament, the Pine Needles Invitational Nov. 5-6. \nCarmichael said the team's play at Pine Needles may be somewhat different from their play at the spring opener -- the Central District Invitational on Feb. 25 and 26 -- because it is so hard to maintain their level of play over the winter. \n"There's always a little bit of drop-off after the winter break," Carmichael said. "But hopefully after we play a couple spring tournaments, we'll be playing well." \nSophomore Karen Dennison, who has led the Hoosiers' in scoring average and set her career mark with a 4th-place score at the Hatter Fall Classic in October, is looking forward to the break, even though it could mean a drop-off in her scores. \n"Right now, I'm looking forward to it," Dennison said. "We started last January, and I've been playing up to now, so we're kind of ready for a break. It's hard in the winter to keep your rhythm and keep your swing, but we'll be working out and gaining some strength, so that helps a lot. I need a little bit of rest."\nBut Fisher said the team won't spend the winter separated from golf entirely. \n"We work out in the weight room, do some running and other cardiovascular activities a couple of days a week," she said. "Whenever I can, I'll go to the fieldhouse and hit some balls just so it doesn't feel so weird in February."\nCarmichael said the team should start hitting balls on their own and be preparing for the official\nFebruary 1 start of practice for the spring season in early January. \n"Hopefully, they'll be motivated enough when they come back from Christmas break to start that early," he said. \nSophomore Mary Lidester said the team would still put in a lot of practice time, but there would still be time to relax. \n"We'll spend less time practicing on the course, but practice time will be equal in the winter to now," she said. "We'll workout and hit some balls indoors. It's a little less hectic and stressful, because you're not traveling, but it's a nice time to take some time out, too"