Hoosiers approach end of season

The men's golf team's season has been a long roller-coaster ride. Now, with just one tournament left to play before the Big Ten tournament tees off, there is little space left on the track before the Hoosiers learn their postseason fate. \nThe team is beginning to hit its peak at the right time, but will it be enough to bring IU to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998?\nThe season began last fall with a new group of freshmen looking to elevate the team from its 11th-place finish in the Big Ten Tournament last season -- a season that marked the first time since 1957 IU ended the year in the Big Ten cellar.\nCoach Mike Mayer knew his new class of recruits would make an impact on the program, but he didn't realize the freshmen would become such a vital part of the program so fast.\n"I never dreamed this year that we'd have three freshmen (in the lineup)," Mayer said. "Its been a learning experience for them and for me."\nFreshmen Jeff Overton, Rob Ockenfuss and Heath Peters have contributed to IU's improvement this season.\nOverton leads the team with a 74.5 scoring average. IU's last All-American, Randy Leen, finished his freshman year with a 76.3 average in 1994. \n"Jeff has the potential to be one of the best golfers to ever play at Indiana University," Mayer said. "It's hard to sit and say that he will be better than or as good as (Leen and previous All-American Shaun Micheel), but statistically he has that potential."\nOverton set a personal record by shooting a 68 in the Kepler Intercollegiate and then shattered it again by firing a 66 in the final round of the FirstEnergy Intercollegiate. Overton's 66 tied for the second-best round in IU golf history. It also made him co-winner of the Big Ten Golfer of the Week award with Penn State's Andy Latowski.\nHeath Peters has joined Overton in putting together a spectacular rookie season. After a top-10 finish at last week's FirstEnergy Intercollegiate, Peters has lowered his average to 74.92.\nOckenfuss has also put in solid play with a 77.31 average in 22 rounds.\nThe three freshmen and the rest of the team have gelled to bring the Hoosiers sixth-place finishes in their past two tournaments. The top six teams in each district are invited to the NCAA Regionals. \nIt is the weight of some shaky tournaments during the fall campaign and the beginning of the spring schedule that has put IU on thin ice if it hopes to reach Regionals.\n"Since we're such a young team, we lost our patience a bit," Mayer said.\nThe injuries of juniors Mike Miller and Aldo Jordan, IU's top two players at the beginning of the season, haven't helped. Both players missed fall tournaments because they were hurt. \n"Having the injuries was a Catch-22," Mayer said. "We had no choice but to go to our freshmen. We got Heath and Rob into the lineup, gave them an opportunity to come in and produce. We tried to make a positive situation out of what could have been a very negative situation."\nBoth Jordan and Miller have come back to play in the spring season, but both have been snake-bitten upon their return. Miller has re-aggravated his wrist injury, and Jordan has self-admittedly not played up to par since his return to the lineup.\n"I'm struggling with my putting stroke," Jordan said before the FirstEnergy Intercolle-giate. "Hopefully I can start making some putts and get myself some opportunities to get some good scores for the team." \nFortunately for IU, the team was able to find leadership from junior Ben Davidson when Jordan and Miller went down. Davidson has put together an average of 75.1 this season, the best of his career. Now Mayer will look for this mix of veterans and rookies to meld together and make one final push for a tournament bid.\nMayer said he believes it will take a top-two finish at the Fossum Intercollegiate this weekend and a top-three finish at the Big Ten Tournament for the team to get invited to play in the tournament.\n"Our backs are against the wall," Mayer said. "In fact, we may be tied up to the wall, but who knows? The five and six spot are up for grabs"