Hoosiers tee off at Xavier Invitational

The Hoosiers are in Cincinnati today to tee off in the two-day, 54-hole Xavier Invitational. IU is coming off of a third place finish in last week's Wolverine Invitational as it heads into the week's 19-team tournament. The Hoosiers will be competing against Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Eastern Michigan, Georgetown, Kentucky, Louisville, Marshall, Miami (Ohio), Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio, Penn State, Western Kentucky, Wisconsin, Wright State and Xavier.\nHead coach Mike Mayer said the Hoosiers face a strong field.\n"It's not quite as strong as Michigan (Invitational), but very similar," Mayer said. After shooting a 36-hole total of 586 at Michigan, the Hoosiers are looking to improve at Xavier and aim for a victory. \nMayer said making better use of scoring opportunities will be the key to winning the tournament.\n"We've taken one step, but we have a lot of steps to go," Mayer said. "We have to capitalize and score better." \nDoing the scoring this week for the Hoosiers will be the same lineup that got the job done in Michigan. After a strong week of practices, juniors Aldo Jordan and Ben Davidson and freshmen Jeff Overton, Heath Peters, and Rob Ockenfuss are prepared to get back into action.\n"Practice has been enjoyable," Jordan said. "We're not slacking off, and we've been putting in more work." \nFor IU, playing at the Xavier Invitational brings back good memories. Last year graduate Steven Wheatcroft won the individual portion of the tournament. In 1998 IU set the tournament record for an 18-hole round with a 7-under par 277 en route to a second place finish in the tournament. This year the Hoosiers are looking to create some new memories. "If we do good in the first round, we can step on the gas in the second and third rounds," Jordan said. \nThe Xavier Invitational is played at the Jack Nicklaus designed Grizzly Tournament course at Kings Island. The course is also the host of the Senior PGA Tour Kings Island Open.\n"If the weather is receptive, it's very conducive to shooting low scores," declared Mayer. For IU, the primary difference in the Xavier Invitational as opposed to the Wolverine Invitational is that the tournament is 18 holes longer. \n"It will be more of an endurance test," Ockenfuss said. "But it won't make that much of a difference"