Team finishes tournament with individual, team records

If the year's first tournament is any indication of how the IU women's golf team's season will go, the Hoosiers are on their way to an amazing campaign. The Hoosiers arrived in Ann Arbor, Mich. for the Wolverine Invitational this weekend with an experienced group of golfers and high expectations. They left Michigan with both team and individual awards while shooting record-breaking performances.\nIU's first place finish this weekend was the first team championship title the Hoosiers have won since they dominated the Baylor/Iowa Shootout back in 2001. The team shot a final round 303 and finished the Invitational with 913, 15 strokes better than the second place finisher and conference rival, Michigan. The team, led by juniors Karen Dennison and Ambry Bishop, made sure they did not repeat last year's lack of a tournament title, the first time the Hoosiers won a tournament title was back in 1987.\nIU performed well at the Invitational in previous years. This season's championship was their third Wolverine Invitational title in only five trips. Dennison took home the first individual title of her career, firing a 219 (+3). Dennison blew away the competition firing a first round 72, following that up with a 74 in the second round, and finished up on Sunday with a 73. Her closest competition for the title was Bishop, who shot a final round 75 to finish eight strokes behind Dennison. Dennison's performance in the first round tied the Invitational record for a single round score. \n"Everything started going my way this weekend, and my putts just started to fall. My ball striking really improved," Dennison said in a statement.\nBoth Dennison and Bishop set career marks in the tournament. Dennison's 54-hole total of 219 eclipsed her previous low of 222 shot in 2001 at the Lady Northern Collegiate. Bishop's 54-hole total of 227 tied her career low, which was shot back in 2000. Her second place finish bested her previous career high 3rd place showing at the Baylor/Iowa Shootout in 2001. \n"Our team played really good this weekend," Bishop said in a statement. "In my three rounds over the weekend, I felt that they were my best ball-striking rounds I have had in a collegiate competition. I just felt really well about my play this competition."\nDespite the outstanding performances from Bishop and Dennison, the team championship could not have been captured without the solid performances by the other members of the squad. Junior Danah Ford finished 10th, seniors Cara Stuckey and Adrienne Graessle placed 11th and 22nd respectively, and freshman Molly Redfearn, playing in her first collegiate tournament, took 23rd place. The Hoosiers combined total of 913 (+49) was a tournament record, besting the previous mark by seven strokes, which was shot by the 1997 IU team. \nCoach Sam Carmichael was pleased with his team's performance and looks forward to what the remaining season holds in store for the Hoosiers.\n"I thought we played pretty consistent throughout the tournament," Carmichael said in a statement. "Obviously this is a great way to start out our season."\nThe team's next tournament will be Sept. 28 to 29 at the Northern Intercollegiate in Iowa City, Iowa, and Coach Carmichael said he expects his team to be up for the challenge.\n"We had some solid rounds this weekend, but we need a lot of improvement," Carmichael said. "The Northern is a big tournament for us and we need to be ready for it"