Ford wins Big Ten individual title

Coming into her senior season, Danah Ford had yet to win a tournament as a Hoosier. Sunday, she cruised to a five-shot victory at the Big Ten Championships to earn her second victory in as many weeks. \nFord finished the tournament at one-under-par 287 -- a new 72-hole Big Ten Championship record. Ford's win marks the second year in a row a Hoosier has medaled at the event, as senior Karen Dennison won last year. \nAs a team, IU held a two-shot lead over Big Ten powerhouse Ohio State going into the fourth and final round Sunday. Rain made scoring conditions tough, and the Hoosiers struggled, firing a 312. The Buckeyes stormed out of the gates and never looked back, shooting a final-round 293 to capture their third straight Big Ten title with a total of 1,199. The Hoosiers finished as runner-up for the second straight week at 1,216.\nFord has posted 10 top-10 finishes during her career but had only come as close as second at the 2002 Mission Inn Classic before winning the Lady Boilermaker Invitational April 17 and 18.\nDuring her final round Sunday, she distanced herself by eight over second-place finisher Allison Hanna of Ohio State.\nFord said she did not look at the leaderboard during events, so she didn't realize she had the field beat so handily until she reached the 18th hole Sunday, when she saw her name atop the giant scoreboard located next to the green.\n"I had to chip up to the green on 18, so I didn't look over to the left at the board," Ford said. "I thought I had four or five shots, but you never know how the people in front of you are playing."\nAfter the event, Ford and Dennison were both awarded All-Big Ten First Team accolades. It is Ford's first all-conference award, while Dennison has received the award two years in a row. \nLegendary IU coach Sam Carmichael was named Big Ten Coach of the Year for the 10th time in his 23-year career. He has received the award eight times as the women's coach and twice as the men's. \nUnder Carmichael's watch, the Hoosiers have placed either first or second at the Big Ten tournament in 13 of the last 16 years and finished in the top three 19 of the last 23 years.\nSenior Ambry Bishop said she was disappointed with the Hoosiers' finish that but Ford's play has helped raise the team's confidence.\n"It's great to see Danah win, and she has really helped us out as a team," Bishop said. "We were disappointed with our finish, but the fact that we were even in the lead against such strong teams is great for us. If you would have told us this weekend that we were going to be second, I think we would have taken it."\nThe next step for the Hoosiers could potentially be the NCAA Regional Tournament May 6 through 8 in Normal, Ill. The formal announcement from the NCAA will be made at a later date. \n-- Contact staff writer David Paulen at dpaulen@indiana.edu.