Hoosiers look to end recent slide at U.S. Open course

After two sub-par performances to start off the spring season which saw the IU men's golf team slip out of GolfWeek magazine's top 50 rankings, the Hoosiers look to rebound at the Pinehurst Intercollegiate this Monday and Tuesday.\nInconsistent play from the team has seen the Hoosiers place fourth and third in the opening two tournaments of the spring season.\n"We cannot afford to be mediocre," said IU coach Mike Mayer. "We must be on top of our game if we want to contend for titles."\nThe team will be playing at the famous Pinehurst golf complex, which is hosting this year's U.S. Open. The Hoosiers will look for their first tournament title of the season and senior Jeff Overton will look to take medalist honors for the seventh time of his collegiate career and the first since the Xavier Invitational last fall. The Hoosiers will face another challenging field this week as two of the 12 teams are ranked in GolfWeek's top 50 poll.\n"This is a strong field this coming week," Mayer said. "There are some really, really good teams playing in the tournament and some other teams that have done good things but are under the radar."\nThe play of freshman Santiago Quirarte has been a bright spot for the Hoosiers during the opening tournaments of the season. Quirarte was awarded Big Ten player of the week after his 3rd-place finish at last week's Pioneer Classic. Quirarte is using the award as motivation for future success.\n"It's nice to be honored," Quirarte said. "I use every tournament as a learning experience and a change to improve."\nQuirarte's recent play gives the Hoosiers another threat to shoot very low scores on any given round.\n"Having our No. 3 player shoot such low scores really takes the pressure off the other players," Mayer said. "Overton and (senior Heath) Peters are the vocal leaders of our team, but Santiago is becoming a leader by the example he sets on the course."\nThe Hoosiers have become more close-knit as the team reaches the middle part of the spring schedule. Many of the players hang out together off the course and the long trip to Phoenix was a good way to build team chemistry for the Hoosiers.\n"Spring break was big for us," Mayer said. "Having the guys spend so much together really will help as the season continues."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Chris Engel at ccengel@indiana.edu.