No. 20 Hoosiers finish 3rd at Invite

Taming lion country was not a difficult task for the 20th-ranked Hoosiers as they came away with their second straight Top 5 finish to open the season.\nPlaying at the Lady Northern Invitational in State College, Pa., IU came away with a third-place finish.\nIU coach Clint Wallman said he was proud of the Hoosiers for rebounding on the final day of the tournament after a slow start.\n“It makes me proud to rally from a tough start,” Wallman said. “Nothing is perfect the whole time, so you have to (play well when you can).”\nLeading the way for the Hoosiers and finishing sixth for the second straight tournament was senior Elaine Harris. She was followed by sophomore Kellye Belcher, who finished 16th while senior Lauren Harling and junior Amber Lindgren both finished 25th. \nRounding out the lineup for the Hoosiers were sophomores Laura Nochta and Anita Gahir, who placed 29th and 42nd, respectively.\nWallman said it is good to know that even when the Hoosiers do not win they still finish strong.\n“We can play with (anyone) when we are playing well,” Wallman said. “It is good that our bad days are still good finishes, which is exciting.”\nKent State won the tournament as a team, while Michigan State, IU, Northwestern and Ohio State rounded out the top 5 in a tournament that saw 14 teams compete. \nKira Mixner, of Kent State, won the tournament, finishing with three strokes better than Michigan State’s Laura Kueny. \nThe Hoosiers return to action Saturday when they will compete in the Wolverine Invitational in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Hoosiers should have good memories of the U-M Golf Course as they carded two fourth-place finishes there last year, including one in the NCAA Regional Championship that sent the Hoosiers to their first national championship appearance since 1998. \nWallman said that despite the good times so far this year, he wants the Hoosiers to improve their overall play.\n“We want to improve (as a team),” he said. “We have good stretches so far, but have not put anything together long term, so we hope to sustain consistency.”