Team enters 1st contest since early October

The IU women’s golf team will lose out its 2009 fall schedule this week at the 2009 Onion Creek Challenge in Austin, Texas.

The Hoosiers will return to competition after a month off since finishing 7th at the Johnie Imes Invitational in the first week of October.

The field in Austin is comprised of mostly Big Ten and Big 12 schools with 20 teams competing, which is the largest tournament the Hoosiers have been in this fall.

“We were invited last year to the tournament, and I wanted to change up the schedule a bit this year,” IU coach Clint Wallman said.  “The field is strong, and I think it is going to be a really good experience.”

Seniors Kellye Belcher and Laura Nochta will be in the Hoosier lineup for the fifth straight tournament.

Three freshmen will comprise the rest of the Hoosier lineup: Pamela Burneski, Kate Coons and Jacqueline Yanch.

This will also mark the fifth tournament in a row that Burneski has played in, and she is looking forward to the rest of the season.

“We really want to make it to the postseason and get our team into the top 30,” Burneski said.

The Hoosiers’ record currently sits at 38-23, and they are No. 52 in the nation. A strong finish to the fall season will go a long way for IU’s NCAA tournament resume, Wallman said.

“I think you have to be aware of it, but I don’t think it’s anything to be panicking about,” he said. “Where we are at now, we are okay, but we just have to take care of our own business.”

The past four weeks have given the Hoosiers a chance to concentrate on two specific areas of improvement – poor putting and ball striking.

“Our focus has been to cut out three putts down and hit one more green in regulation,” Wallman said.

Confidence will not be an issue for the Hoosiers as Wallman thinks this lineup, with two seniors and three freshmen, is a great mix for the last tournament of the fall.

“All of them have had really good practices over the last couple of weeks,” Wallman said. “I think they are in a really good frame of mind, and I think we are in a pretty good spot.”