IU plummets to 11th at UCF Challenge

The IU women’s golf team headed into Tuesday’s final round at the UCF Challenge a mere five shots outside of second place.

Unfortunately, a final-round 321 in rainy and windy conditions led to an 11th-place finish for the Hoosiers.

“It was a tough final-round period,” IU coach Clint Wallman said. “It was tough conditions, and we didn’t have the opportunity to deal with it as well as we could have had we been practicing on a more normal schedule.”

The Orlando, Fla., tournament provided the Hoosiers with chances to earn some quality wins, as 16 of the 17 teams in the field were ranked in the top 100 nationally.
“It was a great opportunity to big up some wins, but we just didn’t,” Wallman said.

Senior Laura Nochta’s steady play continued to pace the Hoosiers, as she finished in 10th place with 76, 72 and 75 rounds.

It was Nochta’s sixth consecutive top-25 finish this season.

“I was pretty pleased with how I played all week,” Noctha said. “I toughed it out today with the conditions, and I’m looking forward to playing again in a couple of weeks.”
Senior Kellye Belcher had the second-lowest score for the Hoosiers in each of the three rounds and finished the UCF Challenge in 26th place.

Wallman said the key for the rest of the season will be more consistency from the freshmen in the middle of his lineup.

“The three to five spots need to eliminate the big numbers and be a little more consistent,” Wallman said. “We have the right people to do that, it is just a matter of going out and getting some reps and doing it.”