Women’s golf competes at home, hopes for repeat win

Looking back to September, the IU women’s golf team took its sole win on home ground at the IU Fall Kickoff. Since playing at the IU Golf Course, the squad traveled across the country, from Florida to Arizona and back to the Midwest in between. 

“Everybody is playing well and very confident in their swings and their ability to score right now,” senior co-captain Kristtini Cain said. “After all the traveling, we’re looking forward to playing at home.”

The squad will play its second home event of the year, the Indiana Invitational, April 14 and 15 at the IU Golf Course. This will be the last event until the Hoosiers go to French Lick, Ind., for the Big Ten Championship.

Among the 15-team field is the 2011 second-place finisher Eastern Michigan, as well as fifth place Kansas State. The Hoosiers took fourth at this past year’s Indiana Invitational, which was played at Otter Creek Golf Club in Columbus, Ind.

Cain expressed a sense of relief about returning to Bloomington for an event because the team will have more insight about the course.

“We’re comfortable out there, and we know the course, so we know what we can do there,” Cain said. “We usually only have a day or two to get used to a course, so it’s nice to already know the subtle breaks in the green and the best spots to hit it.”

IU is coming off a fourth-place finish at the Mountain View Invitational, where junior co-captain Kate Coons led the team by tying for ninth and Cain tied for 13th.

Coons said the team will have the same mindset to win but knows the conditions are different in the Midwest compared to other areas of competition this season.

“It’s definitely more windy out here than it was in Arizona, but we are used to practicing here and had a lot of preparation for where the pins are located,” Coons said. “We will have the mindset of competition.”

Along with Cain and Coons, juniors Rosie Davies and Pamela Burneski and freshman Elizabeth Tong will play in the Hoosier lineup. Sophomore Sophie Hayashi and freshman Kathryn Klawitter will compete as individuals.

At the IU Fall Kickoff, Davies won her first collegiate tournament, taking medalist honors with a three-over-par 147. Cain posted a one-under-par 71 in the final round, en route to tying for second.

Although the team practices at the course on a regular basis, competition play places more pressure on the home squad to take the win. IU Coach Clint Wallman said the team needs to stick to its routine and stay comfortable on the course to be successful.

“The main thing for us to be successful is to treat this event just as we would any other event,” Wallman said. “The natural tendency would be to treat our home event differently because of our familiarity with the course and surroundings. If we keep to our normal routine and treat this weekend as any other, we will be fine.”