“We played outstanding,” IU Coach Clint Wallman said. “Top-to-bottom, we were just really impressive all weekend.”
Beginning the tournament in stroke play Sunday, IU finished the first round fourth overall with 14-over-par 590, taking the final spot in the semifinal tournament, which took place Monday and Tuesday.
Starting out strong was freshman Eva Domingo, who led the Hoosiers through the first round, finishing even at 144 in the first 36 holes, tying for seventh in the field.
Freshman Erin Harper finished tied for 15th at 4-over-par 148 for the second spot on the team.
“We really pushed taking high-percentage shots,” Wallman said. “If we make good decisions on our shots, it puts pressure on the other team to hit their shots and really exposes their weaknesses.”
Entering hole-play, where the winners are determined by victories at holes instead of total number of strokes, the Hoosiers played a close match with top-25 Colorado but lost, 3-2.
The Buffaloes paired five of their golfers with five of the Hoosier golfers, pairing their top golfer, Esther Lee, with IU’s second golfer, Harper.
“I thought Erin Harper did a really good job against Colorado’s top golfer,” Wallman said. “She hit some really good shots and showed the patience we’ve been looking for. She fended her off well.”
Losing by 5 after 14 holes, Harper squared against Lee for five consecutive holes after conceding holes five and six. She lost holes 11, 13 and 14, though, to surrender the match.
Senior Camille Chevalier, IU’s fourth golfer, earned one of the Hoosiers’ two wins against Colorado in the semis, though, as she defeated Brittany Fan, Colorado’s third golfer, 7&6.
“Camille had two huge rounds,” Wallman said. “Shooting a 71 in match play was big, and she earned the 7&6 against Colorado. Everyone played highlight golf this weekend, including Camille.”
Chevalier started the second round well, winning the first three holes against Fan, including birdies on holes two and three.
She would go on to birdie holes five and 11 as well, cementing her 12-hole victory against Fan.
The Hoosiers’ first and fifth golfers, Domingo and sophomore Pear Siriko, respectively, lost their matches in one-up finals, meaning both golfers were tied with their opponents headed into the final hole but surrendered the lead, and the rounds, to the Colorado golfers.
“We outplayed Colorado all day,” Wallman said. “We had the matchups we wanted and we felt good with the team we had, but we couldn’t put the opponents away in the back nine. The entire match shifted in about 20 minutes.”
Finishing the tournament in a consolation match against the second-seeded Michigan Wolverines, IU won 3-1-1.
Siriko, Domingo and junior Ana Sanjuan all won their rounds against Michigan, while Harper tied and Chevalier lost 4&3 to Michgan’s second golfer.
The Hoosiers’ next tourament will be the Cardinal Cup October 19.
“We are a really young team,” Wallman said. “We had one senior, one junior, one sophomore and two freshmen out there this weekend. Tactically and intellectually, they are better than many teams, but we just have to clean up our execution. Then we could be a real contender in the Big Ten.”
