Badgers Face Stiff Competition at Big Ten Championship
April 21, 2005 | Women's Golf
The Badgers will take their top six golfers to the 2005 Big Ten Women's Golf Championships Friday-Sunday, April 22-24 at the University of Michigan golf course in Ann Arbor, Mich. The 72-hole event will be played on a 5,966 yard, par-72 course.
The championships will tee off with 36 holes beginning Friday at 7 a.m. CT and the next round will start at 11:15 a.m. Action will continue with 18 holes on both Saturday (8 a.m.) and Sunday (7 a.m.) mornings. Golfstat.com will provide hole-by-hole action while results will be available at bigten.org and uwbadgers.com as well.
A young cast of Wisconsin golfers, including two juniors, three sophomores and one true freshman, will compete for the school's first conference title since 1995 The competitive 11-team field featuring six teams ranked among the top 25 of the April 18 Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index Central Region Ratings. Wisconsin is currently ranked 23rd in the region and 81st nationally.
'Heading into the Big Ten's, we're optimistic. We're very anxious to get going. The roster is going to be very young,' evaluates an enthused head coach Todd Oherlein, heading into his second conference tournament. 'We're obviously very excited and looking forward to getting to Ann Arbor this weekend. '
Highlighting the conference competition is Ohio State, looking to capture its fourth-straight conference crown. The Buckeyes are the highest-rated Big Ten team, heading into this weekend's play ranked 10th nationally and second in the Central region (Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index, April 18). The Indiana Hoosiers are looking to break through to their eighth title after have finished second-place in each of the last two championship meets.
Last season on the Ohio State University's Scarlet Course in Columbus, the UW managed a fifth-place tie with Michigan after a 1,243-stroke effort (306-305-315-317) in head coach Todd Oehrlein's Big Ten championship debut. The graduated Malinda Johnson earned her third-consecutive top-five finish at the championships by taking sole possession of fourth-place at 299 (72-73-77-77).
Despite the team's youth this season, the UW can look to three of six players on the 2005 tournament roster with prior Big Ten championship experience. Juniors Lindsay McMillan and Jackie Obermueller played every round as freshmen on the 2002-03 team which qualified for the program's first NCAA bid. The Badgers have previously played in 24 rounds in the conference meet, sharing an 80.6 average in six tournaments.
Wisconsin's oldest players have provided the stability behind the team's stance in the middle of the conference and are looking to contend with solid rounds of golf. McMillan is the top Badger performer, heading into the meet with a 78.7 average in 29 rounds this season. McMillan has enjoyed previous success in the conference meet, tying a personal best finish with a 27th-place tie with a 54-hole 317 (77-74-86-80) at last year's championships. She leads the team as Wisconsin 's low scorer in four of 11 tournaments, including two sixth-place finishes.
Due to an injury, a majority of Obermueller's rounds this season have been played during the spring while shooting 78.5 through 17 rounds, claiming the team's lowest average. Obermueller has competed in two championships, with her highest finish coming in 2003. The River Falls, Wis. native shot a 316 (80-84-74-78) and tied for 34th at
A trio of sophomores will compliment McMillan and Obermueller and two, Jill Ries and Nicki Morse, bring four rounds of Big Ten Championship golf experience. To finish last season's meet, Ries shot her two lowest rounds of 2003-04 (76-78) en route to finishing tied for 36th (83-84-76-78=321). In sparse action this season, Ries averages 83.2 per round in four events. In the 2004 tournament, Morse shot a 325 (80-77-81-77) to tie for 43rd-place.
Melissa Martin enters her first Big Ten tournament with an 81.6 single-round average in 18 rounds. Martin registered her highest finish at this fall 's Mary Fossum Invitational, placing 24th (75-78-82=235).
True freshman Katie Elliott will make her Big Ten championships debut this weekend as well. The Edgewood High School graduate has consistently been one of Wisconsin's top performers.
Coach Oehrlein praised the freshman's efforts, 'She's been one of two players that has played in our top five every event, and has jumped in and has been fairly consistent.' Elliott has played all 29 rounds this season, averaging 79.2 strokes per round. Heading into this weekend's meet Oehrlein expects more of the same, 'The future's very bright for Katie. She works very hard at what she does, has a good mind for the game.'
Keep track of the Badgers during all 72 holes at golfstat.com and with round-by-round recaps on uwbadgers.com.
