UW women's golf coach Todd Oehrlein met with the media on Monday in advance of this weekend's Badger Invitational. Wisconsin will host the annual event this Saturday and Sunday at University Ridge Golf Course in Verona.

mid=2530"> --> Watch Oehrlein's news conference

Oehrlein spoke about his team's play through the early season, including the solid play of a couple newcomers, Jessie Gerry and Ellie Arkin, and contributions from returnees Isabel Alvarez and Kelsey Verbeten. Oehrlein also talked about the strong field in the Badger Invitational, which includes No. 1 Cal.

You can read the complete transcript below.

TODD OEHRLEIN: The team is off to a good start. I mean, it, you always hope for more, and you can always hope for a little bit better, but we have one tournament under our belt. We went down to, the College of Charleston hosted the Cougar Classic and a 21-team field, an extremely strong field. Three teams that are currently ranked in the top 10 in the country were actually there, and there was a lot of depth to the field, and we played pretty well.

We finished 14th out of 21, which actually, you know, just given the strength of the overall field, actually moved us forward in the rankings and in the ratings. So it was definitely a step forward, and it was close to being a great weekend. Really, just the second round, we played poorly on the back nine and kind of gave that round away when we were off to a great start.

We turned at 2-over as a team in round 2 and then finished with 307. So just kind of let things fall apart a little bit on the back nine there but then bounced back, played a real solid third round, shot 300, caught Tennessee, shrunk the gap on a number of different teams, and so had a strong finish. So we're taking some momentum from there. We feel pretty confident about what they're doing. There's a lot of depth to the team. That's been a, it's going to have to be a consistent theme for this team.

I don't think we necessarily have a lot of players that are going to go out and shoot 67 or 68 on any given day, but we need to have five strong that can, you know, are going to be between 72 and 77. And if we get that this weekend, we'll have a strong finish, and we'll have a strong showing at our invitational.

Moving into the Badger Invite, as Brian mentioned, it's a 12-team field, one of the stronger fields we've had since we've been here. You know, there 's four additional Big Ten teams. Minnesota, Penn State, Illinois, and Indiana are all coming to the tournament. Cal is also coming to the field. Cal currently, in the latest golf-stat rankings, is actually ranked number one in the nation, so they have a really very strong program.

Maryland, SMU, College of Charleston, Tulane, it's a very deep field, and we 're looking forward to getting it started this weekend. We're qualifying this weekend. The team played very solid, a lot of good scores. And that's something that I guess I'm proud of. I keep kind of talking to the team about that how, you know, in the past, we maybe would have a player or two 75 or below, and then there were a bunch of players 78, 79, 80.

And right now, pretty much every time we've stepped onto the golf course, we 've had six or seven girls all with scores, and players with scores 76 or below. And so there's a lot of competition, much more depth than what we've had in the past, and that competition is at a strong level. So any questions'

QUESTION #1: Can you talk a little bit about how Isabel Alvarez has been playing in the last few tournaments'

OEHRLEIN: Yeah. Isa is off to a nice start. She, Isa really went home, came off the spring and went home and really tried to work hard on her consistency. And that was something that has just been the little challenge for her. It 's been some really good rounds and then some inconsistency following it. And so she's come back and has done a very good job. She was in the lineup for the first tournament, 74, 75 to get things started, was in great position.

Didn't play quite as well the third round, shot 80, but didn't play terrible either, was very calm about what she was doing and just didn't quite put the number up that she had hoped. Played well again this weekend. She'll be in the lineup moving forward into the Badger Invite. And you know, as a senior, we need some leadership from our upper classmen, and she's been through it before, and I know she's looking forward to getting the season started.

QUESTION #2: You mentioned the improved depth, I guess, of scores, of quality scores. Is there a player or two, a freshman or sophomore, somebody young that's emerged for you that's impressed you so far or surprised you with that play to help out that depth'

OEHRLEIN: You know, the player that's really stepped forward, and it doesn't necessarily surprise me, but Kelsey Verbeten has really been a pleasant surprise. Kelsey, you know, has been in the lineup for two years, and she's dropped her scoring average right now. She's averaging 73 for us, which is about 4 shots better than what she's done in the past, and has really pushed her game forward, looks very calm, very composed.

On the depth side of things, Jessie Gerry, a true freshman from Madison, has done a tremendous job. She was in the lineup in the first tournament, you know, and went, made that first trip and made, got her first experience and handled it wonderfully and did a great job. She's going to be a very solid player. Ellie Arkin has played well as well, you know. And so, you know, both of those players, as true freshmen, have really added to it.

And then we did add a transfer from Northern Iowa, Molly Schemm, you know, another Wisconsin player, that is off to a very good start. And Molly has actually qualified for the top five for this upcoming event. And so, you know, those three players, new players that have come in and all have jumped right into the top six or seven, eight players and really have added some competition for positions.

QUESTION #3: You mentioned Ellie, and certainly everybody in these parts knows of her and her high school ranks. She got a lot of attention for, mainly for competing against the boys and being a very good player in doing it, something that Molly Schemm also had a bit of experience in when she was in high school. Do you see a difference in them now' How has it benefited them, having gone through that, as they make a jump in the competitive level that college golf is and that they have that shared experience between the two of them as well'

OEHRLEIN: You know, Jessie Gerry actually had the same thing. She played in the spring as well on her boy, on the boys' team as well, and so it's kind of interesting. All three of them have that background. I do think it adds a different dimension to what they're doing. And it does add to their experience. And I, you know, it might add a little toughness to what they're doing.

I mean, I thought the way Ellie handled last spring was remarkable. I thought she did a tremendous job with what she, with what was thrown at her and just trying to focus on golf and play her rounds and not get caught up in everything else. And that's an experience that not a lot of high school seniors end up going through and have that. And so that's certainly something she can look back on and draw upon in stressful situations and times where she's in very competitive settings around here. So it certainly adds to their experience.

QUESTION #4: Todd, with Ridge in fantastic shape, do you have a home-course advantage, would you say, this weekend'

OEHRLEIN: I hope so. I mean, you always do. There's certainly some things that you have to, you know, there's some added distractions being at home that we aren't necessarily accustomed to. We don 't play half of our schedule at home, so it's that one home event every year. And so there certainly are some added distractions that way. But then there 's the familiarity with the golf course, that comfort sitting on the tee, knowing the golf shots, being familiar with the greens.

Certainly, and it was something that we started talking about even a little bit last night, that this is a great opportunity in front of us. We've got a strong group coming in. We get a chance to get them on our home golf course, and it's a great opportunity. But it's one more golf tournament in the whole picture. It's no more important than next week at Iowa, and it's no less important either. And so we need to try to stay consistent and try to take a consistent approach with it.

QUESTION #5: Talk about how you guys have dealt with the task of replacing a golfer of the caliber of Katie Elliott.

OEHRLEIN: You know, you really don't replace Katie. Katie, you know, she finished with the second lowest scoring average in the history of our program. And she did a tremendous job for us off the golf course in addition to what she did on the golf course. And so what you hope is that the players that were around learn from that and that, you know, they learned from the example that she set. And I've certainly seen that in some of the players. It also is just, it's another opportunity for more players.
You know, the people that are on this year's team, it creates an opportunity for somebody else to step forward and take that leadership role and fill into that position and, you know, from a scoring perspective, who is going to step up. Kelsey has done a great job on that side of it. And so, you know, that's really what you look for. You just look for a team effort, to see everybody take that step forward and look to kind of fill that hole and fill that void that's left behind.

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