UW ready for chance at a championship

MADISON, Wis. — With nine tournaments in the books, the Badgers now look ahead to the grand finale: the Big Ten Championships. This year's tournament takes place in Maineville, Ohio, at the TPC Rivers Bend Golf Course.

All 11 players on the roster strive for consistency throughout the year in hopes of pulling together a solid 54 holes at the Big Ten Championships. To get to this point, however, the players are tested all year long.

"In the fall, when the players come in, there is a lot of competition because they've all worked really hard during the offseason," head coach Todd Oehrlein said. "We have qualifying rounds and the scores don't lie, they tell the story of where you're at right now,"

"I think the competition that's created is good for teams and I think truly competitive people embrace that and it brings out the best in them."

Making the trip to Ohio are seniors Brooke Ferrell and Michelle Cheung, juniors Gabby Curtis and Becky Klongland as well as sophomores Nat Zeng and Jessica Reinecke.

The Badgers highlighted their regular season by claiming the East/West Match Play Challenge title in September. Just a few weeks later, the Badgers followed up with a second-place finish at the Cardinal Cup in October and most recently finished third at the Hawkeye El-Tigre Invitational. Coach Oehrlein credits the hard work put in during the offseason for the success and is optimistic that the players will ride that momentum into the season's finale.

"When you go into a golf tournament, the reality is that there are certain teams and players that have the opportunity to win the golf tournament and I feel like we have one of those teams, and I think the players feel the same way," Oehrlein said.

"We're going to take six players down there with us that have all shot in the 60s during their career, so it might be as deep as a team that I've ever taken to a Big Ten championship."

Now that the roster is set, each player is gunning for the fairytale ending: a Big Ten championship title. For seniors Cheung and Ferrell, the Big Ten tournament is particularly special as their time as a Badger winds down. Hong Kong native Cheung has proven to be a stable force for the Badgers all season long and picked up her best finish at the UCF Challenge. Out of seven tournaments Ferrell competed in this season, the Edgerton, Wisconsin, product earned six top-10 finishes, including the Cardinal Cup title.

"Brooke is going to leave with just about every statistic or record that the university has when she graduates," Oehrlein said. "She's been remarkable for us for the past four years and this senior year has really been no exception."

With a season scoring average of 71.90, Ferrell is on track to reset her own program record of 73.25 from last season. She is also looking for redemption after holding a two-shot lead in last year's Big Ten Championship entering the final round but placing third overall.

The four other Badgers competing this weekend accumulated their fair share of accolades as well. Curtis, who has played in all nine tournaments this season, earned her best finish at the East/West Match Play Challenge by claiming third place and firing a 4-under par 68 to set a new career low. Fellow junior Klongland was another stabilizing force and relied on her experience to finish as the second or third-best Badger in six tournaments.

As just a sophomore, Zeng also appeared in every tournament this season and reset her 18-, 36- and 54-hole records at the UCF Challenge. At the same tournament, Reinecke earned Big Ten Golfer of the Week honors thanks to shooting a 5-under par 67 en route to finishing in a tie for 25th.

University of Wisconsin Athletics

UW ready for chance at a championship

Related News

Players Mentioned

Michelle Cheung

Gabby Curtis

Brooke Ferrell

Becky Klongland

Jessica Reinecke

Related Videos