University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Head to Chicago for Lady Northern
10/8/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
2010 Lady Northern: The Gophers have already posted scores this season that will be a part of the program's record books with an opening week 892 (second lowest in program history) at the Cougar Classic and a 900 last week (eighth lowest) at the Golfweek Challenge. Minnesota will head to Chicago this weekend for the Lady Northern in hopes of continuing a strong fall schedule.
The Lady Northern will be hosted by Northwestern at Lake Shore Country Club, a 6,303 yard par 72 layout. Lake Shore CC will also host the 2011 Big Ten Championships. Minnesota finished eighth in last season's event in Madison, Wis. Purdue is the reigning Lady Northern and NCAA National Champion and is coming off a first place finish at the Windy City Collegiate Classic.
The field will play 36 holes on Monday, Oct. 11 and 18 holes on Tuesday, Oct. 12. Monday's round will begin with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. while Tuesday's round is scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m. The event can be followed live at www.golfstat.com.
The field will include 10 Big Ten teams and a pair of Big 12 teams. The field is as follows (with most recent Golfweek/Sagarin rankings): Illinois (53), Indiana (67), Iowa (88), Iowa State (32), Michigan (66), Minnesota (39), Northwestern (48), Ohio State (21), Penn State (81), Purdue (6), Texas Tech (85) and Wisconsin (56).
The Gophers: Minnesota's lineup returns unchanged from last week with seniors Michele Edlin, Mary Narzisi, Teresa Puga, and Samantha Sommers joining sophomore Jackie Shepherd on the course.
The Gophers boast one of the most experienced lineups in the nation when all four seniors tee it up. Narzisi has appeared in 33 career tournaments followed by Puga with 32, Edlin with 30 and Sommers with 28. Shepherd played in 10 of the team's 11 events last season as a freshman and has been in the lineup for both of the Gophers' previous tournaments.
Golfweek Challenge recap: After recording the second lowest 54-hole team total in program history during their first event of the season, the Gophers continued their success this week with an eight place finish at the 18 team Golfweek Challenge in Colorado. Minnesota carded rounds of 298, 306, and 296 to finish with a team total of 900(+36).
Edlin led the team in the final round with an one-under par 71 earning her a fourth place finish in the tournament with a career low total of 217. Edlin's performance also ranks as the third lowest three-round total in the history of Gopher women's golf.
Puga just missed the top 10 with an even par 72 in the final round, finishing the tournament in a tie for 11th place. Narzisi tied for 30th after a final round 73, Shepherd finished in a tie for 53rd, and Sommers tied for 73rd place in the standings.
Up Next: Minnesota will next be in action on Oct. 25 at the Las Vegas Invitational, the team's final fall season tournament. This is the third straight season that the Gophers have been a part of the Las Vegas Invite field.
Players Mentioned
