University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Head to Hoosier State for IU Invite
4/9/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
INDIANA INVITATIONAL: After a two-week break from tournament play, the University of Minnesota women's golf team will head to the Hoosier State to take part in the 2010 Indiana Invitational April 10-11. The Gophers have played in the event almost every season since 1975. The invite will be hosted by Indiana University and take part at the par 72, 6,142 yard IU Golf Course in Bloomington. Minnesota is the highest ranked team in the field, according to the most recent Golfweek team rankings.
The Gophers finished seventh at the 2009 Indiana Invitational, their best finish in the event since a third place finish in the spring of 2005. Teresa Puga led the locals in the 2009 event, as she tied for sixth place despite an opening round 83. It was one of her five top-10 finishes on the season.
The field will play 36 holes on Saturday and the final 18 on Sunday. Play on both days will begin with a 7:30 a.m. shotgun start. Live scoring and results can be found at www.golfstat.com.
The tournament field includes (Golfweek Ranking): Minnesota (55th), Iowa State (56th), Indiana (59th), Michigan (63rd), Colorado (67th), Illinois (68th), Illinois State (83rd), Missouri State (91st), Eastern Michigan (93rd), Ball State (96th), Iowa (125th), Western Michigan (131st), Indiana State (153rd), Missouri-Kansas City (158th), Oakland (160th), Lipscomb (239th).
The Gophers: Minnesota's lineup will consist of juniors Michele Edlin, Mary Narzisi, Teresa Puga and Samantha Sommers and true freshman Jackie Shepherd. Edlin, Puga and Shepherd are the only Gopher players to appear in all of the team's tournaments.
PUGA AT IT AGAIN: Junior Teresa Puga continues to prove that she is one of the best, if not the best, player to ever tee-it-up for the Maroon & Gold. She already holds the best career stroke average mark in the history of the program at 76.16, thanks to a stellar sophomore season and an even better junior campaign.
Puga heads in to the Indiana Invite with a spring average of 74.16, which is currently the best in the history of the program. She also holds the best fall season average (74.07 in 2008) and is well on her way to finish with the best season average in program history. She currently sits at 74.91 for the season.
LAST TIME OUT: The Gophers struggled on the final day of the Pinehurst Invitational and as a result, finished in 11th place with a three-day total of 920. The entire field found Pinehurst #6 challenging on Tuesday, as only the tournament champion, Florida State Seminoles, was able to post a sub-300 combined score.
Teresa Puga posted the best score of the day for Minnesota with a six-over par 78 to finish the tournament in a tie for 23rd place. Puga carded scores of 77 and 72 on Monday. Jackie Shepherd and Mary Narzisi each finished with 54-hole scores of 233 and in a tie for 44th place.
UP NEXT: The Gophers will be back in action next weekend as they travel to Columbus, Ohio for the 2010 Lady Buckeye Invitational starting on Saturday, April 17. The field will play 36 holes at OSU's Scarlet Course on the opening day and finish with the final 18 holes on Sunday.
Players Mentioned
