In their continued hunt of an NCAA Tournament bid, the Hoosiers finished the Big Ten Championships tied for seventh place with a 2-over overall score.
During the three-day, three-round tournament at the Fort Golf Resort in Indianapolis, the Hoosiers turned in team scores of 286 in round one, 293 in round two, and finished on Sunday with a 287 (-1).
“All things being equal, I think it went well and the girls played hard,” Coach Clint Wallman said. “We didn’t play our best round yesterday, but today they came out and fought and tried to scratch out everything they could. I’m very, very proud of them.”
As for the individual scores for the Hoosiers, Ana Sanjuan shot the lowest overall score for IU at 1-under par, including a 2-under final round on Sunday, which tied her for 15th place.
“She was very focused on what she did,” Wallman said of Sanjuan. “She didn’t play well yesterday, but she was very determined today and she managed herself just fantastically. She was really tough and hung in there and showed a lot of patience and perseverance.”
Just behind Sanjuan was Erin Harper, who finished tied for 21st at 1-over par for the tournament including three birdies on the final three holes of her final round.
“I just kept calm because I knew the last couple of holes were birdie-able,” Harper said. “I said that my birdie putts would fall eventually and I just kept even-keeled.”
Reigning Big Ten Player of the Week, Camille Chevalier, along with Alix Kong both finished tied for 25th at 3-over par.
Saturday’s second round was not kind to many Hoosiers — the team shot 5-over par — however, Harper said the course was doable when playing well.
“For me the first two days I got off to bad starts,” Harper said. “I was able to get it back the second day and today I didn’t really have a tough start, so that was good. It was a very easy score-able course if you played well.”
The Hoosiers finished the tournament with 220 pars, good for second among all 14 teams, and just three shy of Ohio State who had the most with 223.
Now looking ahead, the Hoosiers must await their fate with NCAA Tournament bids being announced 6 p.m. Monday on the Golf Channel.
“We don’t know yet and it’s just kind of a waiting game,” Wallman said. “We did everything that we could, we took care of our business. It’s just one of those things where we just kind of wait and sit and keep our fingers crossed.”
As for the perspective of a player, Harper said the players would keep the same mindset if they get to keep playing in the NCAA Tournament.
“I’ll just keep the same mindset, which is what we have been doing all spring,” Harper said. “Just one shot at a time, what’s my target and just take everything as it goes.”
