Hoosiers hope to regain crown

Last year, the Michigan State Spartans won the Indiana Invitational, breaking a streak of three straight tournament victories for IU in the event. This year, the Hoosiers hope to show last year's loss was an aberration. \n"We need to play well here at our home course, and I think we have somewhat of an advantage over the other teams," Coach Sam Carmichael said in a press release. "You have to have that local knowledge of the course and be able to position the ball and play the greens."\nComing off his team's best finish of the season, a third-place effort at the Lady Seahawk Invitational, Carmichael will set his lineup with senior captain Tiffany Fisher, junior Cara Stuckey and sophomores Karen Dennison, Danah Ford and Ambry Bishop. Furthermore, because the tournament is held at IU, sophomores Jeana Finlinson and Shannon Carney and freshman Bethany Brunner will take the course as individuals. \nAt the Lady Seahawk Invitational, the team shot a 907. Fisher led the Hoosiers and tied for third overall in the individual standings with three rounds of 73. \n"We did pretty well for the team at the Lady Seahawk Invitational," Bishop said. "We were hoping to win, but we fell just a few shots short. So, that was disappointing. But I think we've finally started getting some of the lower scores that we've been looking for."\nJoining the Hoosiers in the 14-team field are Arkansas-Little Rock, Illinois, Illinois State, Iowa, Kansas, Kent State, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Missouri, Notre Dame, Ohio and Wisconsin.\nThe tournament's first two rounds start at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow, and the third round kicks off at 8 a.m. Sunday. The tournament is held at the par-74, 6,134-yard IU Golf Course in Bloomington. \n"It's kind of a tough golf course if you're not used to it, so I think we have a big advantage knowing the course and knowing the greens," Dennison said. "There can be some very tough pin placements out there. If you're above the hole, there's some really tough putts, so we're used to that and we know how to play them."\nAt last year's Indiana Invitational, the Hoosiers shot a 943 to finish in fifth place. Fisher tied for 13th individually, while Bishop and Ford each tied for 48th. Dennison and Stuckey competed as individuals and finished in 15th and 18th place respectively.\n"We've got some high expectations," Dennison said. "We want to win it really bad. No one comes onto IU national and beats us is our way of looking at it"