Michigan stands in way of victory

Michigan has won five titles this year in tournaments in which the IU women's golf team has competed. This weekend, the Hoosiers are hoping to overcome Michigan's dominating season in the tournament that matters most. All of the Big Ten schools compete today through Sunday in the conference tournament in Champaign, Ill. \n"The Big Ten tournament is probably the most important event of our season," head coach Sam Carmichael said. "We're looking forward to competing. The Big Ten is very strong this year, and it should be good competition."\nCarmichael will fill out his lineup card with senior captain Tiffany Fisher, junior Cara Stuckey and sophomores Ambry Bishop, Karen Dennison, Danah Ford and Mary Lidester. \nHost Illinois holds the tournament at its home course, the 6,276, par-72 yard Stone Creek Golf Club. The Hoosiers played the course earlier in the year at the Northern Invitational in September. The team tied for fourth.\n"It's a really nice course," Dennison said. "It's relatively wide open. There are some challenges and some holes where you have to hit tough shots. It's a very good course to have (the Big Ten tournament) on."\nIn their last tournament, the Hoosiers finished fourth after rain canceled the final two rounds of the Lady Buckeye Invitational. With just two rounds recorded, Ford tied for the ninth spot in the individual standings with a 152. Stuckey tied for 11th with a 153 and Dennison tied for 16th with a 154. \nAlthough Michigan wasn't in the field for the Lady Buckeye Invite, conference foes still dominated the standings. Kent State, Ohio State and Michigan State finished in the top three spots respectively, ahead of IU. \nCarmichael knows the depth and talent of the conference will make the tournament tough for the Hoosiers. But he said he thinks his team can compete with Michigan.\n"They've been strong all season, and we don't have a good record against them -- but I think we're optimistic," Carmichael said. "We've been playing well; we've been practicing well. It's a good golf course, and we get to start from scratch."\nLast year at the Big Ten tournament, Michigan State took the title, and IU and Northwestern tied for second place. Fisher placed fifth in the individual standings with a 305.\nThe tournament begins today with the first two rounds and continues with one round each Saturday and Sunday. Bishop said the team is excited and ready to play well. \n"We're really excited," she said. "Our goal all season has been to come in and play well at Big Tens. It's something we think about all the time. We have a really good chance to win. Every week we've been right around the top"