13 teams to play in Indiana Invite

The women's golf team will welcome 13 teams for the Indiana Invite at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, and the Hoosiers said winning their only home match of the season won't be easy. \nBut history sides with IU, which has captured the tournament the past three seasons and has never finished lower than third place since the tournament began in 1982.\nCoach Sam Carmichael has coached the Hoosiers in each of the annual tournaments and said he is excited to compete.\n"This is our home course, and we are here to win," Carmichael said. \nNo. 35 IU welcomes eight top-50 schools, including Big Ten foes No. 14 Northwestern, No. 17 Ohio State, No. 24 Michigan State, No. 31 Michigan and No. 42 Minnesota. \nCarmichael said he expects the stiffest competition to come from conference counterparts Ohio State, Michigan State and Northwestern.\n"We know them well from Big Ten competition," Carmichael said. \nSeniors Natalie Tucker and Inga Snyder, junior Tiffany Fisher, freshman Ambry Bishop and redshirt freshman Danah Ford will compete for the Hoosiers this weekend. \n"It'll be nice to stay at home this weekend," Bishop said. \nBishop is coming off a career-best round of 73 last week in the San Antonio Shootout, which IU won by six strokes, edging out No. 28 Kent State, which will be in Bloomington Saturday.\nFord is also anticipating her Bloomington debut. She is an Indianapolis native and said she is excited that her family and friends will have a chance to watch her compete. \nAs a redshirt last season, Ford helped the team prepare for the tournament, but this season she said she is looking forward to playing well, which includes a solid 36 holes Saturday and 18 more Sunday.\n"I love, no matter how good or bad you played on Saturday, to come out and have a strong outing on Sunday," Ford said.\nCarmichael said this weekend will provide the Hoosiers a chance to work out the kinks before heading into the Big Ten tournament later this month.\n"This will be a good showcase of how we'll do (at the Big Ten tournament), since so many conference teams are competing," Carmichael said. "We've already won twice during the spring season, and we've been playing well, so I like our chances."\nIU plays host to only one home tournament per season, but the memories can last a lifetime. Former Hoosier Michelle Redmond, who is touring with the Ladies Professional Golf Association, visited Bloomington this week and reflected on her rounds in the Indiana Invite. \n"I remember winning it," Redmond said. "That tournament sticks out the most because we won it at home. It's exciting to win in front of the home fans"