Experienced team tees-off

The IU women's golf team opens its season with the Wolverine Invitational in Ann Arbor, Mich. this weekend. This will mark the fourth time that the team has taken part in the tournament, which will feature 11 teams from the Midwest region. The Hoosiers have performed well in this tournament previously, winning the event in 1996 and 1997. \nCoach Sam Carmichael will bring an experienced lineup of golfers with him to Michigan, after the squad lost only one senior to graduation. The team will be paced by senior Cara Stuckey and junior Karen Dennison, who led the team is scoring average last season. Accompanying them on the trip will be senior Adrienne Graessle, juniors Danah Ford and Ambry Bishop and true freshman Molly Redfearn. \nMany of the golfers on the team played in tournaments over the summer and performed well. "Over the summer we play in a lot of tournaments, and it's really the time that we improve our game, work on our swings and get much needed experience," Dennison said.\nDennison won the 4th Annual Indiana Match Play Championship over the summer, defeating Stuckey in the finals. Stuckey reached the finals in the Championship by defeating fellow Ford in the semifinals. Bishop won the Women's Golf Association of Metropolitan Indianapolis Championship, and Stuckey won her fourth straight Terre Haute Women's City Championship.\n"You hope that the experience of all the players, perhaps their hard work this summer will translate into success for the team," Carmichael said.\nWith a veteran squad, Carmichael will be looking for more consistency, which eluded the team last year. The Hoosiers finished last season sixth in the Big Ten, and many on the team believe they have an opportunity to win the conference this year. \nEach team that competes in the Wolverine Invitational is allowed to bring up to six golfers, with the top four scores counting towards the team's total. The 54-hole tournament will be set up for a par-72 and 5,927 yards. The IU team has not been to Ann Arbor in five years, and Carmichael is looking forward to the visit.\n"It'll be a nice trip. It'll be fun for the girls to play it and I think we'll go up and do well," he said.\n"We're just going to go up and play the best we can and try to win the tournament."\nRedfearn is excited about competing in her first collegiate tournament and hopes to be able to contribute to the team.\n"I'm looking forward to it," she said. "It should be a fun experience with the new team, new coach, and a different level. I just want to help them out so we can do really well as a team. It should be fun this weekend."\nThe first round kicks off Saturday at 9 a.m. and the final round will begin at 8 a.m Sunday.