Team steps up to tee against Big Ten teams

The youth movement, which has swept across American athletics, has now added the Hoosiers men's golf team to its list of victims. When the Hoosiers tee off today in Ann Arbor, Mich. at the Wolverine Invitational at the University of Michigan Golf Course, they will be starting two freshmen, two sophomores and one senior.\nThe lineup is a dramatic difference from their first tournament, which included two sophomores and three seniors.\nA week after playing in their first collegiate tournament, freshman Scott Seibert and Brad Marek are being thrown into the mix of big-time college golf. In a tournament in which 17 teams will be competing, including four Big Ten foes, the Hoosiers are paired with Michigan and Michigan State the first two rounds. \nThe other teams competing are Ball State, Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Michigan, IUPUI, Iowa, Miami-Ohio, UNC Greensboro, Ohio, Ohio Wesleyan, Seton Hall, St. John's, William & Mary, Wisconsin and Xavier.\n"This field is not as strong as last week's, but any college field has good players," sophomore Heath Peters said.\nMichigan State is ranked No. 14 in the country by Golfweek.com, and is among four Big Ten teams in the top 25. Illinois (No. 12), Minnesota (No. 13) and Penn State (No. 23) are the others. IU is ranked No. 73.\nThe Hoosiers are familiar with the stiff competition they will be facing this weekend, after having played all of the Big Ten teams at the Northern Intercollegiate on Sept. 28. The Hoosiers finished that tournament in 5th place.\n"(The players) had a lighter week; they were off on Monday," Coach Mike Mayer said. "They have been working hard this fall."\nBut the focus of this weekend will be on the two freshmen. Seibert and Marek came into this season putting heat on the four and five spots in the rotation and with their performances in practice, Mayer said it was a no-brainer.\n"The choice to play Marek was an easy one. He has a lot of enthusiasm, and a deep desire for competition," Mayer said\nMarek's first collegiate performance came last weekend at the Northern Intercollegiate, in which he participated as an individual and finished tied for 28th. \n"I was very pleased with my 1st collegiate tournament," Marek said. "It helped that I started as an individual, there was less pressure on me, and that helped me succeed."\nThis time around though, Marek is part of the competing five. He said he understands he needs to play well in order for the Hoosiers to win.\n"My goal is always to win, and to do so I need to play the best that I can," Marek said. "Sure, I would like to win the tournament this weekend, but I would much rather see the team win instead."\nWith that mindset, Marek is teaming up with classmate Seibert for a freshmen combination among the best in the Big Ten. Seibert has more experience than Marek in the pressure situations. He was part of the starting five last week at the Northern, which he said has given him a relaxed edge.\n"There is no more first tournament," Seibert said. "I'm ready for this tournament. I just need to go out, play solid and shoot low."\nMayer also said experience is nothing but a positive for Seibert.\n"I know he can play better than he did last week," Mayer said. "Historically, he is very consistent and he just keeps on impressing."\nIn the midst of this young lineup is the lone upper classman, captain Ben Davidson, who is starting this weekend at the third spot.\n"Ben Davidson is the key to this tournament," Mayer said. "Being the old man out there, he is being looked at by the younger guys as a leader. We just need him to step up."\nHis contributions on and off the course this weekend are essential to the team's success. \nIn the three tournaments this fall, one common trend has been that one bad round knocks the Hoosiers out of contention. The team shot a 307 final round at the Earl Yestingsmeier Invitational at Ball State to fall to 5th place on Sept. 22.\n"Each tournament makes us a better team," Mayer said. "The final round at Ball State made us a tougher team." \nMayer said he was proud of the team's persistence at their last tournament.\n"Last week at the Northern Intercollegiate, the guys could have hung it up and didn't," Mayer said. "They are just too tough of a team"