Hoosiers optimistic going into first NCAA Championship in over a decade

In 1996, current IU assistant coach Josh Brewer competed for the Hoosiers in the NCAA Golf Championships. Brewer said his team that year was just happy to be there, when they finished in last place out of 30 teams. \n“Its common knowledge,” said Brewer about how his team finished. “These guys give me a hard time about it, so I said your challenge is to finish better than 30th.” \nThe IU men’s golf team looked to meet that challenge as they began play in the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships Wednesday in West Lafayette, Ind. The team comes in with the No. 15 seed in a field of 30. The setting for what the team hopes will be four days of solid play on the greens is Purdue’s Kampen Course at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex.\nThe Hoosiers are quite familiar with that course, having played there just more than a month ago in the Boilermaker Invitational, finishing third. In addition to the team placing well, junior Jorge Campillo tied the course record and shot the second-lowest one-round total in school history with a 9-under 63 in the opening round of the tournament. \nFellow junior Seth Brandon said the team is focused on getting out there and competing with the best golfers in the nation. \n“I think we’re ready to play,” he said. “It’s a really tough golf course, but one that we know well.”\nIU coach Mike Mayer acknowledged the course won’t be easy and is set up much harder than the last time the team played it. \n“The golf course is set up as tough as I’ve ever seen it set up,” he said. \nMayer cited the long course length at 7,431 yards, wind and thick rough as reasons the course will be difficult.\nThe Hoosiers qualified for the NCAA tournament with a 10th place finish at the Central Regional nearly two weeks ago. \nDespite narrowly making the tournament field, Brandon said the team definitely belongs with the elite programs in the nation. \n“Just because we didn’t play as well as we should have seeding-wise in our own minds doesn’t mean we don’t belong here,” Brandon said. “This is the top 30 teams in the country, and we have been ranked inside of that margin the whole year.”\nMayer said he felt it is irrelevant where the team finished in the regional and that now his group has the chance for a fresh start. \n“It’s been said that the regional is the hardest part of this championship,” Mayer said. “You get out and now you start over again.” \nIn preparation for the tournament, the coaching staff brought in another IU coach, Bill Lynch, to talk to the team.\nLynch, who coached the football team to their first bowl game in 13 years, emphasized the importance of getting over the giddiness of ending such a long drought. He also said that every team starts at the beginning of the tournament. In essence, as Brewer added, all teams will be tied for first when play begins. \nThe last time the Hoosiers competed in the national tournament, Mayer was an assistant coach. Now, as the head coach, he said the team competing this week – sophomore Alex Martin, juniors Campillo, Brandon, Drew Allenspach and senior Santiago Quirarte – is very talented. \nThere is no question in my mind this is the best team I’ve coached in my 10 years as head coach here at Indiana,” he said. “I think its one of the better teams we’ve had in this program for a long long time.”\nBrewer said that even though the team is happy just being at nationals, they are playing to win at the home course of rival Purdue.\n“Why not celebrate on enemy territory come Saturday afternoon,” he said.