Hoosiers finish tied for 4th at Johnie Imes Invitational

In the Johnie Imes Invitational in Columbia Miss., the Indiana women’s golf team finished in a tie for fourth place with Florida International. The Hoosiers have now finished in the top ten in all three of their events this year.

“I think, given the circumstances of the girls not feeling well, we got the most out of what we had to work with,” IU Coach Clint Wallman said. “We got out of there without hurting ourselves and still turned in a respectable performance.”

After shooting a total score of 301 during the first round, IU improved in rounds two and three, posting scores of 295 and 297, respectively.

“We definitely have to get off to better starts,” Wallman said. “It’s definitely something we need to address. But, all the same, we get off to slow starts but still finished really strong. We proved that we won’t shoot ourselves out of any tournament.”

Led by cumulative scores of 219 (73-71-75) by senior Rosie Davies and 221 (75-72-74) by freshman Marissa DeCola, the Hoosiers showcased the depth on their team. Four IU golfers finished inside the top 50.

“Rosie is one of those players that I call my thoroughbred,” Wallman said. “She’s posted strong numbers all year, and she still isn’t firing on all cylinders. As for Marissa, she is a really smart player and the fact that she is playing so well as a freshman shows the maturity of her game.”

Davies finished in a tie for eighth place overall in her first major tournament of the year, while Decola tied for 13th place.

Graduate student Kristen Schelling had the best Hoosier score on the final round with a 73 to give her a share of 36th place and a total of 228 in the two-day tournament. Senior Kate Coons finished with a 231 to place her in a tie for 47th.

Sophomore Elizabeth Tong, the top Hoosier finisher in her past two tournaments, rounded out Indiana’s team with a cumulative total of 238 (82-81-75). Her final round bumped her up 20 spots in the individual rankings to a tie for 66th.

“She was a bit sick this week, and she had a tough day yesterday,” Wallman said. “But the mark of a good player is the ability to rebound, and she was there for us today. It’s easy to let the third round go by after two bad ones and she didn’t do that.”

Junior Sophie Hayashi competed as an individual and finished tied for 83rd with a total of 245 (77-86-82).

The team’s next appearance will be in the Hoosier Fall Invitational Oct. 13-14 in Florence, Ind. Though the event is not in Bloomington, Indiana will sponsor the tournament.

“We’ve played that course a few times before, and I purposely scheduled that tournament after Missouri because the courses are so similar,” Wallman said. “We have eight or nine days to tweak a few things but I think the short turnaround will be a good thing.”