Women's golf crunches for 'finals'

Finals time means crunch time. For the Michigan women's golf team, finals have a double meaning. The Wolverines will be finishing their season the weekend of May 1 with a trip to the Big Ten Tournament.

Due to final exams, Michigan has not been competing much as of late. And yet, the time off is not necessarily a bad thing.

"As far as competition, more time off can be a disadvantage," Michigan coach Kathy Teichert said. "Since it is so close to finals, it could be more detrimental to be competing, because golf is so mental. When you're thinking about your five finals and the three papers you have due, it can be tough. From that standpoint, the time off is fine."

In terms of practice, the Wolverines' schedule has pretty much remained the same. The only change has been the time of practice. As long as the time does not conflict with anybody's finals, Michigan has been practicing early in the morning, in order to simulate competition conditions, Teichert said.

The Wolverines played on Sunday, and they will play three more times this week.

"We've been working a lot on our short games," Teichert said. "We've been focusing on being more target-oriented, and we're getting better."

In looking at the season as a whole, Teichert commented on freshman Jennifer Bauman's continued improvement throughout the season. Bauman's average score for the season is at 86.07, with her lowest round an 81.

"She redshirted last year, so she didn't play at all," Teichert said. "Her scores have gotten lower and lower, and she has given more contribution to the team."

The biggest contributor for the Wolverines has been Sharon Park. Her lowest round this year has been a 73, but she leads Michigan with the lowest stroke average of 78.

"She was selected All-Big Ten last year," Teichert said. "In order for her to repeat, she is going to need to perform well at the Big Ten Tournament."

But, the Wolverines' success at the conference tournament is going to depend on more than just the play of Bauman and Park. They will also be relying on Nicole Green, Laura Hess, Amy Talbot and Trish Watkins to come through as top competitors.

"We're hoping to finish in the top seven teams," Teichert said. "We're hoping for that to be a realistic expectation and a realistic goal. We need everyone to be on top of their games and to be prepared mentally. When the chips are down, we need to realize that there are a lot of holes left. We need everyone to give everything they've got."

04-21-98