'M' women's golf struggles in Florida

For the Daily

When the Michigan women's golf team competed in the River Wilderness Invitational in Sarasota, Fla., at least the Wolverines could say it was warm.

"We're looking forward to practicing outside now that the weather permits," Michigan coach Kathy Teichert said. Judging from the Wolverines' poor showings on Monday and Tuesday, they're in need of a little practice.

The Wolverines placed 13th out of 15 teams in the invitational. Five of those teams were from the Big Ten, including the eventual winner of the tournament, Indiana (307-305-297 - 909).

Michigan's top placer was Shannon Park, who tied for 38th place (82-78-81 - 241). Park was a distant 20 strokes behind the top finisher, Michelle Hatfield of Indiana (76-74-71 - 221). Michigan senior captain Nicole Green finished second among Wolverines, tying for 49th place overall (83-83-80 - 247).

"We didn't play as well as we would like to have played," Teichert said. "Our mental aspect of the game was not there.

"We expected to place better after four meets."

Michigan's squad is young, but with a lot of potential, hopes to compete in the Big Ten this year. The Wolverines must overcome a few bumps in the road if they hope to find success - the first of those being the Indiana Invitational, to be held April 4-5 in Bloomington.

"We are looking forward to our next invitational," Teichert said.

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