The Michigan women's golf team has had plenty of time to ponder the fall season and prepare for its final tournament of the fall over the past few weeks.
The Wolverines haven't participated in a competition since the weekend of Oct. 3 when they played at home in the Wolverine Invitational. They don't play again until Oct. 23, when they travel to Bonita Springs, Fla., for the Notre Dame Invitational.
This means that the Wolverines have three full weeks to work on their games both as a team and as individuals, in preparation for their final tournament of the season.
"We have been practicing pressure situations in which (the players) are placed in a game or drill in which they have the pressure to succeed," Teichert said.
The Wolverines have used this time to practice aspects of their game that have been lacking in previous tournaments. For example, Michigan coach Kathy Teichert named the short game as the team's biggest problem.
"Right now we are only making about 32 percent of our up-and-downs," Teichert said. "If we could improve that by about 20 percent, it would mean significant improvements in scoring."
Whenever a team has as long a break between competitions as the Wolverines have had, the tendency is to become lackadaisical and lose that competitive edge. Players become bored with the repetition and constant monotony of practice.
Teichert said she believes that drills and practice matches help the players to feel like they are in competition. For example, in practicing their short game, the Wolverines will practice chipping at the hole from different distances and angles.
"If a player doesn't get a certain percentage of her chips within a specific range of the hole, she has to start all over," Teichert said.
On a team made up mostly of freshmen and sophomores, it has been up to senior Sharon Park to lead the team by example. A week and a half ago in the Wolverine Invitational, Park finished second among individual golfers and led the Wolverines to a fourth-place team finish.
Teichert said that Park has "the best short game and has the most fundamentally sound swing on the team," and the younger players listen to what she has to say. Park was modest about being called a team leader, but said she tries to share her experience and watch the swings of the younger players.
Michigan's hope is that these last few weeks of practice will pay dividends in the Notre Dame Invitational next week. There are seven Big Ten teams scheduled to participate and the Wolverines want to gauge themselves against the conference.
"This is a chance for us to compare ourselves to the Big Ten again and see how we have improved," Teichert said.
The last tournament that Michigan played in with as many conference opponents was a month ago in the Lady Northern Invitational in West Lafayette, Ind.
The Wolverines finished 10th among 11 Big Ten teams in that tournament citing weather and lack of experience as the main reasons for the poor performance.
The characteristic most lacking on this season's team has been experience, and the Wolverines' hope is that the last month has helped them gain the experience necessary to compete with the rest of the conference, Teichert said.
"We have been struggling healthwise," Park said. "These last few weeks off have given us the chance to heal and practice our games."
Park added that she hoped the practice would pay off, and that the team would be able to compete with the rest of the Big Ten in Florida.
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| DANA LINNANE/Daily When she's not lining up putts, Sharon Park is offering sage advice to her fellow Wolverines on the golf course. |
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