On home course, 'M' can finish only fourth

In their home tournament, playing in front of fans, friends and family, nothing would have been more fitting for the Michigan women's golf team than walking away with a trophy at the end of the day.

Poetic justice was not on their side yesterday.

"Not coming away with any hardware at your home tournament puts a damper on things," said coach Kathy Teichert.

Michigan's Blue team finished fourth, shooting 650 over 36 holes. As the host team, Michigan was allowed to play as many golfers as they wanted to in groups of six, and formed the Maize squad who tied for ninth, shooting 676.

"It gives everyone an opportunity to see how they do under pressure,"said Teichert. "I'm just trying to see who can get us the lowest scores."

MARJORIE MARSHALL/Daily Amy Talbot and the Michigan women's golf team played hosts this weekend.

Kent State and Ohio University tied with 640 at the end of the two rounds.

Ohio won the ensuing playoff. Southwest Missouri State finished third with 647.

Had some of the Maize players been on the top squad rather than the Blue members with higher scores, Michigan would have come in third, but Teichert said she has no regrets about how she set up the teams.

Only Heather Fueger of Ohio was able to shoot on par for one round with a 73 on the first day. The already tough course was made even harder to play by unfavorable weather conditions. On Saturday, the temperature was cool, and on Sunday it was drizzling through the morning.

"This tournament allows other schools to see how tough our course is," Teichert said. "You're not seeing a lot of low scores out there."

The Wolverines hoped that their familiarity with the quirks of the course would give them an edge over their opponents. The old adage "knowing is half the battle" haunted the Wolverines today as several players struggled with their strokes.

"If you know what to do but can't do it, it really doesn't do you any good," said sophomore Stephanie MacAdams of the Maize team, who shot a 163 to tie for 16th.

Sophomore Bess Bowers, who played for the Blue team, tied for 10th on the individual leader board shooting a 161. Despite finishing the day with a 79, the best round for any Wolverine this weekend, Bowers was still disappointed by her score. She thought she should have done better on the 18th hole today.

"I hit it in the water," Bowers said. "I haven't done that on Michigan's 18th hole since last year. I know how to play that hole."

Upset over her performance on the previous hole, Bowers made up for the mistake with a birdie on the first green.

Two other Wolverines finished inside the top 20. The Blue team's sophomore LeAnna Wicks ended one stroke behind Bowers to tie for 13th. Blue team member freshman Kim Benedict's 83 today dropped her back to tie for 16th after her 80 on Saturday had her tied at sixth.

With Michigan's first three tournaments behind them, Teichert is still struggling to find a lineup that satisfies her. Teichert has confidence in Bowers, Benedict and Wicks. She said she feels sophomore Cortney Reno is starting to come around, who tied for 23rd with 165 playing for the Blue team.

10-11-99