Both the Men's and Women's golf teams have been in action for over a month now but they are just starting to get into the full swing of the season. Both have hit their mid-season swing are looking to compete in the last few weekends of the year. The Women have those two remaining events with the Ohio State Lady Buckeye's Invitational and the Big Ten Championships starting on Friday, April 2. The Men are looking to remain in the hunt for some post season honors as they have the opportunity to play all the way until May 31 if they can qualify past regionals and into the National Championships.
Follow the jump and we'll get into more detail of each team. Who are the big names for each team and what is the chance that both bring home Conference Championships? Make the jump and you'll find out.
Starting with the Women their season has been short to date. Their first event was the last weekend of March but the golf season goes very quickly. Add in a weather shortened event to start the month of April and they have not had much of an opportunity to really prove themselves much in the way of competition. Golf Week's Sagarin rankings currently have them ranked 68th nationally and near the bottom of the pack for the Big Ten (8th).
Head coach, Clint Wallman's Hoosiers still have to try and prove themselves after battling the elements all season and he will be looking for youth to be major producers. There are only 3 upperclassmen on the team (2 seniors and 1 junior). Freshman Lindsey Gahm has been the top finisher for the struggling Hoosiers to date with her most recent accomplishment of finishing 8th at the IU invitational.
Perhaps with another year of growth this extremely young team can grow and become major competitors within the conference in the near future. As of right now Vegas would say that an 8th or 9th place in the conference is most likely. Unfortunately, Purdue will be the likely winner and compete for a national championship as well.
MEN:
The Men's golf team currently has a rosier outlook on the season. Mike Mayer's Hoosiers are looking at a Golf Week/Sagarin ranking of 34th in the nation within a very jumbled pack. That ranking is good enough for 4th in the Big Ten and leaves them within striking distance of a Conference Championship. Illinois (12), Iowa (14) and Ohio State (23) are all within striking distance if our guys can have a hell of a weekend at the end of April.
Some of the golfers that will be looking to fill IU golfing legend and US Ryder Cup Team participant Jeff Overton are Sophomores Michael McGee and Kyle Perry who are both coming off of top 15 individual finishes at the Butler Spring Invitational. In the Big Ten Conference Championships look for the Hoosiers to make a run at the team championship but most likely fall short. The field is jumbled and it is plausible for them to finish anywhere from 1st to 6th. Hopefully we can see them end up higher than lower and land us some points in the Director's Cup in the process.