The Ohio State women’s golf team will do something Tuesday that it has done every year since 1997: participate in the NCAA National Championship.
The Buckeyes will take on the best in the nation in Sunriver, Ore., Tuesday through Friday.
The No.8 Buckeyes moved up two spots in the polls this week after winning the East Regional tournament where they out shot 20 other schools and won with a final tally of 856.
“It was a tremendous confidence booster for the team, we won the tournament and beat the number one team in the country.” Coach Therese Hession said. “For us it’s a confidence booster heading into Oregon because it always feels good to win the regional tournament and beat the number one team in the country.”
This is the second East Regional tournament that the Buckeyes have won, previously winning in 1997, and this time they proved they could compete with anyone after beating No.1 Duke by six strokes, Hession said.
“I think the team has added confidence after beating Duke because everyone pretty much agrees that Duke is the best team,” Hession said. “We played in the final round together and I think that has to make the ladies feel pretty good about their effort defeating the number one team in the country.”
Although the Buckeyes have only moved up two spots in the polls after back-to-back victories, they are not paying attention to their rankings, senior Lindsay Knowlton said.
“We are getting respect and besides the rankings don’t really mean anything at all,” Knowlton said. “And this way there isn’t much pressure on us there, and the only pressure we do have is the pressure we put on ourselves.”
The win at the regional tournament boosted the team’s confidence and the team is poised for a championship run, senior Kristen White said.
“We definitely have winning more in the forefront of our mind, and I definitely think that each of us believe now that we can win nationals,” White said. “After coming off two straight victories I don’t know how we can’t be confident.”
The Buckeyes posted a school record 856 at this weekend’s tournament along with a season-low 280 (even par) in the second round, and the Buckeyes had four golfers finish in the top 20.
White and Sophomore Dana Je tied for seventh-place with a three-round total of 214, Knowlton finished tied for 10th after firing a 217, freshman Carling Coffing shot a 221 and tied for 19th and junior Jennifer Selfinger finished in a tie for 47th with a 228.
“Actually by scoring average this is the best team we ever had at Ohio State. We are decimal points ahead of last year’s scoring average now,” Hession said. “So right now I would say scorewise they are the best. This is a talented group and we are anxious to finish strong in the last tournament.”
Heading into this weekend the Buckeyes are very relaxed and just trying to prepare for next week, White said.
“We will have a very relaxed and carefree mentality heading into nationals because that is when we play our best golf,” White said. “Just having a good time laughing and being relaxed because we have nothing to lose, and we are certainly going to be the underdog so it will be easier on us because the pressure is off and that is to our advantage.”
The Buckeyes have already played on Meadows Golf Course, the course where the NCAA tournament will be held this year.
“We played there in the fall, which is really helpful because we will have the image in our minds and we will know what we are going through,” Knowlton said. “The practice rounds will help us picture where we want to put all our shots and get used to the speed of the greens.”
Hession said that playing the Meadows Golf Course in the fall helped because the Buckeyes have mapped out the course and scenarios they may be facing.
“Today I went through my notes on the course from our four rounds there in the fall, and we did things that are specifically related to that golf course,” she said. “We are also trying to half play and half practice to stay in the playing mode.”
Regardless of the preparation, rankings, and teams they will be facing, the Buckeyes have made it this far and know they are the only ones who could stop them now White said.
“There are a lot of things that could technically stop us from winning nationals, but in our mind the only thing that could stop us from winning the nationals is ourselves,” she said. “After two solid victories we are anxious to go out and compete and hopefully bring home our first national title.”
