Feb. 10, 2014
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IOWA CITY, Iowa— The University of Iowa women’s golf team is excited to begin the 2014 spring season. Third-year head coach Megan Menzel is looking forward to having a wealth of experience return, including five golfers that appeared in the fall starting lineup.
“We have some great leadership throughout our whole team,” said Menzel. “We’ve established a solid three with Shelby Phillips, Briana Midkiff, and Jessie Sindlinger. We’ll definitely look for them to be the core.”
Phillips competed in every tournament in the fall, recording a 76.2 stroke average and pacing the Hawkeyes in two events. The junior placed among the top-10 at Fighting Camel Classic and the Chip-N-Club Invitational. Phillips fired a 67 at the Chip-N-Club Invitational to tie Iowa’s all-time best single round performance and establish a new tournament record.
Midkiff, a sophomore from Carmel, Ind., appeared in all five tournaments, finishing the fall season with a 77.5 stroke average. She recorded new career best 18, 36, and 54-hole scores at the Challenge at Onion Creek, firing a 72, 145, and 224, respectively.
In her first season as a Hawkeye, Sindlinger recorded the team’s best stroke average of 75.9. The freshman led the way for Iowa in three-of-five fall competitions, landing among the top-20 at the Dick McGuire Invitational and Challenge at Onion Creek.
“Jessie came in and did a nice job,” said Menzel. “She is really on pace to have a spectacular freshman year. We’re going to continue to try to push her a little bit. After playing a fall season, you get some experience under your belt.”
Iowa has been utilizing the offseason to build on its fall campaign. The Hawkeyes participated in five tournaments, placing fourth in a field of 13 teams at the Chip-N-Club Invitational to record their best finish of the fall.
“We looked at our stats to see where we were strong and where we were weak, and then we’ve been trying to attack our weaknesses,” said Menzel. “We’ve been spending a lot of time on the short game, some swing improvements, and getting physically stronger and in better shape.”
The Hawkeyes are set to travel to five spring tournaments before heading to French Lick, Ind. for the Big Ten Championships in April.
“This year our goal has been to improve our ranking and to put ourselves in a position to get into postseason play,” said Menzel. “We’re trying to take it tournament by tournament, especially going into the spring season, that’s what we have to do.”
Iowa kicks off the spring season at the Westbrook Invitational in Peoria, Ariz., on Feb. 23-24. The 54-hole tournament will be hosted by the University of Wisconsin.