April 11, 2003

EVANSTON, Ill. -- With the Big Ten Championships less than three weeks away, Northwestern's women's golf team will attempt to raise its level of play a notch or two in the next 10 days.

Before playing in the Lady Buckeye Invitational next weekend, the Wildcats participate in the 13-team Lady Boilermaker Invitational this Saturday and Sunday (April 12-13). The field includes teams that are all ranked in the nation's top 100, led by 10th-ranked Tennessee.

Northwestern, which is 53rd in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin index, is paced by senior Elizabeth Burden (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest), who owns a team-best 76.70 stroke average.

"We've been working hard the past couple weeks to shore up our game," said head coach Chris Regenberg. "The next two tournaments should get us ready for the Big Ten Championships."

The University of Iowa is hosting the league championship April 25-27.

In addition to the Wildcats and host Boilermakers, Big Ten schools Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State and Wisconsin are entered in this weekend's tournament.