June 23, 2008

2007-08 Women's Golf Final Results/Statistics

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Heading into the 2007-08 season, the goal of the Northwestern women's golf team was to establish itself as one of the top teams in the Big Ten and be in a position to make a strong run toward the NCAA tournament at the end of the season. The `Cats roster boasted a mix of experienced upperclassmen and promising freshmen that NU hoped would be the right combination to produce a memorable season.

But before the first Wildcat even stepped up to the opening tee, it was apparent that this would be a season unlike any other in Evanston. Chris Regenberg, the only head coach the women's golf program had ever known in its 16 years, announced days before the opening tournament that she would step down at the end of the year.

Despite the surprise announcement, Northwestern began the fall portion of its 2007-08 season on a high note, posting a fifth-place finish at the Lady Northern Invitational at University Park, Pa., September 22-23 - the first of seven top-10 finishes for the `Cats. Junior Jennifer Hong (Windermere, Fla./The First Academy) put together what would be her best outing of the year, shooting a three-over 219 to finish in a fourth-place tie. Freshman Kelsey Lindenschmidt (West Chester, Ohio/Ursuline Academy) also made a strong statement, shooting a 13-over 229 to finish in a tie for 18th-place to crack the top-20 in her collegiate debut.

Up next was a trip to the south as Northwestern looked to defend its 2007 Lady Paladin Invitational title October 19-21 in Greenville, S.C. Hong again was the top Wildcat performer, shooting a 14-over 230 to finish in a tie for 17th-place while helping NU place ninth. Senior Katie Trachok (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) came on strong in the final two rounds, as scores of 73 and 77 helped her to an 18-over 234, finishing tied with freshman Rebecca Lederhausen (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central) for 34th overall.

NU remained in the south the following weekend, placing 14th overall in the extremely competitive Ann Rhoads Intercollegiate in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Oct. 26-28. Hong again was at the top of the Wildcat leader board, but this time she had company as both she and Lindenschmidt finished in a tie for 41st-place with a 17-over 230. Both women came on strong in the tournament's final round, as Hong's 73 on the final 18 holes was one shot better than Lindenschmidt's season-best 74.

After starting off the fall season on a good note at the Lady Northern, NU capped off the fall portion of its schedule on a fantastic note at the Challenge at Wolfdancer in San Marcos, Texas, Nov. 4-5. Four Wildcats finished in the top-20, including a pair in the top-10 as Northwestern captured the team title at Wolfdancer, its first team tournament victory since capturing the Red Rocks Invitational in March. Trachok shot a season-best 227 (11-over) en route to a sixth-place tie, the first top-10 finish of her career. Lederhausen also cracked the top-10 for the first time of her Wildcat career, finished a stroke behind Trachok for eighth-place. Hong and Lindenschmidt recorded top-20 finishes for the `Cats, placing 11th (13-over 229) and 16th (17-over 233) respectively.

Following a three-month hiatus, the Wildcats returned to the links to embark on the spring portion of their schedule at the Central District Invitational, Feb. 18-19, in Parrish, Fla. Despite a 13th-place finish for Northwestern, Lederhausen ensured it was a memorable weekend, becoming just the third player in the program's history to sink a hole-in-one, doing so on the par-3, 164-yard fifth hole in the final round. Her ace helped her to finish first among NU golfers as Lederhausen posted her second-straight top-20 performance with a 13-over 229 to finish in a tie for 18th-place.

The Wildcats looked to get back on track in the Lone Star state two weeks later, traveling to Bryan, Texas, to compete in the Texas A&M "Mo" Morial March 7-9. After the first round was rained out, NU came on strong over the final two days and earned a sixth-place finish over another extremely competitive field. Lindenschmidt was the top Wildcat finisher for the first time in her career and posted her third career top-20 finish with a 23-over 239, good enough to place in a tie for 14th-place. Hong just missed cracking the top-20 as well, shooting a 28-over 244 to finish 23rd.

Heading into the Mountain View Collegiate in Tucson, Ariz., the Wildcats were looking forward to a good showing to help make a push toward qualifying for the postseason. After all, the `Cats had finished in the top three in the tournament each of the past three seasons, including capturing the team title in 2005. But the weekend didn't pan out the way NU had envisioned as the Wildcats stumbled to a 14th-place finish. Hong again returned to the top of the Northwestern scorecard after shooting an even-par 72 in the second round, but it wasn't enough as she finished out of the top-20 with a 12-over 228, one stroke better than Trachok.

Northwestern looked to regroup the following weekend at the Indiana Invitational in Carmel, Ind., April 7-8. It was the first opportunity the `Cats had to see a majority of the other Big Ten teams in the same tournament, putting together a respectable ninth-place finish. Once again, it was Hong that led the Wildcats, matching her 12-over 228 performance from the week before to just miss cracking the top-20. She led a balanced NU attack at the Indiana Invitational, as all five golfers finished within seven strokes of each other.

The final tune-up before the Big Ten Championships found NU in Columbus, Ohio, competing in the Lady Buckeye Invitational April 19-20. It was the type of result the Wildcats were hoping for, finishing fourth and providing a huge boost of momentum and confidence. A trio of `Cats were among the top-20 finishers, including Trachok shooting a 13-over 229 to place 10th, the second top-10 finish of her career. Hong finished a stroke behind her teammate to place 11th, while senior Brittany Johnston (Akron, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) continued to play her best golf of the year, finishing in a tie for 20th-place with a 19-over 235.

After two consecutive tournaments going head-to-head against their Big Ten foes, Northwestern came into the Big Ten Championships in University Park, Pa., confident it could put together one of its top performances of the season and make one final push for a selection to the NCAA tournament. The early rounds of the championship found the freshmen coming up big for the `Cats, as Lindenschmidt and Lederhausen met each other stroke-for-stroke to keep NU in the hunt through the first two rounds. Hong and Johnston then made a push over the final two rounds as the Wildcats clawed their way to a seventh-place finish. Lindenschmidt found herself at the top of the NU scorecard for the second time, shooting a 20-over 308 - one stroke better than Hong. Johnston posted her third-straight third-place Wildcat finish with a 22-over 310.

Despite seven top-10 team finishes on the year, including three finishes among the top-five, Northwestern's hopes for an invitation to the NCAA tournament were not meant to be. Still, it remained a solid season for the Wildcats as they began to turn their eyes toward the future. Junior Jennifer Hong led the team in scoring average at 76.81, which ties Emily Gilley's 1999-2000 season as the 10th-best single-season scoring average in the program's history. She posted the sixth top-10 finish of her career and set a new personal best with three top-20 finishes.

Seniors Katie Trachok and Brittany Johnston continued to be constants in the lineup for the Wildcats just as they had done every year. Trachok finished second in the team in scoring average (78.29) while finishing among the top three `Cats on the scorecard in seven of the team's 10 tournaments. Her two top-10 finishes on the season was a career high while also shooting a personal-best 69 at the Challenge at Wolfdancer. Johnston came on strong at the end of the season for NU, finishing among the Wildcats' top three in each of the final three tournaments. Her top-20 finish at the Lady Buckeye Invitational was the fourth of her career and closed her Northwestern career with a career scoring average of 78.48, seventh-best all-time.

Freshmen Kelsey Lindenschmidt and Rebecca Lederhausen made immediate impacts in their freshman campaigns, competing in all 10 events and provided a great dose of optimism for the future of the program. Lindenschmit finished third in scoring average (78.45) and her three top-20 finishes was tied for the most on the team with Hong. Lederhausen was right on the heels of Lindenschmidt with a 78.90 scoring average, and had the third-best performance of any Wildcat on the season (eighth place finish at the Challenge at Wolfdancer).

As the 2007-08 season wound down, Northwestern eased into the next phase of the women's golf program, hiring Emily Fletcher as the second head coach on May 13. Fletcher, who has over 20 years experience as a coach and mentor, spent nine seasons as an instructor on the LPGA tour and helped professional Jenny Lidback to 20 top-10 finishes on the tour, including capturing the 1995 DuMaurier Classic, one of the LPGA's four majors. She also served as the assistant tournament director for the Wachovia Betsy King Classic from 1996 through 2004, serving in a variety of different roles. Fletcher's efforts with the championship earned a selection to work with Betsy King, a three-time LPGA Player of the Year and member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, at the 2009 Solheim Cup in Sweden.

"I am especially impressed with her background and relationships in professional golf," said NU director of golf and men's head coach Pat Goss. "Our goal is to attract women who want to pursue golf with the goal of playing professionally. Emily has a strong belief in what Northwestern University and our golf programs stand for. I have no doubt she will lead us toward our goal of being the top team in the Big Ten and a consistently top-20 program."