To win UIndy’s first national title
Indianapolis placed third March 28 in a 21-team Northern Kentucky Invitational field.
Senior Sarah Prascsak finished in a tie for third individually, with a seven-over 151 at the Perry Park Golf Course.
Defending individual national champion, senior Lyndsay McBride finished in a tie for 17th with a score of 13 over par for the event.
The UIndy women’s golf team finished fourth in the eight-team Ashland University Desert Invitational held at Longbow Golf Course in Mesa, AZ, home of the 2010 NCAA Division II Championship in May.
McBride was the top scorer for the team; she tied for fourth with a two-day score of 153 for her seventh top-five finish in eight events this season. Prascsak finished 17th in the tournament with a 160 two-day score, junior Allison Tyler finished 21st with 162 and sophomore Darin Pinnick finished 25th with a 164.
The Desert Invite was on the same course that the National Championship will be played on this year. Last year, the ‘Hounds finished third as a team at nationals. This year, they are working towards winning conference and a national championship.
“Last year’s third place finish at the nationals lit a fire under this group and they want a championship. Playing at Longbow will give them a lot of confidence when we get there as what to expect with course design and condition,” said Head coach Ken Piepenbrink. “Unlike other sports we do not play on a consistent playing field like baseball, football, basketball; every course we play is designed differently and the only way to play well is to understand the course and develop confidence by playing it. Going to Arizona was a major step forward in being ready for a national championship run.”
Senior Ashley Seaton is excited for the end of the season and the national championship in May, but the feelings she has are conflicted.
“Longbow is an absolutely pristine and perfectly maintained [course]. It is an exciting course to play with the natural desert lining all the fairways. The last few tournaments of the season are becoming bittersweet. It feels like just yesterday I was teeing off at my first collegiate tournament,” Seaton said. “I am staying focused on devoting all I can to practice for the remaining tournaments to ensure I have no regrets and a lot of great memories. Although college golf is ending soon, I honestly feel like it is just the beginning; I have come too far for it to end now.”
The goal for this year has remained the same throughout the season, currently the team is one of the top teams in the country both athletically and academically.
“Our goal is to win conference and a national championship along with being the highest academic team in the country,” Piepenbrink said. “Everything we do all year is to get us prepared to meet those goals. We are definitely one of the top five teams in the country and any of us has a chance to win on a given day,”
Piepenbrink noted how expectations have grown in a positive way.
“I don’t think any of the girls on this team, other than this year’s freshmen, would have ever believed when they came to UIndy that they could be a national contender. Through hard work they have developed games that will take them there again while still maintaining a team GPA that is in the top ten of all universities in the country and not just Division II,” Piepenbrink said. “Whether they win a national championship or not they are winners in every respect as students, people and athletes.”
