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Ohio State Looks For Five-Straight Titles This Weekend
April 25, 2006
Complete Release in PDF Format Ohio State enters this weekend's Big Ten Women's Golf Championships at Indiana looking to continue its dynasty. In 2005, the Buckeyes secured their fourth-consecutive conference title in Ann Arbor, marking the first time a team had captured four straight conference championships in league history. In fact, there have only been three occasions in Big Ten men's golf history where a school has successfully won five straight league titles. The Ohio State men captured a handful from 1976-80 and six straight from 1982-87, while Michigan earn five consecutive titles during 1932-36. The No. 22 Buckeyes will face tough competition when they vie for five, as three other Big Ten squads are ranked in the nation by Golfweek/Sagarin. Purdue is seventh nationally, followed by OSU, No. 27 Michigan State and No. 47 Northwestern. All 11 conference teams will compete Friday through Sunday, April 28-30, at the Indiana University Golf Course in Bloomington, Ind. The event will be 72 holes of competition with 36 holes Friday (April 28), 18 holes Saturday (April 29) and a final 18 holes Sunday (April 30). The Indiana University Golf Course will be set up for a par of 72 and 6,477 yards. The Boilermakers pose a threat to the field as they boast the only three golfers ranked in the nation's top 50 in No. 22 Onnarin Sattayabanphot, No. 36 Christina Boeljon and No. 42 Maria Hernandez. Those three golfers also posted the only top 10 finishes in a field of eight conference teams last week at the Lady Buckeye Invitational. Boeljon and Hernandez both tied for seventh overall, while Sattayabanphot shot even-par to finish fourth, earning the final Golfer of the Week honor of the season for her efforts. Four additional conference standouts are found among Golfweek's top 100. Michigan State's Sara Brown is ranked 51st, while Ohio State's Dana Je, who along with Sattayabanphot tied for fourth at last year's Big Ten Championships, is rated 65th. Purdue's Myrte Eikenaar is 67th, while Ohio State's Stephanie Connelly is 80th. One golfer absent from last year's event, but is familiar with the Hoosier layout is Indiana's Shannon Johnson. The New Mexico transfer has been impressive during her senior year in Bloomington, posting two wins and a runner-up finish and shattering the school's 54-hole record with a 211 that won her the UNLV Invite title in March. Her two Golfer of the Week honors ties her with Northwestern's Alice Kim for the most of any Big Ten golfer this season. Indiana last hosted the Big Ten Women's Golf Championships in 1996. That year, IU claimed the title with a 946 (315-318-313), led by Erica Wicoff's 226 In the history of the Big Ten Women's Golf Championships, seven conference squads have captured the league title. Ohio State leads all teams with 11 wins, followed by Indiana (7), Michigan State (2) and Iowa, Minnesota, Purdue and Wisconsin with one title each. Quick Facts Teams Format Schedule Thursday, April 27: Practice Round (8:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.)
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