March 5, 2009
EVANSTON, Ill. -- After nearly a month-long hiatus, Northwestern returns to the links in Rio Verde, Ariz., competing in the seventh-annual Duramed Collegiate Invitational. The Wildcats are coming off a strong final day performance at the Lady Puerto Rico back in February, notching their fifth top-10 finish of the season.
Originally known as the East/West Rio Verde Invitational, the 54-hole tournament begins Friday, March 6, and runs through Sunday, March 8, with 18 holes being played each day. The Rio Verde Country Club serves as the host course, with a par-71, 6,260 yard layout. Competition gets underway at 2 p.m. Central time Friday, with 10 a.m. tee times on both Saturday and Sunday.
The 20 teams taking part mark the largest field the Wildcats have seen this season, including Big Ten opponents Minnesota and Wisconsin. Arkansas Little-Rock is the highest ranked team competing this weekend, boasting a No. 53 Golfweek/Sagarin ranking, with Kansas (No. 80), Eastern Michigan (No. 83) and Illinois State (No. 90) all cracking the top-100. Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Bradley, Cincinnati, Kansas State, Missouri State, Northern Arizona, Ohio, Southern Illinois, Toedo, Western Michigan and Xavier round out the field.
Northwestern finished 14th at the 2008 Collegiate, lead by senior Jennifer Hong's (Windermere, Fla./The First Academy) 12-over 228. Sophomore Rebecca Lederhausen (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central) placed third on the Wildcat scorecard with a 15-over 231.
Live scoring of three rounds of the Collegiate will be available at Golfstat.com.