Sept. 9, 2011
The Dale McNamara Invitational
Dates: Monday Sept. 12 - Wednesday, Sept. 14
Course: Patriot Golf Club Owasso, Okla.
Length: 6,450 yards (par 72)
Field (15 teams): Northwestern, Arizona St., Arkansas-Little Rock, Arkansas St., UCF, Iowa St., Kansas, Kansas St., Longwood, Middle Tennessee St., Missouri, Oklahoma St., Oral Roberts, Southern Mississippi, Tulsa
Live Scoring: Golfstat.com
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern will take to the links on Monday for the first time this fall, teeing off the 2011-12 season in Owasso, Okla., for the Dale McNamara Invitational, hosted by the University of Tulsa. Not wasting any time, NU jumps right in to stiff competition, facing eight clubs that finished in the top-75 a year ago.
"We're looking forward to this week," said head coach Emily Fletcher. "I think it's a good opportunity for us to go out and get a win. That's one of the things we have in our sites this season. This field gives us a good opportunity to hop in there and maybe get our first win under my and coach Beth Miller's tenure."
Though Northwestern saw three seniors graduate after the 2010-11 year, the majority of Fletcher's Wildcats return for another year, with the addition of three highly touted freshmen who are looking to make an immediate impact.
"Brittany Mai and Hana Lee will both be in the lineup this week down in Tulsa," Fletcher said. "Both of them come here with tons of tournament experience. They both had good summers, so they're stepping in full stride right away. The environment here at Northwestern is new to them, but tournament play is not."
Lee, Mai and fellow classmate Katie Wooliver will join NU's solid returning core of sophomore Devon Brown, junior Lauren Weaver and senior Alex Lederhausen as they aim for their third-straight appearance in the NCAA Central Regional Championships come May.
"We've got a very strong returning cast, and we're super excited about it. I expect them to be ready to go. (Lauren, Alex and Devon) will be our top players leading our squad right out of the box."
They will begin their season Monday against a tough field which includes Arizona State, Arkansas-Little Rock, Arkansas State, Central Florida, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Longwood, Middle Tennessee State, Missouri, Oklahoma State, Southern Mississippi, Oral Roberts and the host club, Tulsa.
"Arizona State is always a powerhouse in women's golf, and they're in the field," Fletcher said. "Iowa State was a much improved team last year, and they ended up in the top-20. Oklahoma State is there, and they've had a very strong program as well. I would like to see us have a good opportunity to get our first win, and certainly post a top-3 finish."
The field will tee off at 8 a.m. all three days from the first and 10th tees at Patriot Golf Course in Owasso, Okla. Live scoring of the event will be available at Golfstat.com. Updates after each day can be found here at NUsports.com.
Other Notes
Recently, Emily Fletcher sat down with NUsports to discuss the upcoming season's goals and supporting cast.
On team goals for the season
"(We're looking for) team titles and some individual titles along the way. Legitimately, I think our kids believe we have a chance to win a Big Ten Championship come spring, which is a long time from now, but certainly we've already talked about that. Taking care of business and reaching NCAA Regionals is first, but ultimately our goal is to make it to Nationals down in Nashville, Tenn., in May and post a top-15 finish there. We're pretty clear on what we have our eyes on for the upcoming year, and now we're just going to get caught up in the daily process of getting better and improving, and hopefully that process will take care of itself."
On the supporting cast this year
"Our third freshman, Katie Wooliver, is a very strong addition to our team. She's not going to travel on this first trip to Tulsa, but we have big things in store for Katie. I know she's going to be a player who contributes to our program. (Senior) Kylie Fuller has fought some injuries, and she's injured again now, but we expect some contributions from Kylie and from Anne Ormson as well. We are really pleased with the depth that we're starting to develop and we're elevating our play across the board."
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