By Liana B. Baker The Daily Northwestern
Northwestern's eighth place finish this weekend at the Big Ten tournament in Columbus, Ohio, has left players and coaches wondering when their team will break through to contention this season.
"I don't understand why we're playing like this," senior Chris Wilson said. "No one has an answer and we have to figure this out."
NU might not have to figure anything out if it does not receive a bid for the NCAA regional championships. But both coach Pat Goss and assistant coach Steve Bailey sounded confident NU would receive one of the bids when they are announced Monday. NU's finishes ahead of other Big Ten teams in past tournaments will make them likely to qualify, they said.
The eighth-place finish out of a field of 11 certainly will not help the team's postseason hopes. Goss said he was "beyond disappointed" but pointed to other tournaments this season where the team has struggled, like the Windon Memorial Classic, the Puerto Rico Classic and the Seminole Intercollegiate.
"I'm embarrassed by the way we finished," Goss said.
Wilson led the Cats on the scoreboard with his 14th-place finish, shooting an 18-over 302 (74-75-76-77). As a Big Ten medalist last year, he said he expected more from the weekend.
"I brought my 'C' golf game," Wilson said. "I have to work on getting my 'bad' game a few strokes lower, to 73-74, instead of 76-77."
The other top-20 finisher for NU was senior David Merkow, who placed 17th with a 19-over 303 (73-75-76-79). Junior Dan Doyle cracked the top 30, finishing 27th with a 23-over 307 (75-75-79-78). Junior Kyle Moore, who battled a neck injury last week, and freshman Jonathan Bowers tied in 44th place with 30-over 314's. Minnesota and Michigan State were co-champions of the tournament.
Wilson said the par-71 Scarlet course did not give up birdies easily. There were difficult pin locations and the course seemed to exploit each NU golfer's weaknesses, he said.
NU got off to a solid start at the tournament. The team finished the first 36 holes Friday in fourth place. Goss described the next round of NU's play as mediocre and the final round of the 72-hole tournament as uncompetitive.
The coaches gave players three days rest to catch up on school work and recover from the weekend. The team will return to the golf course Thursday, anticipating they will play in the NCAA regional championships in two weeks.
"Hopefully they will be energized and we'll get ready for the next step," Bailey said. "Our ultimate goal is still to qualify in the regionals for the NCAA's and be playing on that final day for a national championship."
While Bailey's goals may sound lofty in light of NU's recent play, Wilson emphasized the unpredictability of golf. He pointed to the University of California as an example. The Golden Bears played inconsistently during their regular season in 2004 but then rallied to win the NCAA championship.
"Good golf can leave you the fastest, but you never know when your game is going to switch back on again," Wilson said. "Sure we were depressed on the plane ride home, but as soon as we got home, we had a fresh mindset."
Reach Liana B. Baker at l-balinsky-baker@northwestern.edu.
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