Northwestern University Athletics
The 1999-2000 Women's Golf Season In Review
6/1/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
June 1, 2000
EVANSTON, ILL. - The 1999-2000 Northwestern women's golf team enjoyed one its best fall campaigns ever. The 'Cats played in three tournaments, placing third at The Lady Northern and Mary Fossum Invitationals and tying for second in the Shootout at the Legends. As a result, NU climbed as high as No. 14 in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings (its highest ranking ever) before finishing the fall season at No. 22.
As a team, the Wildcats finished the fall with a stroke average of 77.8, playing 54 rounds. They also set a school record, shooting a final-round 289 at The Legends in Franklin, Ind. The three-round team total of 892 also set a new school mark.
The success the 'Cats achieved this fall was due in large part to the play of freshman Elizabeth Burden and junior Christie Hermes. In her first year, Burden never finished below 16th in the three tournaments and took eighth at the Mary Fossum Invitational. The Lake Forest graduate led the team in stroke average with 76.1, with her low round of 73 coming at The Fossum.
Hermes finished right behind Burden in stroke average, at 76.3, and tied her own school record with a low round of 71. The Legends was also Hermes' best finish of the fall, as she tied for fourth shooting 71-77-71=219 which is a school record for a three-round total. She also finished 13th at the Lady Northern and 26th at the Mary Fossum.
Senior Karen England played a key part in the Wildcats' success, as well. She started slowly at the Lady Northern, finishing 28th, but came on strong with finishes of 12th at The Fossum and 11th at The Legends. Like Hermes, England also beat the old school record (224) for a 54-hole tournament, shooting 76-74-73=223. England finished the fall with a stroke average of 76.8 and shot a low round of 73.
Sophomore Emily Gilley and Senior Colleen Kiely were the other golfers who competed in every tournament. Gilley had a stroke average of 77.4 for the fall with a low round 74. Kiely ended the fall with a 77.6 stroke average and shot a 71 to tie Hermes' school record.
At the start of the spring season, the `Cats hosted the Midwest Classic in Dallas, Texas, and finished fifth with Gilley taking runner-up honors. The next week at the GTE "Mo"morial, Gilley took home medalist honors as the `Cats finished third for the fourth time in five tournaments. The next tournament, at the Waterlefe/USF Invitational, NU yet again placed third despite 12th-place finishes by Gilley, Hermes, and England.
After a fourth-place finish at the Indiana Invitational, the `Cats traveled to another Big Ten city as they competed in the Hawkeye Invitational in Iowa City, Iowa. Gilley and Kristen Beystehner led the way as they both finished fourth, putting the Wildcats in third place for the fifth time this year.
The final tournament before the Big Ten Championships found the `Cats in Columbus, Ohio as they fought their way to another third-place finish on Ohio State's Scarlet course. Gilley (t-10), Burden (t-14) and Hermes (t-18) all finished in the top 20 giving NU its sixth third-place finish of the season.
After a sixth-place showing at the Big Ten Championships, NU shot rounds of 299-299-302 for a three-round total of 900 at the 2000 NCAA East Regional which took place at Ohio State's Scarlet course (par-72, 6,126 yards).
The Wildcats finished their first-ever NCAA East Regional appearance in a tie for second place with fellow Big Ten member Purdue, just three strokes behind team champion Duke (300-302-295=897).
Leading the way for NU at the regional was Gilley, who finished with rounds of 76-71-75=222 to put her in a tie for 11th. She was just six strokes behind medalist Lisa Strom of Ohio State (72-74-70=216). Gilley's three-round total of 222 was the second-best total by a Northwestern player in a 54-hole tournament, behind Hermes who shot 219 at the Legends tournament in October. Also, Gilley's second-round 71 matched the best individual round in Wildcat history.
Teammates Burden and Hermes finished with three-round totals of 224 and 225 to put them in fourth and fifth on the school's 54-hole tournament record list. Both golfers finished in the top 20 at 15th and 17th, respectively.
Rounding out the top five for the `Cats was England, who shot rounds of 77-75-77=229 to finish in a tie for 34th, and Beystehner, who fired a three-round total of 235 to finish 70th.
As a result of its finish, the Wildcats automatically qualified for the NCAA National Championship golf tournament, which was contested at the Crosswater Course in Sunriver, Ore., on May 24-27. It marked the first time in Northwestern women's golf history they competed in the national championship event.
At the championships, NU shot rounds of 313-317-306-311=1,247 to place them 24th. Burden led the way for Northwestern tying for 34th with rounds of 79-76-74-74=303. NU's leading golfer this spring, Gilley, finished in a tie for 68th with rounds of 76-82-77-74=309. Beystehner shot rounds of 77-76-78-85=316 for 94th place, while Hermes finished tied for 115th and England finished in 123rd.
As a team, the Wildcats finished the season with a stroke average of 78.48, playing 209 rounds.
