Northwestern University Athletics
Season Recap: 'Cats Close Out Year on the Upswing
6/28/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
June 28, 2011
Women's Golf Record Book (through 2010-11 season) 
EVANSTON, Ill. -- After making its second straight NCAA regional appearance in May, Northwestern's women's golf fortunes continue to head in the right direction. The Wildcats will return their top three golfers next season, giving NU a solid chance to chase an unprecedented third consecutive NCAA showing.
In total, five individual and team program records were broken during the 2010-11 season. Sophomore standout Lauren Weaver (Scottsdale, Ariz./Cactus Shadows), who set an NU single-season record with a 74.49 stroke average, was named a first-team All-Big Ten selection, and Emily Fletcher was tabbed as the Big Ten's Co-Coach of the Year. Fletcher became the first Wildcat women's golf coach to earn such recognition. Six Wildcats were named Academic All-Big Ten honorees, the most under Fletcher at Northwestern.
Right off the bat, NU looked solid in fall competition with a third-place finish in the Wolverine Invitational, the season's first event. Freshman Devon Brown (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif./Cathedral Catholic) opened her career with a 1-over 73 in the tournament's first round on her way to a third-place finish, which led all NU golfers.
Weaver also used the Wolverine Invitational as a jumping-off point for the season. She finished in a seventh-place tie and second on the team; her finish would begin a streak of 11 consecutive top-two finishes on the NU card.
A week after finishing sixth in its annual Windy City Collegiate Classic, Northwestern played host to the Lady Northern Invitational, the fall precursor to the Big Ten Championships. Weaver hit her stride early in the tournament, setting a program record with her 6-under 66 round, which included seven birdies and just one bogey.
Weaver set yet another program record (54-hole score) in the Lady Northern with her 8-under 208, leading the way for Northwestern to grab a second-place finish, the club's best season finish. The `Cats fired a season-best three sub-300 rounds during the tournament, and their first- and third-round 289's were tied for fourth-best in program history.
NU opened its spring with two top-six finishes at the Lady Puerto Rico and the Central District Invitational. The team's 54-hole team score of 893 at the Central District was good enough for ninth all-time in NU program history. After a month off, NU slipped to a 13th-place finish in the Bryan National Collegiate, which featured 13 top-50 teams. Senior Kelsey Lindenschmidt (West Chester, Ohio/Ursuline Academy) was a bright spot in the tournament, leading the Wildcat scorecard with her 16-over 232.
The Wildcats' strong spring continued with three consecutive top-five finishes starting with the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate. Senior Rebecca Lederhausen (Hinsdale, Ill./Central) notched her season's best outing at the Pacific Coast event. Fueled by a 2-over 74 in the first round and a 1-over 73 in the third round, Lederhausen finished among the top-25 golfers for a second time with her 12-over 228. The following week, Weaver and junior Alex Lederhausen (Hinsdale, Ill./Central) each came away with top-10 finishes in the Lady Buckeye Invitational, a field chock-full of Big Ten opponents who would all meet just one week later at the Big Ten Championships.
As hosts of the 2011 Big Ten Championships, Northwestern lived up to internal expectations. In total, the Wildcats shot six rounds of par or better during the course of the tournament. Both Alex Lederhausen and Weaver shot rounds of 68 and 69, respectively, the third- and fourth-best performances in school history. Weaver's second-place finish (2-over 290), Alex Lederhausen's third-place finish (4-over 292) and Brown's eighth-place finish (9-over 297) marked the first time all season that three `Cats carded top-10 finishes.
As a team, Northwestern notched a third-place showing, setting more program records along the way. With its 72-hole tournament score of 1,187, NU smashed the old mark -- set in 2010 -- by 19 strokes. Before 2010, the previous best was 1,212, a full 25 strokes higher. The team's final round score of 286 also broke a program record for lowest round, a mark that stood for over six years. In that final round, all six Wildcats participating in the tournament shot sub-80, and four shot par or better.
Northwestern concluded its season at the NCAA Central Regional Championships for the second year in a row. Their 10th-place finish was the best postseason finish for a Wildcat team since 2006, and is tied for second-best in program history.
Looking ahead to the 2011-12 season, the Wildcats return four of the top six performers from this year. Weaver, with her program-best 74.49 scoring average, earned seven top-10 finishes and two top-20 finishes. Alex Lederhausen was second on the team with her 75.86 average, competing in all 12 events. Freshman Devon Brown also competed in all 12 events for NU, notching a 76.95 scoring average and two top-10 finishes.
Anne Ormson (Granger, Ind./St. Joseph's) came through for the Wildcats in five events, shooting an average of 78.63, and Kylie Fuller (Temecula, Calif./Chaparral) participated in the Lady Buckeye Invitational and averaged an 83.67 after three rounds.
Optimism and experience will likely be the driving force behind Northwestern for the 2011-12 season. Fletcher's `Cats will be able to build on this season's solid performances to attempt to keep the momentum heading into the fall. With the ultimate goal of making it to the NCAA Championships up in the air, Fletcher knows that there is still work to be done, but with this returning cast, the program is heading in the right direction.
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