Tradition held at the Lady Badger Invitational golf tournament this weekend, as the Gophers won the event for the seventh time in the 15-year history of the event.
Minnesota finished ahead of six Big Ten teams and 19 strokes better than runner-up Purdue. Indiana and Ohio State, the conference’s top two teams last year, were not part of the 10-team field.
The Gophers also got an impressive performance in the individual competition as well. Senior Carolyn Klecker finished in a tie for second place thanks to a Sunday final round of one-over-par 73, which was the lowest round in the tournament. Klecker, who shot an 80 on Friday and a 79 on Saturday, finished four strokes behind Sharon Park of Michigan.
Minnesota heads to DeKalb, Ill., this weekend for the Huskie Classic.
Men’s golf
The Gophers finished in a third-place tie over the weekend at the Missouri Bluffs Invitational in St. Charles, Mo.
North Carolina won the tournament by three strokes over Tulsa. Minnesota and Wake Forest were 13 shots off the pace.
Gophers senior captain Mark Halverson recovered from an opening-round 76 to fire consecutive rounds of 67 and 68 to climb into a tie for third place. Martin Le Mesurier, a freshman from South Hampton, England, was the Gophers’ next-best finisher at 19th.
This weekend Minnesota looks to defend its 1995 title in the Wolverine Invitational in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Men’s tennis
Gophers senior Ben Gabler passed up a chance to compete last weekend at the National Clay Courts tournament in Baltimore.
As the No. 1 player in Region IV (comprised of schools from the Midwest), Gabler had an automatic berth in the tournament. But coach David Geatz said Gabler would have missed classes on Thursday, Friday and Monday — too much this early in the year.
Gabler, as well as sophomore Tom Chicoine, will be in action this weekend in Tempe, Ariz., at the Arizona State Invitational.
Hockey practice begins
The Gophers hockey team held its first official practice of the 1996-97 season Monday.
Minnesota, which lost to Michigan in the NCAA West Regional last season, begins play Oct. 12 this season in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game against Boston University.
The Gophers begin WCHA play at home against Colorado College on Oct. 18-19.