Coach Kelly Ovington is confident the Bobcats can contend in this weekend’s Mid-American Conference Tournament.
The Bobcats will be in Lebanon, Ohio this weekend to compete in the Mid-American Conference Tournament, and they’re feeling pretty good about their chances to win the MAC Title.
Coach Kelly Ovington and the Bobcats haven’t finished better than seventh in the MAC tournament in the coach’s seven-year tenure at Ohio, but Ovington is optimistic things will be different Friday.
The MAC Championship is a three-day event, which will be played at the Shaker Run Golf Club and the Greentree Golf Club.
“We try not to have too many expectations,” Ovington said. “I really want everyone to be competitive. We can definitely be competitive in this field. I think we’re prepared to compete and contend in the top three, for sure.”
The Bobcats are coming off some of their best rounds of golf since Ovington joined the program in June of 2008.
At the Falcon Invitational, held at Bowling Green on April 11, the Bobcats finished fifth out of 11 teams that participated in the two-day invite.
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On April 4, the Bobcats finished second of 12 teams at the Lady Colonel Classic— one of Ohio’s best finishes at a tournament this spring.
The 18-holes played each day at the MAC Tournament are broken up into two separate courses that have different types of layouts. Nine holes will be played at the Shaker Run Golf Club, and the other nine will be played at Greentree Golf Club — also in Lebanon. Preparing for the course can be relatively challenge for the Bobcats, as they have to examine two different course types.
The Bobcats have only played the courses once before, but Ovington said that might not be such a bad thing, as the obscurity will force the girls to focus more intensely on each shot.
Ovington said traversing the courses is going to be about shot placement and focus on one shot at a time.
The Shaker Run course has some significant trees and water involved on some holes, but Ovington said it’s good for her squad to tee off on difficult holes because they will be more careful with each shot.
“Fairways are usually a little bit wider and more forgiving, but greens are going to be challenging on the entry,” Ovington said. “It’s a narrow entry into greens surrounded by bunkers. Shaker Run in particular has a couple of tighter ones.”
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Ovington stressed the importance of chipping, putting and shot placement in the Bobcats’ final tournament of the year saying: “If you can chip well and put well, you can put up a good score.”
jw331813@ohio.edu
