The Iowa women’s golf team is gearing up for the upcoming Big Ten championships this weekend in French Lick, Ind.

The 54-hole championship tournament will be held at the Donald Ross Golf Course.

Competition will be stiff; three of the teams in the Big Ten boast top-25 rankings: Purdue is ranked ninth, and Northwestern and Michigan State are ranked 24th and 25th, respectively.

The Black and Gold will send six golfers to the tournament: seniors Kristi Cardwell and Gigi DiGrazia, sophomores Lauren English, Shelby Phillips, and Nicole Rae, and freshman Briana Midkiff. 

The Hawkeyes want to improve over their 10th-place finish at least year’s match, where they carded a 54-hole score of 929 (plus-65).

Cardwell and DiGrazia will try to end their college careers on a high note. Cardwell has been a stalwart on the team all season long, often leading by example with her strong play. Both Cardwell and DiGrazia hope to improve on their performances at last week’s Lady Buckeye Spring Invitational in Columbus, Ohio.

The Hawkeyes will rely on their underclassmen to help pace the team. English carded a three-round score of 238 (plus-22) at the Lady Buckeye last week, which led the team. Rae sank three birdies in the final round to finish  plus-31. Both sophomores hope to carry over this strong play this weekend.   

“We will be ready for the Big Tens. We will definitely need to be decisive at French Lick and commit to our game plan and our shots,” Iowa head coach Megan Menzel said in a release. “Our team will be patient. They have learned a lot this year, and we are due to put three good rounds together. I know if we can minimize our mistakes, we will be competitive.”