The women's golf team will travel to the University of Minnesota this weekend to compete in the Big Ten Championships in Minneapolis.

The women last competed April 6-8 at the Bryan Park National Collegiate tournament in Browns Summit, N.C., where they saw competition from high profile women's golf programs such as Duke and Wake Forest, which placed first and second respectively in the tournament.

The Lady Linksters took home 14th place and finished with a 928 total for the weekend. Purdue was the only other Big Ten school to place in the top 20 at the Bryan Park Tournament.

Seniors Kelly Kephart, Jamie McClain and Kelly McKinney, as well as junior Andrea Lavelle, sophomores Katie Futcher and Cynthia Skilton, and freshman Rosemarie Fuster have all been major contributors to the team's success with their standout individual performances this year.

Penn State women's golf coach Denise St. Pierre, currently in her ninth season, is looking to send the women to their third consecutive NCAA East Regional appearance.

The team faired well in two other tournament appearances this spring, placing in the top 10 in both the Spartan Invitational (Salinas, Calif.) and the Lady Seahawk Invitational (Wallace, N.C.).

The Lady Linksters ultimately hope to advance to the NCAA Championships, which will be held May 22-25 in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.

-- by Karen Mitzel