If the University of Wisconsin women's golf team expects to contend this season, they will need to receive significant contributions from a number of underclassmen. After losing two of the best players in the program's history in Jackie Obermueller and Lindsay McMillian, the Badgers are entering a new era in UW women's golf.

"Yeah, Lindsay (McMillian) and Jackie (Obermueller), it'll be a loss. They were great leaders for us, led by example, were very committed to what we're doing, and they're going to be missed," UW head coach Todd Oehrlein said. "I mean, players move on, and, you know, coaches will always tell you that you're going to miss those players, but it provides opportunity for new players to step in and show what they can do and show what they're capable of."

The Badgers begin their season on Sunday when they host the Badger Invitational at the University Ridge golf course. The field will consist of four Big Ten schools — Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana and Iowa — in addition to a number of non-conference opponents.

"We're really looking forward to hosting the Badger Invitational this upcoming weekend. It's another strong field. And we feel fortunate, really very fortunate, to be able to play our first event of the season at home," Oehrlein said.

The Badgers, who were unable to practice until the first day of classes, will spend much of the week qualifying and preparing for the upcoming tournament as the coaches will be looking to finalize a roster that currently boasts six freshmen. However, Oehrlein does not seem to be concerned.

"It wouldn't surprise me to see all of the incoming freshmen, the true freshmen [make an immediate impact]. If you look at our roster, it mentions six freshmen. Three of those are red-shirted freshmen that were around last year within the program. They certainly have a leg up just from an experience standpoint, and I could see them early on being a little more comfortable in the situation and maybe have a little more success early on," Oehrlein said. "The incoming freshmen though are very talented. Kelsey Verbeten, Beth Weinstein and Heidi Hinners, all three have had a lot of success, are very comfortable in competitive situations and it would not surprise me at all to actually see all three of them in the lineup at different times throughout the year."

Leading the band of freshmen will be two of the top three scorers from last year's squad. Junior Katie Elliott and sophomore Jeana Dahl have played in every tournament since joining the university and together they will provide leadership and experience to a very young team. Elliot ranked first on the team with a 77.0 scoring average while Dahl completed the '06 campaign with a 78.29 average per 18 holes. Isabel Alvarez and Jill Ries will also be returning with significant tournament experience and Oehrlein expects big things from his nucleus of four.

"The biggest thing … about those four is that I'm very comfortable and very confident with the leadership and the direction that these four will take our program," Oehrlein said. "They lead by example. They're talented players. They're passionate about what they're doing, and they're very committed to this program. So I'm very comfortable and very excited about having these four set an example and lead this team this year."