Michigan
Wolverine Invitational
Women's Golf Team Finishes Fourth in Own Tournament
10/4/1998 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich.
Course: University of Michigan Golf Course (par 73, 5962 yards)
Tournament: Wolverine Invitational
U-M Team Finish: 4th place of 13 teams (330-329/659)
Top U-M Individual: Sharon Park, 2nd (76-80/156)
Next Event: Fri-Sat., Oct. 23-24 -- at Notre Dame Invitational (Bonita Springs, Fla.)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's golf team posted its best team and individual finish of the year and Michigan State won its third tournament this season at the Wolverine Invitational, held at the par-73 University of Michigan Golf Course. The 13-team event was reduced from 54 holes to 36 after rain canceled Saturday's second round.
Michigan State won the two-day event by 26 strokes with a 626 total, and Spartan sophomore Kasey Gant led the field from start to finish with a pair of 1-over 74's for a 2-over 148 total. Big Ten Conference teams rounded out the leader board with Purdue finishing second (652), followed by Northwestern (655) and the host Wolverines (659).
U-M senior captain Sharon Park (Lexington, Ky./Henry Clay HS) carded rounds of 76 and 80 for a 10-over-par 156 total and placed second among 89 competitors, her best finish of the season. MSU's Emily Bastel, Purdue's Angela Blythe and Cincinnati's Shelley Jonda tied for third place at 158.
Teaming with Park in the Michigan lineup were four freshmen and one sophomore. Freshman Misia Lemanski (Grosse Ile, Mich./Grosse Ile HS) was steady with rounds of 83-82 to tie for 15th at 165, while freshman LeAnna Wicks (Brighton, Mich./Brighton HS) tied for 24th at 169. Sophomore Jennifer Baumann (Okemos, Mich./Okemos HS) tied for 33rd at 173, while freshman Bess Bowers (Bloomington, Ind./North HS) finished two strokes behind at 175 and tied for 45th. Freshman Cortney Reno (Grosse Ile, Mich./Grosse Ile HS) made her varsity debut and tied for 72nd at 185.
Stephanie Bezilla (Grandville, Mich./Grandville HS), Tera Hamo (Flint, Mich./Powers Catholic HS), Lindsay Mammel (Denver, Colo./Kent Denver HS) and Trish Watkins (Darien, Conn./Darien HS) all competed as individuals for the Wolverines, with Bezilla's 87-86/173 and tie for 33rd leading the group.
Michigan's next tournament is Oct. 23-24 at the Notre Dame Invitational in Bonita Springs, Fla.
Team Results
1. Michigan State 626 2. Purdue 652 3. Northwestern 655 4. MICHIGAN 659 5. Cincinnati 663 6. Eastern Michigan 676 7. Kent State 679 8. Toledo 681 9. Ohio 682 10. Notre Dame 687 11. Bowling Green State 699 12. Xavier 740 13. Western Michigan 863
Top Individuals
1. Kasey Gant, Michigan State 74-74 = 148
2. Sharon Park, U-M 76-80 = 156
3. Emily Bastel, Michigan State 80-78 = 158
Shelley Jonda, Cincinnati 79-79 = 158
Angela Blythe, Purdue 78-80 = 158
Other Michigan Individuals
T15. Misia Lemanski 83-82 = 165 T24. LeAnna Wicks 87-82 = 169 T33. Jennifer Baumann 88-85 = 173 T45. Bess Bowers 84-91 = 175 T72. Cortney Reno 90-95 = 185 T33. Stephanie Bezilla 87-86 = 173* T62. Trish Watkins 86-94 = 180* T64. Lindsay Mammel 91-90 = 181* T70. Tera Hamo 87-97 = 184*
* played as an individual
QUOTES
Michigan Coach Kathy Teichert
"We did well in terms of placing, but in terms of scoring, rounds of 330 and 329 are not that great. Michigan State had a great tournament and has an outstanding team. However, I was pleased to see how close our scores were to the other two Big Ten teams, Purdue and Northwestern. We have a very young team overall and I feel we are closing the gap.
"I was very happy to see Sharon Park place second. Her round of 76 on Saturday was a great score considering the poor playing conditions. She didn't hit the ball as well today (Sunday) but had good control and did a great job of getting up and down the course. I was also encouraged by the consistent play of Misia Lemanski. There were a lot of positives we can take from this and as I've said before, we have some very capable players on this team, and we just need to keep improving to the point where we can hopefully put it all together and get at least four good scores on a given weekend.
Players Mentioned
