Weekly Release #2

Upcoming Schedule
Sat-Sun., Sept. 23-24 -- at Mary Fossum Invitational (East Lansing, Mich.)
Fri-Sun., Sept. 29-Oct. 1 -- at Lady Northern (Minneapolis, Minn.)

Next on the Tee
The University of Michigan women's golf team will travel to East Lansing, Mich., to compete in the Mary Fossum Invitational on Saturday and Sunday (Sept. 23-24) at Michigan State's Forest Akers West Course. The course will be set up for a par of 72 and 5,780 yards. The Mary Fossum Invitational features 14 teams from across the Midwest, including seven Big Ten Conference members.

Invitational Teams
There will be 14 teams participating in the Mary Fossum Invitational. The list of participants includes: Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kansas State, Kent, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio, Oregon and Wisconsin.

Invitational Schedule
The Mary Fossum Invitational will consist of 54 holes, 36 of which will be played on Saturday (Sept. 23) followed by 18 on Sunday (Sept. 24).

Scoring Format
Scoring for the Mary Fossum Invitational will be six players, count the low four scores each round.

Last Year's Invitational
Last year, the Wolverines finished 10th out of 18 teams competing at the Mary Fossum Invitational after carding team scores of 321-322-319 for a three-round total of 962. Kim Benedict (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester Adams HS) led the Wolverines as she finished tied for 26th after round scores of 78-83-76 for a tournament total of 237. Cortney Reno (Grosse Ile, Mich./Grosse Ile HS) tied for 37th after rounds of 82-77-83 for a 242 total. Bess Bowers (Bloomington, Ind./Bloomington North HS) tied for 45th after three straight rounds of 81 for a total of 243. Amy Talbot (Plantation, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas HS) finished tied for 55th (87-81-79/247); LeAnna Wicks (Brighton, Mich./Brighton HS) finished tied for 62nd (81-85-84/250) and Trish Watkins (Darien, Conn./Darien HS) finished her opening tournament of the season tied for 80th (81-86-89/256).

The Michigan Lineup
After their success at the Wolverine Invitational, Cortney Reno and Kim Benedict both have secured spots for the travel team heading to the Mary Fossum Invitational. The open four spots will be determined by the week's Tuesday and Wednesday qualifiers.

Wolverines Finish as the Runner-up at Wolverine Invitational
Michigan opened up the 2000-01 season by finishing as the runner-up in its own tournament, the Wolverine Invitational. The Michigan Blue team finished nine strokes behind champion Baylor after the Wolverines fired team rounds of 323-317-320 for a 960 total. The Bears won the title with rounds of 320-315-316 for a 951 total. Arkansas-Little Rock (335-328-318/981) finished third. Michigan's Maize team played consistent golf, firing back-to-back-to-back rounds of 345 for a 1,035 tournament total that was good for eighth place in the 12-team event.

Trying to Get Over the Hump
Including last season's final run, the Wolverines have finished as the tournament runner-up in three of their last five tournaments. The last time the Wolverines raised the team championship trophy was during the 1995-96 season. They accomplished the feat twice, winning the Lady Kat Invitational (Oct. 6-8, 1995) and then the Purdue Invitational (April 13-14, 1996).

Reno Wins First Title for Wolverines in Four Years
Junior Cortney Reno opened the 2000-01 season by taking home the individual medalist honors at the Wolverine Invitational (Sept. 16-17), winning by three strokes after posting scores of 78-75-78 for a 231 total. The title is the first in the career of Reno and marks the first time since 1996 a Wolverine has raised a tournament trophy. Former Michigan star Sharon Park (1996-99) won the last Michigan title at the 1996 Lady Badger Invitational at Wisconsin (Sept. 28-29). Reno's win also makes her the first Wolverine to take home the Wolverine Invitational title since Wendy Bigler won the 1991 tournament. (Note: There was no tournament from 1992-95.)

Picking Up Where She Left Off
Cortney Reno has fired six of her last seven rounds under 80, including five straight. She won the Wolverine Invitational with scores of 78-75-78 and had rounds of 79-81-78-73 at the Big Ten Championships to give her the streak.

Picking Up Where She Left Off, Part Two
Senior Trish Watkins has continued right where she left off a year ago. After leading the Michigan team at the Big Ten Championships, Watkins led the Michigan Maize team at the Wolverine Invitational (Sept. 16-17). She finished the Invite with a career-best ninth-place individual finish after firing descending rounds of 82-81-80 for a 243 total. Her prior best finish was a tie for 14th place as a sophomore in the Mary Fossum Invitational (Sept. 12-13, 1998).

Kruer Makes Collegiate Debut
Freshman Sarah Kruer (La Jolla, Calif./La Jolla Country Day) made her collegiate debut competing on Michigan's Blue Team at the Wolverine Invitational (Sept. 16-17). She finished tied for 19th after carding rounds of 83-86-82 for a 251 total.

The Battle in the Middle Begins
Juniors Bess Bowers, LeAnna Wicks and Misia Lemanski (Grosse Ile, Mich./Grosse Ile HS) wasted no time to begin the battle of the middle of the Michigan squad. Bowers took the early edge, finishing tied for 12th at the Wolverine Invitational after rounds of 81-82-82 for 245 total. Wicks and Lemanski both finished tied for 16th with 247 totals at the Wolverine Invite. Wicks fired rounds of 84-83-80, while Lemanski fired rounds of 83-84-80.

Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423