Weekly Release #7

Upcoming Schedule
Sat-Sun., March 17-18 -- at El Diablo Intercollegiate (Citrus Springs, Fla.)
Sat-Sun., March 24-25 -- at Dr Pepper Intercollegiate (Pottsboro, Texas)

Next on the Tee
The University of Michigan men's golf team continues its spring season by heading south for the second time in the spring to participate in the El Diablo Intercollegiate, Saturday and Sunday (March 17-18) at El Diablo Golf Club in Citrus Springs, Fla. The 24-team field will feature 14 District IV teams battling for positioning in the district race. The course will be set up for a par of 72 and 7,045 yards for the 54-hole tournament.

Intercollegiate Teams
The El Diablo Intercollegiate features 24 teams and the list of participants includes: No. 50 and defending champion Baylor, Cincinnati, Elon College, Eastern Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa State, James Madison, Kentucky, Louisville, Marshall, Miami (Ohio), No. 52 Michigan, Nebraska, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, No. 59 Penn State, Rhode Island, Rice, No. 41 Toledo, West Florida, Wichita State, Wisconsin and Xavier.

Intercollegiate Schedule
The El Diablo Intercollegiate will consist of 54 holes, 36 holes played Saturday (March 17) and concluding with a final 18 on Sunday (March 18).

Friday, March 16	Practice Round	Tee times throughout the day
Saturday, March 17	First Round	Shotgun start at 7:30 a.m.
	Second Round	Shotgun start at 1 p.m.
Sunday, March 18	Third Round	Tee times starting at 7 a.m.

Scoring Format
Scoring for the El Diablo Intercollegiate will be five players, count the low four scores each round.

The Michigan Lineup
The Wolverines will carry five players for the Michigan squad at the El Diablo Intercollegiate. Fifth-year senior Scott Hayes (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester HS), junior Andy Matthews (Ada, Mich./Forest Hills Central HS) and junior Andrew Chapman (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc HS) head up the top three for the squad. Redshirt junior Kyle Kilcherman (Traverse City, Mich./Central HS) and redshirt freshman Scott Carlton (Brighton, Mich./Brighton HS) round out the squad.

Medalist Chapman Leads U-M to Wolverine South Title
Andrew Chapman tied the Hunter Golf Course record with a 69 in the second round on the way to earning his first career individual title at the Wolverine South Invitational (March 3-4) in Savannah, Ga. His two-round score of 141 helped the Wolverines capture the team championship in the rain-shortened tournament. The Wolverines shot a season-low, four-under 284 in the second round to move ahead of the pack in their first tournament of the 2001 spring season.

In addition to Chapman's record-tying score, Andy Matthews shot a one-under 71 in the second round to finish third with 143 total strokes. Also adding to the team score for the Wolverines were Scott Hayes, Scott Carlton and Kyle Kilcherman, who all finished tied for 15th after shooting 150 tournament totals. Competing as individuals, David Nichols (Rochester, Mich./Adams HS) tied for 24th (76-76/152), Chris Kellogg (Traverse City, Mich./Central HS) finished 69th (82-81/163), Kevin Hinton (Port Huron, Mich./Northern HS) tied for 76th (88-82/170) and Brian Seipke (Suttons Bay, Mich./Traverse City HS) tied for 79th (86-88/174).

Chapman Gets First Title
With the win at the Wolverine South Invitational (March 3-4), junior Andrew Chapman won the first individual medalist honors of his Michigan career. His previous best tournament was a fourth-place finish at the 2000 Wolverine South (March 4-5, 2000) and a tie for fourth at the Marshall Invitational (April 9-10, 2000). In addition, Chapman's final round of 69 was a career best and marked the first time he has broken the 70-stroke barrier in his Michigan career. He has shot 70 four times as a Wolverine. For the season he is third on the team with a 74.76 stroke average.

Matthews Heats Up
Junior Andy Matthew's third-place individual finish at the Wolverine South Invitational (March 3-4) was a career best. His previous best finish was a tie for seventh at the Xavier Invitational (Oct. 11-12, 1999). So far this season, Matthews has been among the top three Wolverine in each tournament and he led Michigan at the Northern Intercollegiate (Sept. 30-Oct. 1). He is second on the team with a 74.29 stroke average.

Make That Two New Champions
Andrew Chapman became the second Wolverine this season to win his first career individual title. Fifth-year senior Scott Hayes claimed his first medalist honors at the Inverness Intercollegiate (Sept. 18-19, 2000). Interestingly, the titles came in the first tournament of the fall and spring seasons -- Chapman's title opened the spring season while Hayes' title opened the fall season. Hayes leads the Wolverines with a 72.88 stroke average while Chapman is third at 74.76, which is nearly a stroke better than his career best average.

Moving Up the Polls
Michigan moved up in the national polls and is ranked 52nd in the country according to the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings (March 12) to help give the Big Ten nine teams in the top 100. No. 22 Northwestern is the highest ranked Big Ten program, with Minnesota resting at No. 24. Other ranked Big Ten teams include: No. 59 Penn State, No. 60 Ohio State, No. 64 Purdue, No. 69 Wisconsin, No. 87 Iowa and No. 99 Michigan State. No. 105 Indiana and No. 120 Illinois are the only Big Ten teams not in the top 100. There are 280 Division I golf programs that are ranked.

More Rankings
Scott Hayes led the Wolverines all fall and is currently ranked 95 in the nation according to the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings (March 12) with a 71.98 rating. Hayes is the highest ranked Wolverine of the 2,270 golfers nationally. Andy Matthews is the next closest to Hayes at No. 224 (73.11) and Andrew Chapman is at No. 284 (73.48). Georgia Tech's Bryce Molder in the No. 1 golfer in the country with a 67.56 rating.

Keeping Down the Scores
Michigan has finished in the top four in four of its last five tournaments and kicked off the spring season by winning the Wolverine South Invitational (March 3-4), while shooting a season-best 284 team round in the second round. The Wolverines are holding a team average of 296.58 and have had only four of their 17 rounds above the 300-stroke barrier.

The Best To Date

284 (-4)	Wolverine South Invitational (second round)
285 (+1)	Xavier Invitational (first round)
289 (+5)	Wolverine North Invitational (first round)
291 (+7)	The Nelson (third round)
293 (+9)	Wolverine North Invitational (third round)
294 (+6)	Northern Intercollegiate (second round)
297 (+9)	Wolverine South Invitational (first round)
297 (+13)	Xavier Invitational (third round)
297 (+13)	The Nelson (first round)
298 (+14)	Inverness Intercollegiate (second round)
298 (+10)	Northern Intercollegiate (third round)
298 (+14)	Xavier Invitational (second round)