Michigan
Wolverine Invitational
U-M Climbs Two Spots to Finish Ninth in Own Tourney
10/6/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich.
Course: U-M Golf Course (par 71, 6,687 yards)
Tournament: Wolverine Invitational (Day 2 of 2)
U-M Finish: 9th Place of 17 Teams (297-292-292/881)
Top U-M Individual: Rob Tighe, tie-12th (76-70-71/217)
Next U-M Event: Mon-Tue., Oct. 14-15 -- at Xavier Invitational (Cincinnati, Ohio)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's golf team used its second straight team tally of 292 Sunday (Oct. 6) to improve two positions and finish ninth at the Wolverine Invitational at the U-M Golf Course. The Wolverines fired rounds of 297 and 292 to sit in 11th after Saturday's 36 holes. With junior/sophomore Rob Tighe's (Traverse City, Mich./West HS) even-par 71 pacing the Wolverines in the final round, the Maize and Blue tied their season-best 54-hole score at 881.
Tighe
Paired together in the final round, Michigan State and Xavier made the battle for the tournament title go back and forth all round long, but it would not produce a winner as they tied for the team title and were declared co-champions. The Spartans (290-279-292) and the Musketeers (282-288-291) finished with nine-over-par 861 totals. Miami (Ohio) was third at 866 (294-279-293).
The battle for top individual honors also ended in a tie, forcing a playoff between Miami's Ryan Swelin and St. John's Andrew Svoboda. Playing the par-4 18th hole until a winner was decided, they both parred the first time through. The second time Svoboda was on the green in two, while Swelin went in a greenside trap, then bladed his ball over the green, but sank the long bogey putt from about 14 feet to put a little pressure on Svoboda. Svoboda pushed his birdie putt past about three and a half feet but then sank the par putt for the win.
As for Michigan, Tighe led the Wolverines by tying for 12th with round scores of 76, a career-best one-under 70 and an even-par 71 for a career-best 217 total. Junior Dave Nichols (Mesa, Ariz./Rochester Adams HS, Mich.) tied a 54-hole tournament career best with his 218 tally after a career-best two-under 69 in the first round followed by rounds of 74 and 75.
Redshirt freshman Mark McIntosh (Gaylord, Mich./Gaylord HS) tied for 31st after opening with a 74 before shooting a career-best one-under 70 in the second round. He closed out with a 78 for a 222 tournament total. Senior/junior Scott Carlton (Brighton, Mich./Brighton HS) rebounded from swing troubles during the first day to tie for 65th after a one-over 72 in the final round for a 229 total (79-78-72). Freshman Christian Vozza (Traverse City, Mich./Grand Rapids Baptist HS) tied for 70th at 230 (78-78-74).
Playing as individuals senior/junior Chris Kellogg (Traverse City, Mich./Central HS) tied for 54th with a 227 total (77-71-79) that included a career-best, even-par 71 in the second round. Redshirt freshman Jimmy Wisinski (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Northern HS) tied for 61st with a career-best 228 total (81-78-69) after charging back in the final round with a career-best, two-under 69. Other scores includes: freshman Blake Burman (Miami, Fla./Palmetto HS), tied for 73rd (82-72-77/231); freshman Bruce Svechota-Kingsbury (Ann Arbor, Mich./Greenhills School), 89th (74-85-85/244); and freshman Brandon Duff (Goodrich, Mich./Flint Powers Catholic HS), 90th (80-74-91/245).
The Wolverines will have just over a week before their next tournament action at the Xavier Invitational on Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 14-15. The 54-hole tournament will be held at the Kings Island Resort in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Final Team Standings
1. Michigan State# 290-279-292 = 861 (+9)
Xavier# 282-288-291 = 861
3. Miami (Ohio) 294-279-293 = 866
4. Indiana 296-287-290 = 873
5. St. John's 294-289-293 = 876
6. Wisconsin 294-292-291 = 877
Iowa 297-290-290 = 877
8. Ball State 293-295-292 = 880
9. MICHIGAN 297-292-292 = 881
10. Eastern Michigan 297-283-306 = 886
11. William & Mary 299-289-304 = 892
12. IUPUI 289-302-302 = 893
13. UNC-Greensboro 297-303-296 = 896
14. Eastern Kentucky 308-295-299 = 902
15. Ohio Wesleyan 304-294-310 = 908
16. Seton Hall 298-308-303 = 909
17. Ohio 305-310-295 = 910
# declared co-champions
Top Individuals
1. Andrew Svoboda, St John's** 73-66-70 = 209 (-4)
2. Ryan Swelin, Miami (Ohio) 72-68-69 = 209
3. Kenny Cook, Ball State 68-73-69 = 210
John Koskinen, MSU 71-68-71 = 210
5. Jeff Overton, Indiana 72-70-71 = 213
6. Miles Maillet, Xavier 69-69-76 = 214
Aaron Krueger, Iowa 73-67-74 = 214
8. Matt Makinson, Xavier 72-73-70 = 215
Brad Pemberton, EMU 74-68-73 = 215
10. Gary Barton, William & Mary 70-71-75 = 216
Scott Seibert, Indiana 72-72-72 = 216
** won medalist honor on second playoff hole
Michigan Individual Finishes
T12. Rob Tighe 76-70-71 = 217 (+4) T17. Dave Nichols 69-74-75 = 218 T31. Mark McIntosh 74-70-78 = 222 T65. Scott Carlton 79-78-72 = 229 T70. Christian Vozza 78-78-74 = 230 T54. Chris Kellogg* 77-71-79 = 227 T61. Jimmy Wisinski* 81-78-69 = 228 T73. Blake Burman* 82-72-77 = 231 89. Bruce Svechota-Kingsbury* 74-85-85 = 244 90. Brandon Duff* 80-74-91 = 245
* played as individuals
QUOTES
Head Coach Andrew Sapp
On Michigan's top-10 finish ... "There are some things to look at as positives with a few guys shooting their career-low rounds. We had a few guys shoot in the 60s and a couple of 70s, so that's a positive sign for the future. It's a matter of getting rid of those 78s and 75s having to count as the fourth score, because those are scores that will keep you from shooting the even-par team scores. So again, we're still working on consistency; it was a little better than last week. We're just hoping that next week we'll keep improving."
On gaining experience with each tournament ... "It's one of those things where you have to grow; this is a step in the right direction. It's nice to see some people put good numbers on the board, and for different people to do it, not just the same people. That shows that we have the talent there to have three or four guys to play well; it's just getting them to play consistently and getting them to do it together. We need to get clicking on at least four cylinders, if not all five, at one time."
Junior Dave Nichols
On the Wolverine Invitational ... "I didn't think I was playing that well in the first round. I was playing solid, but nothing spectacular, just a lot of pars and not making any mistakes. Second and third rounds were pretty shaky. I had a few stretches of good holes and a few stretches of shaky holes. All in all, it wasn't too bad."
On the team's consistency ... "It all comes from experience, and we're so young. It's better to be up and down than to be bad all the time. We're showing good signs. Hopefully we'll peak at the right time in the spring."
Junior/Sophomore Rob Tighe
On the Wolverine Invitational ... "I think I played pretty solid overall. In the first round, I struggled quite a bit and didn't play nearly as well as I wanted to, but I was pleased with the last two rounds."
On Michigan's consistency ... "I think it just takes time. This is still only our third tournament this year, and hopefully we'll start getting four solid scores in there. You can't rush things. The guys have shown that everyone can play well. We just need to play solid day in and out to get the lower scores."
NOTES
• Junior Dave Nichols' first-round, two-under 69 is his career-best single-round score. His previous best tally was 70 fired last week in the first round at the Northern Intercollegiate (Sept. 28-29) and in the first round of the Kepler Intercollegiate (April 14-15, 2001). Nichols' 218 total tied his career-best 54-hole total with the 218 he tallied at the Xavier Invitational (Oct. 8-9, 2001).
• Junior/sophomore Rob Tighe's second-round score of one-under 70 set a new career best. It topped the 72 he fired in the final round of the Northern Intercollegiate (Sept. 28-29) a week ago. In addition, his 217 54-hole total at the Wolverine Invitational was also a career best, topping the 223 he had at the Ridges (Sept. 28-29).
• Redshirt freshman Mark McIntosh's second-round score of one-under 70 tied a career best, matching the final-round 70 he had at the Northern Intercollegiate (Sept. 28-29) a week ago.
• Senior/junior Chris Kellogg's second-round score of even-par 71 set a new career best. It topped the back-to-back 73s he fired first in the first and second rounds of the 2001 Bruce Fossum Invitational (April 28-29, 2001).
• Redshirt freshman Jimmy Wisinski's final-round score of two-under-par 69 set a new career best. His previous best was 78 in the second round of the Wolverine Invitational and in the second round of the Ridges (Sept. 14-15).
• For the second straight tournament the Wolverines finished with a season-best 881 54-hole team total. At the Wolverine Invitational the Maize and Blue tallied rounds of 297-292-292, while last week at the Northern Intercollegiate (Sept. 28-29) the Maize and Blue tallied rounds of 291-292-298.
Players Mentioned
