Weekly Release #12
4/29/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Upcoming Schedule
Fri-Sun., May 3-5 -- at Big Ten Conference Championships (Iowa City, Iowa)
Thu-Sat., May 16-18 -- at NCAA Central Regional (Site TBD)
Next on the Tee: Big Ten Conference Championships
The University of Michigan men's golf team will swing into the championship portion of its schedule as the Wolverines head to Iowa City, Iowa, for the 2002 Big Ten Conference Championships, Friday through Sunday (May 3-5). Iowa will host this year's championships at Finkbine Golf Course. The championships will have the course set up for a par of 72 and yardage of 7,002. The 72-hole tournament will consist of 36 holes Friday (May 3, 8 a.m. CDT), 18 on Saturday (May 4, 9 a.m. CDT) and a final 18-hole round on Sunday (May 5, 8 a.m. CDT).
Web Sites: Live Scoring | Championships Site | Iowa Men's Golf | Big Ten Golf
Big Ten Championships Schedule
The Big Ten Championships will consist of 72 holes, with 36 holes Friday (May 3) and then 18 Saturday (May 4) and a final 18 on Sunday (May 5).
| Thursday, May 2 | Practice Round | Tee times throughout the day |
| Friday, May 3 | First Round | 8 a.m. to 9:52 a.m. CDT (tee times) |
| | Second Round | 1 p.m. to 2:52 p.m. CDT (tee times) |
| Saturday, May 4 | Third Round | 9 a.m. to 10:52 a.m. CDT (tee times) |
| Sunday, May 5 | Final Round | 8 a.m. to 9:52 a.m. CDT (tee times) |
Big Ten Conference Championships Scoring
Team scores shall be determined by adding the low four scores of each team for each round. A team shall consist of no more than five players per institution. Ties in a team or individual competition after 72 holes at the championship shall stand.
Big Ten Conference Championships Teams
All 11 Big Ten Conference teams will participate in the championship. The seeding for the championship was determined by each team's final finish from the 2001 Big Ten Conference Championship. First-round pairings will be played in 28 twosomes starting with the No. 5 player going to the No. 1 player in eight-minute intervals. Pairings for the second and final days shall follow the same 28-twosome pattern, but with new team seedings according to team totals to date from the championship.
First-Round Tee Assignments
Group 1 - 8:00 to 8:32 a.m. -- 1st tee
No. 5 Iowa, No. 6 Michigan State
Group 2 - 8:40 to 9:12 a.m. -- 1st tee
No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Minnesota
Group 3 - 9:20 to 9:52 a.m. -- 1st tee
No. 1 Northwestern, No. 2 Purdue
Group 4 - 8:00 to 8:32 a.m. -- 10th tee
No. 9 Penn State, No. 10 Illinois, No. 11 Indiana
Group 5 - 8:40 to 9:12 a.m. -- 10th tee
No. 7 MICHIGAN, No. 8 Wisconsin
The Michigan Lineup: Big Ten Conference Championships
The Wolverines will carry five players for the Michigan squad at the Big Ten Conference Championships. Seniors Andy Matthews (Ada, Mich./Forest Hills Central HS), Andrew Chapman (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc HS) and Kyle Kilcherman (Traverse City, Mich./Central HS) head up the list for the Maize and Blue. Redshirt sophomore Scott Carlton (Brighton, Mich./Brighton HS) and sophomore David Nichols (Rochester, Mich./Adams HS) round out the championship team.
Last Year at Big Ten's: Wolverines Tie for Seventh
The Wolverines climbed three spots on the final day to finish tied for seventh at the 2001 Big Ten Conference Championships (May 4-6) at Stone Creek Golf Club in Urbana, Ill. The Wolverines used a three-under-par final team round of 285 to help them finish with a 1,168 championship total and tie with Wisconsin (301-287-292-288/1168) in the seventh position. The Wolverines tallied team totals of 296, 293 and 294 during the first two days of the championship. Scott Hayes (1998-2001) led the Wolverines as he used his third best career round (68) in the final round to jump 10 spots into a tie for 22nd (74-76-72-68/290). Andrew Chapman tied for 26th (73-72-75-72/292), Andy Matthews finished just behind as he tied for 28th (74-73-73-73/293), Kyle Kilcherman tied for 37th (75-72-78-72/297) and Chris Kellogg (Traverse City, Mich./Central HS) finished 52nd (79-86-74-74/313).
Last Year Big Ten Conference Championships Wrapup
Northwestern made it three straight team titles as the Wildcats ran away with the 2001 title. The Wildcats (289-280-284-275) finished with a 20-under championship total of 1,132, which was 13 strokes better than runner-up Purdue (286-283-285-291/1145). Ohio State (289-297-284-291/1151) finished third. Northwestern's Luke Donald (70-65-73-71/279) made it back-to-back individual medalist honors as he won by two strokes over Ohio State's Mike Austin (74-69-66-72/281). Iowa's Bo Anderson (71-69-71-71/282) was third.
Final Team Standings
1. Northwestern 289-280-284-279 = 1132 (-20) 2. Purdue 286-283-285-291 = 1145 3. Ohio State 289-287-284-291 = 1151 4. Minnesota 291-291-286-284 = 1152 5. Iowa 300-292-284-277 = 1153 6. Michigan State 285-294-292-290 = 1161 7. MICHIGAN 296-293-294-285 = 1168 Wisconsin 301-287-292-288 = 1168 9. Penn State 293-291-289-296 = 1169 10. Illinois 294-291-294-294 = 1173 11. Indiana 302-304-305-294 = 1205
Top Individuals
1. Luke Donald, Northwestern 70-65-73-71 = 279 (-9) 2. Mike Austin, Ohio State 74-69-66-72 = 281 3. Bo Anderson, Iowa 71-69-71-71 = 282 4. Tom Johnson, Northwestern 76-69-68-71 = 284 Chris Thayer, Northwestern 72-74-71-67 = 284 6. Steve Wheatcroft, Indiana 71-69-77-68 = 285 Simon Nash, Minnesota 72-74-68-71 = 285 8. Todd Anderson, Wisconsin 75-69-71-71 = 286 Scott Harrington, Northwestern 71-72-73-70 = 286 Ryan Miller, Purdue 69-69-76-72 = 286
Last Time on the Links: Wolverines Finish 10th at Fossum
With overcast and high wind weather conditions, the Wolverines persevered through the poor weather to move up one position paced by a final team round of 297 and finished 11th (307-312-297/916) at the Bruce Fossum/TaylorMade Invitational (April 27-28), hosted by Michigan State at Forest Akers West Course in East Lansing, Mich. Andy Matthews led the Wolverines with his tie for 18th (72-77-76/225). David Nichols tied for 40th (79-76-75/230), Scott Carlton tied for 54th (80-81-73/234), Kyle Kilcherman tied for 62nd (85-78-73/236) and Andrew Chapman tied for 76th (76-85-85/246). Toledo took home both the team trophy (286-295-295/876) and the individual medalist honor as the Rockets' David Jones won by one stroke (73-74-69/216). Illinois finished second (293-298-294/885) as a team with host Michigan State coming in third (309-289-292/890). Illinois' Garrett Chaussard was the medalist runner-up (72-73-72/217).
Scoring Race Still Red Hot
Six players are within two strokes of each other for the Wolverine scoring average lead. Andy Matthews took over the lead after the final regular-season tournament with a 74.38 scoring average. Andrew Chapman is behind Matthews at 74.57. David Nichols is close behind the "Andys" at 74.70. Rob Tighe (Traverse City, Mich./West HS) at 75.40, Scott Carlton (75.65), and Kyle Kilcherman (76.48) are all neck and neck behind the Wolverine leaders.
Leave It to The "Andys"
Andy Matthews has not shot a round above 79 all season. In his 26 rounds this season, he has averaged a team-leading 74.38 strokes per round. Matthews has a season low of 67 in the final round of the Badger Invitational (Sept. 8-9). The other "Andy," Andrew Chapman has had only three rounds this season above 79. He is second on the team with a 74.57 per round average. Chapman had a season-low 67 in the second round of the Johnny Owens Invitational (March 29-30).
Chappie Goes Sub-Par
Andrew Chapman's second-round total of 67 at the Johnny Owens Invitational (March 29-30) was a career best. The round was a stroke better than the 68 he carded earlier this year in the first round at the Xavier Invitational (Oct. 8-9). His first-round total of 69 at the Marshall Invitational (April 5-6) was the third time this season and fifth time in his career he has scored below the 70-stroke barrier.
Marathon Man Continues Trek
Andy Matthews has continued to be "Old Reliable" for the Wolverines, adding to his streak of consecutive tournaments played. He now has 46 straight tournaments played for the Maize and Blue. Michael Harris' (1996-2000) holds the school record of 50 consecutive tournaments.
The Rainmaker or is it a Curse
David Nichols has finished as the top Wolverine in two tournaments this season, but those two tournaments have been shortened due to inclement weather. At the Duke Golf Classic (Oct. 14-15), Nichols was leading the Wolverines after the first two rounds (73-75/148), but the Maize and Blue had to withdraw from the tournament after rain delays cut into travel plans. At the Kepler Intercollegiate (April 12-14), Nichols again was the leading Wolverines after the first two rounds (76-71/147), but rainstorms flooded the course and cancelled the final round.
Coach Carras Calls the 2001-02 Season His Last
Head coach Jim Carras has announced the 2001-02 season will be his last as head coach of the Wolverine program. The seventh coach in Michigan men's golf history, Carras has been part of the men's golf program for the past 24 years, 20 as the head coach.
Under Carras' direction, Michigan has four times placed as high as third in the Big Ten Championships (1985, '88, '95, '97). Nine times the Wolverines have finished among the top six conference teams. During the regular season, Carras' teams have won six tournament titles and been in the top three 17 times. In addition to the Big Ten success, Carras has helped guide three teams to NCAA Championship play. The 1994-95 team finished 12th at the NCAA Central Regional Championship and his 1996-97 squad finished eighth at the NCAA Central Regional Championship and advanced to the NCAA Championship, where the Wolverines finished 25th. Three years later, his 1999-2000 squad finished the season tied for 11th at the NCAA Central Regional Championship, just missing the advancing to the championship finals.
In addition to the team successes, Carras has coached nine players to All-Big Ten Conference honors, including three-time winner Michael Harris (1998, '99, 2000) and two-time award winners Dan Roberts (1983, '85) and Kyle Dobbs (1995, '97). Two Michigan players have collected Big Ten Championship medalist awards during Carras' tenure: Dobbs in 1997 and Harris in 1999. Andy Matthews became Michigan's first Big Ten Freshman of the Year award winner following his play in the 1999 conference championship. In addition, U-M golfers have earned 36 Academic All-Big Ten Conference citations under Carras since inception of the award in 1987, and six of Carras' Wolverines have been honored as National Golf Coaches Association All-America Academic Scholars.
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
