Michigan
Big Ten Championships
Wolverines Take Sixth Place at Big Ten Championships
4/27/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Led by an even-par 73 final round from junior Sarah Kruer (La Jolla, Calif./La Jolla Country Day), the University of Michigan women's golf team tallied a fourth-round team total of 310 today (Sunday, April 27) and finished sixth at the Big Ten Conference Championships at Finkbine Golf Course. The Maize and Blue finished with a 1,235 72-hole team total after tallying team rounds of 313 and 307 Friday, a tournament-best 305 Saturday and a final 310 Sunday.
Kruer birdied holes 11, 12 and 14 in her even-par round.
Sophomore Laura Olin (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie HS) led the entire way for the Wolverines during the weekend's conference championships as she tied for 11th with a career-best 72-hole conference tournament total of 303. Olin opened the tournament by firing back-to-back even-par rounds of 73, which put her in second after the first day. With a two-over 75 in the third round, Olin still remained in the top three battling for medalist honors, but a final-round 82 dropped Olin out of contention and into a tie for the 11th spot overall.
Senior Kim Benedict (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester Adams HS) and freshman Amy Schmucker (Cold Spring, Minn./Rocori HS) shared the 20th overall spot as they both tallied 308 72-hole tournament totals. Benedict carded an 81 in the first round but started to find her swing in the second as she had a 78. The third round proved to be the key round for Benedict as she fired a two-under 71 to bring her back into the top 20 overall as she was 19th after 54 holes. With a final-round 78 she dropped a single spot for her first top-20 finish at the conference championships.
In her first conference championships, Schmucker opened with a solid 77 in the first round and tied her career best with a one-over 74 in the second round to put her in the top 10 overall. She followed with a 78 in the third round after some missed putts haunted her on the back nine but still was in the top 15 after 54 holes. She closed with a 79 in the third round to drop into a tie for the 20th spot with teammate Benedict.
Kruer used an even-par 73 final round to vault her into a tie for 50th with a 323 72-hole tournament total after rounds of 85, 82, 83 and 73. Junior/sophomore Courtney Goebel (Huntington Beach, Calif./Marina HS) was 55th with a 328 total (82-84-81-81) and fifth-year senior Stephanie Stasik (Lubbock, Texas/Coronado HS) tied for 56th with a 329 total (83-85-81-80).
Ohio State claimed the lead after the first day and never relinquished it as the Buckeyes took home the 2003 team title with a 1,194 72-hole team total (302-303-295-294), 29 strokes better than runner-up Wisconsin (309-311-296-307/1223). Northwestern (319-314-297-300/1230) was third. Indiana's Karen Dennison (70-75-72-77) could not fend off Ohio State's Allison Hanna (70-78-73-73) in the final round as they both were named co-medalists with 294 totals. Wisconsin's Malinda Johnson (76-72-72-76) was third at 296.
The Wolverines will now have to wait to see if they will receive their third straight NCAA Regional bid when NCAA selections are announced Monday (April 28). The 2003 regional sites (May 8-10) are: Central -- Lincoln, Neb.; East -- Winston-Salem, N.C.; West -- Tempe, Ariz. The 2003 NCAA Championships (May 20-23) will be in West Lafayette, Ind., at the Kampen Course at Purdue's Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex.
Team Standings
1. Ohio State 302-303-295-294 = 1194 2. Wisconsin 309-311-296-307 = 1223 3. Northwestern 319-314-297-300 = 1230 4. Purdue 312-317-305-298 = 1232 5. Michigan State 307-318-299-310 = 1234 6. MICHIGAN 313-307-305-310 = 1235 7. Illinois 309-315-300-312 = 1236 8. Indiana 311-309-302-315 = 1237 9. Minnesota 317-310-306-305 = 1238 10. Iowa 323-310-301-305 = 1239 11. Penn State 312-309-308-312 = 1241
Top Individuals
1. Karen Dennison, Indiana* 70-75-72-77 = 294
Allison Hanna, Ohio State* 70-78-73-73 = 294
3. Malinda Johnson, Wisconsin 76-72-72-76 = 296
4. Terra Petsinger, Minnesota 75-75-75-73 = 298
5. Liz Bennett, Iowa 80-75-72-73 = 300
Lindsay Knowlton, Ohio State 78-71-74-77 = 300
7. Elizabeth Burden, Northwestern 76-80-73-72 = 301
Katie Connelly, Wisconsin 74-79-74-74 = 301
9. Katie Futcher, Penn State 78-72-76-76 = 302
Ina Kim, Northwestern 78-77-70-77 = 302
11. Laura Olin, U-M 73-73-75-82 = 303
Allison Fouch, MSU 79-76-72-76 = 303
Jennifer Selfinger, Ohio State 77-81-73-72 = 303
Karyn Stordahl, Minnesota 77-77-75-74 = 303
15. Laurin Kanda, Illinois 77-75-77-75 = 304
16. Dayna Burleigh, MSU 70-81-75-79 = 305
17. Beth Hermes, Purdue 76-79-74-77 = 306
Kari Damron, Purdue 76-81-75-75 = 307
Kristen White, Ohio State 77-79-76-75 = 307
20. Kim Benedict, U-M 81-78-71-78 = 308
Amy Schmucker, U-M 77-74-78-79 = 308
* co-medalists
Other U-M Individual Scores
T50. Sarah Kruer 85-82-83-73 = 323 55. Courtney Goebel 82-84-81-81 = 328 T56. Stephanie Stasik 83-85-81-80 = 329
N O T E S
• Laura Olin's 303 Big Ten Championships total is her career best by 10 strokes in the conference tournament. Last year, she tallied a 313 Big Ten total.
• Olin has finished as the top Wolverine in eight of the 12 tournaments this season.
• Kim Benedict's tie for 20th at the Big Ten Championships is her career-best conference finish. She had previously tied for 23rd in 2001, tied for 24th in 2000 and placed 26th in 2002. Her 308 72-hole total is the second best of her four years competing in the conference tournament. She had a career-best 306 total in 2000, a 314 total in 2001 and a 320 total in 2002.
• Amy Schmucker's tie for 20th at the Big Ten Championships is the second best finish ever by a Wolverine freshman at the conference tournament. Her 308 total ranks as the second best freshman total at the championships just behind Benedict's 306 total at the 2000 Big Ten Championships.
• Schmucker, Courtney Goebel and Stephanie Stasik all competed at their first Big Ten Championships.
• Benedict extended her consecutive tournament streak to 49; she has not missed a single tournament in her four-year career. Olin extended her streak to 24 straight tournaments for the Wolverines. Schmucker and Stasik, along with Benedict and Olin, have played in all 12 tournaments this season.
Players Mentioned
