Michigan
Northern Intercollegiate (Day 2)
Vozza Takes Third, U-M 13th in Northern Intercollegiate
9/21/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich.
Course: University of Michigan Golf Course (par 71, 6,704 yards)
Tournament: Northern Intercollegiate
U-M Finish: 13th Place of 15 Teams (300-298-297/895)
Top U-M Individual: Christian Vozza, 3rd (74-69-67/210)
Next U-M Event: Sat-Sun., Sept. 27-28 -- at Hoosier Invitational (Bloomington, Ind.)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Sophomore Christian Vozza (Traverse City, Mich./Grand Rapids Baptist) and senior Dave Nichols (Mesa, Ariz./Rochester Adams HS, Mich.) of the University of Michigan men's golf team recorded sub-par rounds Sunday (Sept. 21) to highlight the final day of action in the Northern Intercollegiate at the U-M Golf Course. Vozza, playing as an individual, carded a four-under-par 67 en route to a third-place finish, while Nichols fired a final-round 69 and led Michigan's five-person team to a 13th-place finish. The Wolverines shot 297 Sunday to finish at 895 (300-298-297) in the two-day event.
Vozza made eight birdies and just two bogeys in his last 36 holes, shooting 69 and 67.
After sitting in a tie for first with Indiana after the first 36 holes, Xavier made it back-to-back wins at the U-M Golf Course as the Musketeers rallied to win by 10 strokes, shooting four-under 280 to the Hoosiers' six-over 290. Xavier finished at one-over 853 for the 54 holes after team tallies of 288 and 285 on the first day. Indiana was second with an 863 total (283-290-290), and Ohio State was third at 874 (294-286-294).
Indiana's Jeff Overton held off the late charge of Xavier's Neal Grusczynski to take home the medalist honor. Overton won by two strokes with a six-under 207 total after rounds of 67, 69 and 71, while Grusczynski was second at 209 (68-74-67).
For the second straight day, Vozza highlighted the Wolverines' play as he finished third with a three-under 210 total for 54 holes. Opening with a 74 followed by a then career-best two-under 69 on the first day, Vozza came out firing in the final round, carding a four-under 67. Starting on No. 10 Vozza played the first seven holes one-under after a birdie on No. 11. A bogey on No. 17 was eliminated by a birdie on 1 and he was back in the red numbers. After parring the next four holes, Vozza birdied three of his last four holes to hit the new career-best performance. His finish is the highest for a Wolverine since the 2000-01 season, and his 67 is the lowest score by a Wolverine since Andy Matthews' 67 in the third round of the 2001 Badger Invitational (Sept. 8-9).
For Nichols, his final round also proved to be a career-best performance as he tied his top 18-hole score with a two-under 69, marking the second time in his career he has gone under the 70-stroke barrier. He finished tied for 12th after opening with a one-over 72 in the first round and a 76 in the second round.
Other Michigan scores included: junior/sophomore Mark McIntosh (Gaylord, Mich./Gaylord HS), tied for 38th (76-73-76/225); senior/junior Rob Tighe (Traverse City, Mich./West HS), tied for 47th (77-74-75/226); freshman Kevin Dore (Dundas, Ontario/St. Mary's), tied for 56th (76-75-77/228); and fifth-year senior Scott Carlton (Brighton, Mich./Brighton HS), tied for 73rd (76-78-77/231).
Other individual performances included: sophomore Brandon Duff (Goodrich, Mich./Powers Catholic), tied for 19th (72-72-76/220); freshman Will Kendall (Gerrards Cross, England/Oundle School), tied for 38th (73-73-79/225); freshman Matt McLaughlin (Raleigh, N.C./Millbrook HS) and junior Dave Turner (Troy, Mich./Troy), tied for 69th (83-74-73/230 and 75-76-79/230, respectively); and junior/sophomore Jimmy Wisinski (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Northern HS), tied for 80th (80-74-80/234).
With just a week before their next competition the Wolverines will use team scores from the Northern Intercollegiate and their weekly qualifier to solidify the five-man squad for the Hoosier Invitational in Bloomington, Ind.. The 54-hole tournament will be played Saturday and Sunday (Sept. 27-28) at the IU Golf Course, site of last year's Big Ten Championships.
Final Standings
1. Xavier 288-285-280 = 853
2. Indiana 283-290-290 = 863
3. Ohio State 294-286-294 = 874
4. Akron 293-293-300 = 886
Penn State 300-293-293 = 886
Miami (Ohio) 289-300-297 = 886
7. Wisconsin 302-290-296 = 888
8. Bowling Green 302-288-300 = 890
9. Northern Illinois 297-294-300 = 891
Ball State 295-292-304 = 891
11. Purdue 294-298-300 = 892
12. Eastern Michigan 291-301-302 = 894
13. MICHIGAN 300-298-297 = 895
14. Marshall 303-298-296 = 897
15. Iowa 298-301-299 = 898
Top Individuals
1. Jeff Overton, Indiana 67-69-71 = 207 (-6)
2. Neal Grusczynski, Xavier 68-74-67 = 209
3. Christian Vozza*, U-M 74-69-67 = 210
4. Marco Poccia, Penn State 74-71-67 = 212
5. Jason Kokrak, Xavier 73-73-67 = 213
Miles Maillet, Xavier 73-69-71 = 213
7. Adams Balls, Bowling Green 74-67-73 = 214
Heath Peters, Indiana 68-72-74 = 214
Patrick Wilkes-Keier, Ball State 72-68-74 = 214
10. Scott Anderson*, Ohio State 70-71-74 = 215
Brian Brodell, Wisconsin 73-68-74 = 215
Other Michigan Individuals
T12. Dave Nichols 72-76-69 = 217 T38. Mark McIntosh 76-73-76 = 225 T47. Rob Tighe 77-74-75 = 226 T56. Kevin Dore 76-75-77 = 228 T73. Scott Carlton 76-78-77 = 231 T19. Brandon Duff* 72-72-76 = 220 T38. Will Kendall* 73-73-79 = 225 T69. Matt McLaughlin* 83-74-73 = 230 T69. Dave Turner* 75-76-79 = 230 T80. Jimmy Wisinski* 80-74-80 = 234
* competed as individual
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Andrew Sapp
On the Northern Intercollegiate ... "I was very pleased with Christian Vozza. He just played so well. Brandon Duff had two good rounds, Will Kendall had two good rounds, and Matt McLaughlin finished with two good rounds. So it was nice to see our young players come out and play so well. Our veterans could have played a little better, but I was happy with the way Dave Nichols played. I am sure he would tell you he could have played better, but we know it will come. It is at least exciting. Although our starters did not play as well as they should have, I can't say enough about Christian. He played incredible. It was not that much of a shock because he had a great summer and worked hard, and he came into this tournament with a lot of confidence."
U-M Sophomore Christian Vozza
On his Northern Intercollegiate ... "Coming into this tournament I had a little bit of confidence, but not making the starting lineup was a little bit of a blow, but it is understandable because I didn't have the scores when I needed them to get a spot. So I figured I might as well do the best that I can as an individual. My goal was to finish in the top 10 and I finished third, so I was really excited about that."
On his second and third rounds ... "Playing on our home course really helped. I know that I could go up to a hole and say to myself, 'I've birdied this 10 times before,' so I just had some confidence out there. It was comfortable. Both rounds were pretty consistent. The second round was pretty easy. I was just bombing my drives so I just told myself, 'The harder you swing the straighter it is going.' So I just kept doing it. In the third round, I hit 16 greens so I had a lot of tap-in pars and then birdied three of the last four holes. That helps, it helps a lot."
NOTES
• Xavier's Jason Kokrak hit a hole-in-one with a pitching wedge on the 148-yard No. 14. After hitting his ball to six inches past the pin, it spun back into the cup for his first recorded ace. The ace was the third for the Musketeers during the weekend. Matt Makinson and Miles Maillet both recorded holes-in-one during the practice round, Makinson on No. 8 (159 yards, 8-iron) and Maillet on No. 5 (186 yards, 7-iron).
• With the 10-stroke victory at the Northern Intercollegiate, Xavier has won back-to-back tournaments at the U-M Golf Course. The Musketeers shared the 2002 Wolverine Invitational title (Oct. 5-6) with Michigan State.
• U-M's Christian Vozza carded a four-under 67 in the final round to set a career-best tally, topping the two-under 69 he had in the second round. Vozza's 67 marks the first time a Wolverines has recorded a single round below 69 since former Wolverine Andy Matthews had a 67 in the third round of the 2001 Badger Invitational (Sept. 8-9). Ironically, Matthews was on hand to watch Vozza's final round.
• Vozza's third-place individual performance was the best since the Wolverines had two medalists during the 2000-01 season, when Scott Hayes won the 2000 Inverness Intercollegiate (Sept. 18-19) and Andrew Chapman won the 2001 Wolverine South (March 3-4).
• Dave Nichols' final-round, two-under 69 was the second time in his career he has broken the 70-stroke barrier. Both have come at the U-M Golf Course, as he also shot a two-under 69 in the first round of the 2002 Wolverine Invitational (Oct. 5-6).
• Nichols led the Northern Intercollegiate field with 43 total pars, while Vozza was fifth with 38 pars.
• Playing as an individual, Brandon Duff had career-low rounds of one-over 72 in the first and second rounds of the Northern Intercollegiate. Both rounds topped the 74 he tallied in the second round of the 2002 Wolverine Invitational (Oct. 5-6).
• U-M freshmen Kevin Dore, Will Kendall and Matt McLaughlin each made their collegiate debuts at the Northern Intercollegiate. Dore tied for 56th with a 228 total (76-75-77), while both Kendall (73-73-79/225, tie-29th) and McLaughlin (83-74-73/230, tie-69th) played as individuals.
Players Mentioned
