Weekly Release #11

Upcoming Schedule
Sat-Sun., April 15-16 -- at Robert Kepler Intercollegiate (Dublin, Ohio)
Fri-Sun., April 28-30 -- at Big Ten Championships (Lake Forest, Ill.)

On the Tee: Regular Season Finale
The University of Michigan men's golf team will close out the regular season with a trip to Dublin, Ohio, Saturday and Sunday (April 15-16) for the 2006 Robert Kepler Intercollegiate. Normally played at OSU's Scarlet Course, the tournament has been moved to Muirfield Village Golf Club due to course construction at the Scarlet. The 15-team field will play 36 holes on Saturday and a final 18 on Sunday. Muirfield Village will be set up for a par 72 with 7,221 yards.

The Tournament Field
The 2006 Robert Kepler Intercollegiate will have a 15-team field which includes: Akron, Ball State, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Marshall, Miami (Ohio), Michigan, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Toledo, Wisconsin and Xavier.

The Tournament Schedule
The 2006 Robert Kepler Intercollegiate will consist of 54 holes, with 36 holes on Saturday (April 15) with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start and a final 18 on Sunday (April 16) with tee times off No. 1 and No. 10 beginning at 8:30 a.m. Michigan will be paired with Ball State and Wisconsin on the first day of play.

Friday, April 14	Practice Round	Tee Times starting at 10:30 a.m.
Saturday, April 15	First Round	8:30 a.m. (shotgun)
	Second Round	continuous play following round one
Sunday, April 16	Final Round	8:30 a.m. (Tee Times, off No. 1 and No. 10)

The Tournament Scoring Format
Scoring for the 2006 Robert Kepler Intercollegiate will be five players, count the low four scores each round. Selected teams will be allowed to bring an invited individual player. There will not be live scoring for the tournament available.

The Michigan Lineup
The Wolverines will carry five players and one individual for 2006 Robert Kepler Intercollegiate. Senior Brandon Duff (Goodrich, Mich./Powers Catholic HS) and sophomore Tim Schaetzel (Atlanta, Ga./Pace Academy) will be exempt from qualifying, but three remaining players of the five-man team will be decided throughout the week's qualifiers. Qualifying for the final spots will include: senior Christian Vozza (Traverse City, Mich./Grand Rapids Baptist HS), junior Kevin Dore (Dundas, Ontario/St. Mary's); junior Will Kendall (Gerrards Cross, England/Oundle School); junior Matt McLaughlin (Raleigh, N.C./Millbrook HS); sophomore Brian Ottenweller (Grand Rapids, Mich./Catholic Central HS); freshman Nick Pumford (St. Charles, Mich./St. Charles HS), freshman Bill Rankin (Traverse City, Mich./Central HS) and junior Brian Schielke (Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS).

Last Time Out: Schaetzel Finishes 13th, Team Places Eighth at Purdue
Michigan finished eighth as a team after battling tough weather conditions throughout the 54-holes at the 2006 Boilermaker Invitational at the Kampen Course at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Ind. The Maize and Blue closed with a 916 54-hole total after posting back-to-back 308 team totals in Saturday's cold and windy conditions but improved in Sunday's final round tallying a 300 team total after waiting over an hour from a frost delay. For the second time in three tournaments, Tim Schaetzel after his 13th place finish with a 224 total (74-74-76). Brandon Duff tied for 25th with a 230 tota (75-79-76) and Matt McLaughlin tied for 39th with a 233 (81-79-73). Other Wolverine scores included: Christian Vozza, tied for 50th with a 237 total (83-79-75); Brian Ottenweller, tied for 56th with a 240 total (78-76-86) and Bill Rankin, who played as an individual, tied for 50th with a 237 total (78-82-77).

Two Stay the Course
Brandon Duff and Tim Schaetzel continue to be the only two Wolverines to have started all 10 tournaments this season. In fact, both are tied for the team lead after both have led the Wolverines in three tournaments this season. Duff is averaging a career-best pace 74.62 per round, while Schaetzel is also scoring a career-best pace 75.03 per round.

Keeping the Spring Rolling
Three times this season Brandon Duff has led Michigan in a tournament. In fact, he led the Wolverines in back-to-back events to open the spring season. He has finished as the top Wolverine at the Puerto Rico Classic, the UCF/Rio Pinar Intercollegiate (Feb. 13-14) and the Hawkeye Intercollegiate (Sept. 10-11). Duff continues to have a stellar senior campaign. Recently, his second round three-under 69 at the South Alabama Spring Classic marked his eighth career round under par. In fact, all eight of those rounds have come this season.

No Sophomore Slump Here
For the third time this season and second time in three tournaments, Tim Schaetzel has finished as the top Wolverine. He closed out the Boilermaker Invitational (April 8-9) with a 13th place finish his third top 20 finish of the season. He has also led the Wolverines at the South Alabama Spring Classic (March 13-14), tying for 29th with a 224 total (70-78-76) and the Memphis Intercollegiate (Oct. 3-4), where he shot an even-par 216 (68-77-71).

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling in Red Numbers
Michigan continues to add up the red numbers on the scorecards. Through nine tournaments, the Wolverines have 41 total rounds of par or better, 31 rounds under par with 18 total rounds under the 70-stroke mark. During the entire of the 2004-05 season, Michigan recorded 15 rounds under par and five under the 70 strokes.

Inking the Low Numbers on the Scorecard
With his even-par 72 in the second round of the South Alabama Spring Classic (March 13-14), Brian Ottenweller pulled into a tie on the team with his eighth round of par our better. He now has eight total of his 26 rounds, tying him with Brandon Duff (8) and Christian Vozza (8). Ottenweller is also second on the team with four rounds under 70, trailing Vozza's five.

Scoreboard Race Heating Up
The race for the top spot on the Michigan scoreboard is heating up as seven Wolverines are neck-and-neck. Kevin Dore is atop the leaderboard with a 74.00 per round average, with Will Kendall second at 74.44. Brandon Duff (74.62), Nick Pumford (74.67) and Brian Ottenweller (74.92) give the Maize and Blue five players averaging below 75. Tim Schaetzel (75.03) and Christian Vozza (75.04) are just on the verge of cracking the 75 stroke barrier. As a team, the Wolverines are shooting 296.86 as a team.

Taking it Deep!
Christian Vozza's second round seven-under 64 at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational (Oct. 10-11) was a career-best by two strokes and tied the U-M record for lowest single round total. He tied All-American Michael Harris' 64 he had at the 1998 Xavier Invitational (Oct. 12-13). After bogeying the first hole, Vozza recorded an eagle and six birdies to finish the record setting round. Vozza's previous best score was a six-under 66 fired in the third round of the 2004 Landfall Tradition (Oct. 29-31). So far this season, Vozza has seven of 11 rounds under par. In fact he is three-under par if you added his entire season up.

First in Four Years is Oh So Sweet!
Michigan's victory at the 2005 Wolverine Intercollegiate (Sept. 24-25) was the first team title for the program in four years. The last time the Wolverines hoisted a team trophy was in the 2000-01 season, when the Maize and Blue won the Wolverine South Invitational (March 3-4, 2001) at the Hunter Golf Club in Savannah, Ga. The Wolverines 839 54-hole team total smashed the program's top mark for a tournament tally by 16 strokes. The previous record was an 855 total at the 1992 Stanford Invitational (Oct. 17-19).

Vozza Gives First Individual Title in Four Years
Christian Vozza used three straight under par rounds to win his first collegiate event at the 2005 Wolverine Intercollegiate. He finished with a one-shot victory with a career-best 205 total (67-69-69). The last time a Wolverine has won medalist honors in a tournament was the 2001 Wolverine South Invitational (March 3-4), when Andrew Chapman secured his first win of his collegiate career with a rain-shortened 141 (72-69) 36-hole total.

Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423