Michigan
NCAA Central Regional
Wolverines Come Up Three Shots Short at Central Regional
5/17/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Site: Columbus, Ohio
Course: Ohio State Scarlet Course (par 71, 7,420 yards)
Tournament: NCAA Central Regional
U-M Team Finish: Tie-12th Place of 27 Teams (298-300-306/904)
Top U-M Individual: Alexander Sitompul, tie-33rd (70-77-78/225)
Next U-M Event: Season Completed
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The University of Michigan men's golf team closed its 2007-08 season with a tie for 12th place at the NCAA Central Regional today (Saturday, May 17) at Ohio State's Scarlet Course. The Wolverines closed the 54-hole event with a 904 total (298-300-306) and fell three shots shy of finishing in the top 10 and advancing to the NCAA Championships.
Paced by a one-under-par 70 from freshman Alexander Sitompul(Jakarta, Indonesia/Bradenton Prep), the Wolverines opened the regional with a 298 team total Thursday (May 15), putting them in a tie for sixth after 18 holes. U-M dropped two strokes in the second round, posting a team total of 300, to fall to 12th but remained positioned just one shot back from the top 10, keeping alive the hopes of advancing. With winds picking up and a start on the challenging back nine, the Wolverines got off to a slow start in the final round and, despite a resurgence on the front side, finished with a 306 tally.
Junior Nick Pumford(St. Charles, Mich./St. Charles) had the Wolverines' top score in the final round, shooting 74 for the second straight day to end up tied for 41st at 226 (78-74-74). Sitompul was Wolverines' top individual in the final standings, tying for 33rd with a 225 regional total (70-77-78).
Junior Bill Rankin(Traverse City, Mich./Central) produced back-to-back rounds of 75 before shooting 77 in the final round to finish at 227 and a tie for 52nd. Senior co-captain Tim Schaetzel(Atlanta, Ga./Pace Academy) closed his career with a tie for 75th (79-74-77/230), while freshman Lion Kim(Lake Mary, Fla./Lake Mary Prep) rounded out the Wolverine individuals as he tied for 85th (75-78-78/231).
Wake Forest (290-287-302) led from start to finish as the Demon Deacons captured the Central Regional title with an 879 total. Oklahoma State (293-299-297) was the runner-up with an 889 total, while Illinois (298-292-301) was third at 891. Overall three of the five Big Ten teams in the regional advanced to the finals as the Fighting Illinois, Penn State (304-286-308/898, tie-8th) and Indiana (300-297-304/904, 10th) made the championship field at Purdue. Other teams advancing included Florida, Louisville, Alabama, Texas A&M and Kent State.
Oklahoma State's Kevin Tway took home regional medalist honors with a one-over 214 performance (70-69-75). Wake Forest's Brendan Gielow (69-72-74) and Penn State's Robert Rohanna (75-70-70) were the runners-up at 215. TCU's James Sacheck won a two-hole playoff with Tennessee's Charles Ford to earn the second individual spot to the NCAA Championships. Colorado's Derek Tolan also advanced as an individual.
Team Standings
(The top 10 teams advance to the NCAA Championships)
1. Wake Forest 290-287-302 = 879 (+27) 2. Oklahoma State 293-299-297 = 889 3. Illinois 298-292-301 = 891 4. Florida 294-300-300 = 894 Louisville 301-293-300 = 894 6. Alabama 292-295-309 = 896 7. Texas A&M 298-294-305 = 897 8. Kent State 302-295-301 = 898 Penn State 304-286-308 = 898 10. Indiana 300-297-304 = 901 ---------------------------------------- 11. Tennessee 301-300-301 = 902 12. MICHIGAN 298-300-306 = 904 Eastern Kentucky 302-289-313 = 904 14. Eastern Michigan 297-302-307 = 906 15. Georgia Tech 307-299-302 = 908 16. Lamar University 299-301-311 = 911 Ohio State 299-303-309 = 911 18. Colorado 301-303-308 = 912 19. TCU 302-302-310 = 914 Arkansas 304-304-306 = 914 Wichita State 302-300-312 = 914 22. Texas-Arlington 308-298-310 = 916 23. Cleveland State 313-299-314 = 926 24. Marquette 314-299-317 = 930 25. Baylor 307-309-323 = 939 26. Sacred Heart 316-311-323 = 950 27. Loyola College 318-314-321 = 953
Top Individuals
1. Kevin Tway, Oklahoma State 70-69-75 = 214 (+1) 2. Brendan Gielow, Wake Forest 69-72-74 = 215 Robert Rohanna, Penn State 75-70-70 = 215 4. Dustin Groves, Wake Forest 72-70-74 = 216 5. Jorge Campillo, Indiana 71-73-73 = 217 Trent Leon, Oklahoma State 71-74-72 = 217 7. Derek Tolan, Colorado 73-72-73 = 218 8. Billy Horschel, Florida 73-76-70 = 219 9. Charles Ford, Tennessee 70-75-75 = 220 James Sacheck, TCU 74-76-70 = 220
James Sacheck (TCU) won a two-hole playoff with Charles Ford (Tennessee) to earn the second individual spot to the NCAA championships. Derek Tolan (Colorado) also advanced as an individual.
Michigan Individuals
T33. Alexander Sitompul 70-77-78 = 225 T41. Nick Pumford 78-74-74 = 226 T52. Bill Rankin 75-75-77 = 227 T75. Tim Schaetzel 79-74-77 = 230 T85. Lion Kim 75-78-78 = 231
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Andrew Sapp
On the regional weekend... "We reached one of our goals, which was to qualify for a regional, and that is a season-long goal that you have that incorporates pretty much every tournament you play in and your ranking. So that was definitely a positive. We didn't quite reach the goal of making it back to Purdue. We started our season very well there; I would have liked to finish our season there. Today we just really got off to a bad start. We started off the back nine, which has some tough holes right away, and we really didn't play them well. We hung in there and fought our way around and played better on the front nine. However, when you are playing on a difficult golf course in very windy conditions, you know the field is going to be tight together. Unfortunately for us this week, we ended up a few shots shy of where we needed to be."
On a quick look back at the entire season... "On the year as a whole I am really proud of the way the guys hung in there and played well throughout the entire year. They gave themselves a chance to advance. Hopefully with four starters returning, they will learn a lot from this, grow and continue to work hard over the summer so that when we come back this fall with a good schedule set up they will be ready to go. I hope this stings for them. I hope this is a sting that motivates them to work hard to not have that feeling again of coming close and not quite attaining the goal that they wanted."
On if the team felt pressure... "I don't think so. I don't think they felt any more pressure than they normally would have faced at a normal tournament or more than any other team at the regional. They knew if they played well they would advance. When we met we talked about how we needed a solid round, not a miraculous round. We just needed solid play throughout the lineup. Really, the thing was nobody shot in the 80s this week, but we only had four rounds under 75. So everyone kept shooting 75s, 76s, 78s. We needed to shave some shots off of those rounds. A putt here or there to save a par or to not make a double would have made things different, but it didn't. I don't think they put any more pressure on themselves than Tennessee, Kent State or Indiana did. We really just didn't play our best golf for three straight days."
N O T E S
Michigan played its third NCAA regional formatted event in team history. U-M played in the 1997 and 2000 Central Regional. The Wolverines advanced to the 1997 NCAA finals after finishing eighth in the 21-team regional field with an 874 total.
Alexander Sitompul's one-under 70 in the first round of the 2008 Central Regional is his sixth sub-par round of the season and the sixth sub-par round for a Wolverine at an NCAA Regional event. Michael Harris posted a three-under 68 (third round), Mike Affeldt had a two-under 69 (second) and Scott Hayes had a one-under 70 (third) at the 2000 Central Regional, while David Jasper had back-to-back rounds of one-under 71 (first and second rounds) at the 1997 Central Regional.
Tim Schaetzel and Bill Rankin were the only Wolverines to start all 13 tournaments this season. Schaetzel closed his career starting his last 41 events, while Rankin has started 24 straight events for the Maize and Blue. In addition, in his first season Lion Kim played in all 13 events with 12 starts.
Michigan will bid farewell to seniors Tim Schaetzel and Brian Ottenweller. Schaetzel started 42 of 43 career events and averaged 75.06 per round for his four-year career. Ottenweller started 32 of his 36 career events and averaged 76.02 per round.
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
