Michigan
Iowa
Wolverines Defeat Iowa in Quarterfinal of Big Ten Match Play
2/13/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Site: Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Course: TPC of Heron Bay (par 72, 7,288 yards)
Tournament: Big Ten Match Play Championship
Score: Michigan 4, Iowa 2
Next U-M Match: Saturday, Feb. 14 -- vs. Illinois or Northwestern (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The University of Michigan men's golf team, seeded fourth,advanced to the semifinal of the 2009 Big Ten Match Play Championship following a 4-2 quarterfinal win over fifth-seeded Iowa today (Friday, Feb. 13) at the TPC of Heron Bay. The Wolverines will have the rest of the day off and face top-seeded Illinois on Saturday morning (Feb. 14).
In the inaugural conference match play championship, each head-to-head match winner delivers a point to his team.
The Wolverines began the day with all six matches playing in a descending order. Junior Ross Millman(St. Louis, Mo./Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School) and freshman Matt Thompson(Battle Creek, Mich./Lakeview HS) were able to get the Wolverines off to a quick start, helping U-M take a 2-0 lead over Iowa with two victories. Millman defeated Chris Brant 1 up, while Thompson garnered a 2-and-1 decision over Bradley George.
Senior co-captain Nick Pumford(St. Charles, Mich./St. Charles HS) fell down early and was not able to recover as Barrett Kelpin took the match, 5 and 4, and helped the Hawkeyes cut into the U-M lead 2-1. U-Mthen wentup 3-1 following a 3-and-2 win from sophomore Lion Kim(Lake Mary, Fla./Lake Mary Prep School) over Cole Peevler in the No. 1 match.
In the final two matches, played by sophomore Alexander Sitompul(Jakarta, Indonesia/Bradenton Prep Academy) and senior co-captain Bill Rankin(Traverse City, Mich./Central HS),competition came down to the wire. Sitompul battled Brad Hopfinger back and forth and closed all square, splitting the point and helping the Wolverines take the match with a 3.5 to 1.5. Despite the match going in U-M's favor, Rankin was able to close out his match in grand fashion. After falling two down early, he won the 17th and 18th holes to even his match and earn a half point with Vince Indiana to bring the final match tally to 4-2 in the Wolverines' favor.
The Big Ten Conference is the first conference to emulate the new NCAA Golf Championship format with this weekend's Big Ten Match Play Championship. The NCAA Finals will begin with 54 holes of stroke play to narrow the field to eight teams. Those eight squads will then compete in match play to determine the national champion.
Following are match-by-match results:
No. 6 -- Ross Millman (U-M) d. Chris Brant (Iowa), 1 up
No. 5 -- Matt Thompson (U-M) d. Bradley George (Iowa), 2 and 1
No. 4 -- Barrett Kelpin (Iowa) d. Nick Pumford (U-M), 5 and 4
No. 3 -- Alexander Sitompul (U-M) halved Brad Hopfinger (Iowa), all square
No. 2 -- Bill Rankin (U-M) halved Vince Indiana (Iowa), all square
No. 1 -- Lion Kim (U-M) d. Cole Peevler (Iowa), 3 and 2
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
