Michigan
Indiana Invitational
Bauer, Savich Earn Top-10 Finishes to Lead U-M to Fourth at Indiana
4/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Site: Columbus, Ind.
Course: Otter Creek Golf Club (par 72, 6,179 yards)
Tournament: Indiana Invitational
U-M Standing: 4th Place of 14 Teams (332-303-317/952)
Top U-M Individual: Ashley Bauer (84-71-78), Milena Savich (79-75-79), tie-6th (233)
Next Event: Fri-Sun., April 24-26 -- at Big Ten Championships (West Lafayette, Ind.)
COLUMBUS, Ind. -- With chilly and blustery wind conditions surrounding the course for the second straight day, the University of Michigan women's golf team closed the Indiana Invitational with a 317 team total today (Tuesday, April 7) to finish fourth overall with a 952, 54-hole total at the Otter Creek Golf Club. The Wolverines rallied to post the highest finish of the six Big Ten teams at the event, closing the regular season with their sixth top-five finish in 11 events.
With the entire tournament field dealing with snow, which turned to sleet, then to rain and even some hail throughout the morning 18 holes, the 84-player field was able to brave the elements and complete the first round with much higher scores than anticipated. U-M closed the first 18 holes tied for 10th after posting a season-worst 332 team total as freshman Milena Savich (Carmel, Ind./Carmel HS) was the only Wolverine to break the 80-stroke barrier with a 79.
As the rains let up for the start of the second round, the weather only changed slightly for the tournament field as it became a round of managing blowing winds -- with gusts up to 25 mph. Despite the temperatures and wind, the Wolverines responded with a trio of strong scores as U-M posted a tournament-low 303 in the second round, topping all other teams' single-round scores by two strokes.
Junior Ashley Bauer (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc HS) used four birdies to post her third sub-par round of the season with a one-under 71, while sophomore Min Yean Tan (Queensland, Australia/Hills International College) had three birdies of her own to close at two-over 74. Combined with Savich's three-over 75, the Wolverines were able to vault from 10th place to a tie for third after 36 holes. With strong winds in the final round, U-M closed with a 317 to help maintain a top-five finish with a 952 total.
For the sixth time this season, Bauer and Savich closed with top-10 finishes as the Wolverine duo tied with two others for sixth at 233. After opening with an 84 in the first round, Bauer dropped 13 strokes in the second round, carding a one-under 71 to mark her third sub-par round of the season. She closed with a 78 in the final round, helping her to her 13th career top-10 finish. After finishing as the only Wolverine to break 80 in the first round (79), Savich rallied in the second round with a 75 to help U-M move up the leaderboard. She closed with a 79 in today's final round to finish as the top Wolverine in an event for the sixth time this season.
With her 239 total, Tan closed with her third top-20 finish of the season, posting round scores of 84, 74 and 81. In her third start of the season, freshman Meagan Bauer (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc HS) tied for 50th with a 249 (85-83-81), while senior Lydia Benitez Colon (Dorado, Puerto Rico/Pendleton School) tied for 56th at 251 (85-87-79). Freshman Brooke Bettis (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North HS) traveled as an individual and closed 41st at 246 (84-79-83).
With UNLV teammates Natasha Krishna (75-74-76) taking medalist honors at 225 and Therese Koelbaek (80-74-75) among three players that tied for the runner-up at 229, the Rebels (317-309-305) led from start to finish to win the invitational by 13 strokes with a 931 total. Iowa State (323-310-311) was the runner-up at 944 and Texas (323-312-313) was third at 948.
The Wolverines have completed their regular-season schedule and will now shift the focus toward the postseason, starting with the Big Ten Championships. The Maize and Blue will head to West Lafayette, Ind., Friday through Sunday (April 24-26) for the 72-hole conference championships on the Kampen Course at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex.
Team Standings
1. UNLV 317-309-305 = 931 2. Iowa State 323-310-311 = 944 3. Texas 323-312-313 = 948 4. MICHIGAN 332-303-317 = 952 5. Wisconsin 321-318-317 = 956 6. Indiana 320-318-321 = 959 7. Minnesota 332-311-317 = 960 8. Iowa 322-313-328 = 963 9. Illinois State 326-320-319 = 965 10. Illinois 328-316-328 = 972 11. Ball State 326-325-325 = 976 12. Western Michigan 349-325-330 = 1004 13. Marshall 344-347-333 = 1024 14. Lipscomb 353-332-353 = 1038
Top Individuals
1. Natasha Krishna, UNLV 75-74-76 = 225
2. Therese Koelbaek, UNLV 80-74-75 = 229
Kelley Louth, Texas 80-73-76 = 229
Elise Swartout, WMU 74-76-79 = 229
5. Pennapa Pulsawath, Iowa State 78-77-76 = 231
6. Ashley Bauer, U-M 84-71-78 = 233
Milena Savich, U-M 79-75-79 = 233
Stacey Miller, Illinois State 76-78-79 = 233
Teresa Puga, Minnesota 83-74-76 = 233
10. Anita Gahir, Indiana 80-76-78 = 234
Nicole Vandermade, Texas 76-73-85 = 234
Other Michigan Individuals
T18. Min Yean Tan 84-74-81 = 239 T50. Meagan Bauer 85-83-81 = 249 T56. Lydia Benitez Colon 85-87-79 = 251 T41. Brooke Bettis 84-79-83 = 246*
* played as individual
N O T E S
• Michigan's fourth-place finish at Indiana Invitational gives the Wolverines their sixth top-five finish in the 11 events this season. Among those sixth, U-M won two events -- the 2008 Wolverine Invitational and the 2009 Red Rocks Invitational.
• Ashley Bauer and Milena Savich both tied for sixth individually, marking the fourth time this season U-M has finished with two players among the top 10 in a tournament. Bauer and Savich also added to their top-10 finishes this season as each has six to lead U-M. In addition, both Bauer and Savich have finished as the top Wolverine at an event six times.
• Ashley Bauer's second-round, one-under 71 is just the fourth round this season under par for a Wolverine. In fact, Bauer owns three of the top four rounds this season; she also shot a three-under 68 in the first round of the 2008 Wolverine Invitational and a two-under 70 in the first round of the 2009 Mountain View Challenge. Milena Savich holds the other sub-par round with a three-under 69 in the second round of the Landfall Tradition.
• Meagan Bauer made her third straight start for the Wolverines.
• Ashley Bauer has yet to miss a tournament in her career at Michigan, playing in 34 straight events. Bauer is one of two Wolverines with a consecutive-event streak along with Min Yean Tan, who has played in 22 straight events to begin her career. Newcomer Milena Savich has started all 11 events this season.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Kathy Teichert
On the tournament weekend... "We had it all this weekend. We had rain, sleet, snow, hail, wind, cold, and I think I saw the sun come out for a minute or two, which was behind clouds of course. Conditions were just tough. It really just levels the playing field in all aspects. This weekend was just about who is the strongest -- mentally and physically. After yesterday's dismal first round, we were very disappointed. But we came back strong. You have to give them a lot of credit for the way they came back the way they did (in the second round).
"Today, it was nip and tuck throughout the final round. However, once we hit hole 12, we just really stopped making putts, while UNLV and Iowa State were making theirs. That cost us in the end as we just didn't get the scores we needed today. With conditions today, shooting under 80 was going to be a good score. There weren't a lot of low scores today. When you are going to win tournaments, you need to make your up and downs and convert on the putts down the stretch, and we just didn't do that. It hurts because we were right there. We just couldn't close out the last six holes. We left some strokes out there and that was the difference."
On U-M's fourth-place finish ... "Despite some of the missed opportunities, we did beat some good teams and we got some important wins over some Big Ten teams. It just shows that if you don't have a good round, anyone can beat you. We are going to have to get some of the performances we had in the second round in order to make some noise at the Big Ten Tournament or even beyond. Quite honestly, this weekend was a good test for us. We are going to have wind and cold temperatures at Purdue for Big Tens. So in a way to be able to get some practice in conditions like we had this weekend can only help us."
U-M Junior Ashley Bauer
On the effects of the weather at the tournament... "Before we even left for the tournament, we played and practice Friday and Saturday in weather similar to what we had this weekend. It wasn't quite as windy, but it was cold enough to really give us a good indication of what we had to look forward to. That practice helped us a lot. We really knew how to approach certain shots and deal with the conditions. I have to admit, it was pretty miserable out there this weekend, but we really handled it well. We just got off to a slow start."
On the weather... "The weather was really, really tough on us this weekend. It was just crazy. At one point, I think after our 31st hole, we got hail and it covered the entire green. The entire green turned white and totally changed the aspect of the green and how the ball rolled. It was just amazing."
On the fourth-place finish... "This finish was very important because we typically finish our regular season a little earlier than most teams. To get this top-five finish means a lot. It gives us some confidence going into Big Tens. After losing to some conference teams last week, we were able to get wins back over them this week. That is going to be important for us down the stretch. Really, we were only eight shots out of second and five shots out of third, but we just did not finish well at all. We got off to such a slow start, but I was happy we were able to come back in the second round. Everyone had a counting score at one point or another. We were able to stick together and really get a good finish, especially going into Big Tens."
On her play accelerating down the stretch... "I am happy with the way things have been going lately. Being able to be outside and get some good practice and play in has helped. I just need to continue to work on my chipping around the greens. There is always room for improvement, but overall I am happy with the way things have been. I just want to contribute and continue to be an example for the rest of the team."
Players Mentioned
