Michigan
Texas A&M
Wolverines Lose Heartbreaking NCAA Semifinal Match to Texas A&M
5/29/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Site: Toledo, Ohio
Course: Inverness Club (par 71, 7,255 yards)
Tournament: NCAA Championships (Match Play Semifinals)
Score: Texas A&M d. U-M, 3-1-1
Next Event: Season Completed
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TOLEDO, Ohio -- Following a dramatic putt to get into the match play finals and an even more dramatic shot to win its quarterfinal match, the University of Michigan men's golf team dropped its a down-to-the-wire match play semifinal to Texas A&M, 3-1-1, this afternoon (Friday, May 29) at the NCAA Championships at Inverness Club.
As they have done all week long, the Wolverines had a flare for the dramatic, fighting all the way to the 18th hole of this afternoon's match before ending their exciting run at an NCAA title.
Following an 8-and-7 loss by sophomore Alexander Sitompul (Jakarta, Indonesia/Bradenton Prep) to a red-hot Andrea Pavan, who took the early advantage with five birdies on the first six holes, the Aggies got on the board early and took a 1-0 lead. With sophomore Lion Kim (Lake Mary, Fla./Lake Mary Prep School), U-M's No. 1 player, struggling early on in his match against Bronson Burgoon, freshman Matt Thompson (Battle Creek, Mich./Lakeview HS) continued his stellar performance in match play, keeping his match even.
Just as the Aggies took a lead, the U-M seniors stepped up when it counted as co-captain Nick Pumford (St. Charles, Mich./St. Charles HS) bounced back from a 153rd-place showing in stroke play and a loss in his quarterfinal match to get a 2-and-1 decision over A&M's Conrad Shindler and square the team competition at 1-1 with three matches left on the course. Falling down early, Kim never recovered, dropping a 4-and-3 decision to Burgoon, and the Aggies took a 2-1 lead.
In one of the day's most exciting matches, senior co-captain Bill Rankin (Traverse City, Mich./Central HS) took the early advantage in his match against Matt Van Zandt, building a two-hole lead through six, but Van Zandt came back to win the next two holes and square the match, before Rankin took the ninth hole to make the turn 1 up.
Meanwhile, Thompson's match against John Hurley was a back-and-forth battle. After Thompson took a 1-up advantage and held it for three holes, Hurley took the fifth hole to square the match. Thompson answered with a birdie on No. 8, only to have Hurley take it back on the ninth hole with a birdie of his own.
Van Zandt then took a 2-up lead on Rankin as he bogeyed No. 11 and No. 13. Still 2 down after 15 holes, Rankin rallied by taking the 16th hole before a clutch par putt on the 17th gave him the hole and squared the match heading to the last hole.
With Thompson's group following, the match remained even through the 15th hole before the U-M rookie took advantage of a strong approach shot to take the hole and gain a 1-up lead on Hurley. With both players on in two on the 16th and Hurley much closer to the hole, Thompson drained his putt, eliciting a roar from the gallery, but Hurley made his putt on top of Thompson's to halve the hole. However, Thompson's par putt on 17 rolled to an inch, giving the hole to Hurley and squaring the match going to 18.
After Rankin and Van Zandt both hit their drives into the right rough on 18, Rankin's second shot landed on the green and rolled off the back side into a bunker. Van Zandt's second shot landed safely on the green about 20 feet from the pin. As Thompson's group teed off and was waiting in the fairway, Rankin's chip out of the bunker barely missed the flagstick and fell off the side of the green and into the rough.
With his second chip out of trouble, Rankin again just missed hitting the flagstick and rolled past the hole. In a show of sportsmanship and down two strokes, Rankin conceded the hole and the match, ending the Wolverines' run as Texas A&M took the match-play final berth. With the Aggies getting the necessary three points, Thompson's match was a push and they did not complete the final hole.
The Wolverines' season is now completed. The Maize and Blue finish with seven top-five finishes in 13 events, along with two team titles -- 2008 Wolf Run Intercollegiate and the 2008 Wolverine Intercollegiate. U-M also had two runner-up finishes -- at the Big Ten Match Play Championship and the FAU Spring Break Championship. U-M made its second straight NCAA Regional appearance and advanced to the NCAA Championships for the first time in 12 years.
Schedule/Results
NCAA Quarterfinal Matches
No. 8 seed Georgia defeated No. 1 seed Oklahoma State, 3-2
No. 4 seed Arkansas defeated No. 5 Washington, 3-2
No. 7 seed Texas A&M defeated No. 2 Arizona State, 3-1-1
No. 6 seed Michigan defeated No. 3 Southern Cal, 3-2
NCAA Semifinal Matches
No. 4 Arkansas defeated No. 8 Georgia, 3-1-1
No. 7 Texas A&M defeated No. 6 Michigan, 3-1-1
NCAA Final Match
No. 4 Arkansas vs. No. 7 Texas A&M
U-M def. Southern Cal, 3-2
No. 5 -- Ryan Linton (USC) def. Nick Pumford (U-M), 3 & 2
No. 4 -- Steve Lim (USC) def. Bill Rankin (U-M), 4 & 3
No. 3 -- Matt Thompson (U-M) def. Tom Glissmeyer (USC), 4 & 3
No. 2 -- Alexander Sitompul (U-M) def. Tim Sluiter (USC), 5 & 3
No. 1 -- Lion Kim (U-M) def. Matthew Giles (USC), 2 & 1
Texas A&M def. U-M, 3-1-1
No. 5 -- Nick Pumford (U-M) def. Conrad Shindler (Texas A&M), 2 & 1
No. 4 -- Matt Van Zandt (Texas A&M) def. Bill Rankin (U-M), 1 up
No. 3 -- Matt Thompson (U-M) vs. No. 3 John Hurley (Texas A&M), All Square
No. 2 -- Andrea Pavan (Texas A&M) def. Alexander Sitompul (U-M), 8 & 7
No. 1 -- Bronson Burgoon (Texas A&M) def. Lion Kim (U-M), 4 & 3
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Andrew Sapp
On U-M's run in the NCAA Championships ... "This is what you play for. The excitement of match play is thrilling and to see the guys battle on the back nine to really try and win this thing was tremendous. I could not be more proud of the way they played today. This morning, plus this afternoon, battling to our very last hole. It was just a tremendous effort."
On if he thought his "Cinderella" team ran out of steam ... "We just played a great team. Texas A&M beat us. They played great. Our guys battled hard, but I don't think we could lose any steam. We had so much momentum going into this final match. To see Nick (Pumford) come back and win his match after losing this morning was great. He got us off to a good start. So everyone was feeling good about that. We just played a good team. Texas A&M played just wonderfully, especially down the stretch."
On the team's confidence moving forward following this showing at nationals ... "When you go through an experience like this, it definitely breeds confidence. We are obviously going to miss Bill (Rankin) and Nick (Pumford), but we have three returning players, hopefully, they will be able to build upon this for their careers. They know what the excitement of this format is, so they are going to be hungry to get back."
On his thoughts of the new NCAA Championship format ... "There has never been a more intense situation it seems like. We have a lot of great moments from both this morning and this afternoon where you didn't know if it could go one way or another. So, that is a really good atmosphere for team golf. It was a lot of fun out there. Definitely nerve-racking at times, but the guys did a great job. I think the new format is just tremendous."
U-M Senior Nick Pumford
On U-M's play at the NCAA Championships ... "It was a heck of a run. You couldn't ask for anything better having it come down to the last hole. It's unfortunate the way that it ended, but we are very excited. Words cannot describe the feeling. Coming in we were the 29th seed out of 30. No one gave us a chance. For us to do this from where we came from, it's unbelievable."
On if he knew how everyone was playing down the stretch ... "I did. You sneak peeks here and there at the scoreboard. After I lost the 15th hole, I was able to come back on the 16th and close it out on 17. I knew it was important because Lion (Kim) and Alexander (Sitompul) were in trouble in their matches. Bill (Rankin) is such a grinder and Matt (Thompson) is such a competitor. It was great to see us have a chance coming down 18. It was pretty exciting."
On what this means for the program going forward ... "It's tremendous. For recruiting, for coach, for the guys, for Michigan, for the fans, this week was just tremendous. To be in this situation is unbelievable. It is such a good experience. Hopefully, the younger guys will take this and build from this."
U-M Senior Bill Rankin
On the meaning of today ... "Over the course of my four years we have been able to make such improvements. There have been so many stepping stones or milestones and people have asked us the same question, how does this feel. Every time we have answered we haven't been satisfied. That is the reason we got here and were able to succeed and make it to the semifinals. We aren't all the way there yet, but the young guys know it. But they certainly have a platform to work from now."
On if this will be one of his most memorable moments in golf ... "Yeah, I am not going to forget this one. It is pretty overwhelming. Especially with it being my last tournament. You just see how hard those guys fight and you want to be a part of that. I don't really want it to end, but I know that I was part of something really special. It's something I will never forget."
NOTES
• After U-M dedicated the 2009 Big Ten Championships to former U-M great Ed Schalon, who passed away in December, the Wolverines continued in the NCAA postseason dedicating U-M's run to another U-M legend, Woodrow Malloy, who passed away this May. Malloy was the last surviving member of U-M's 1934 and 1935 NCAA championship team
• Michigan competed it its second match play format event this season. Earlier this season, U-M finished as the runner-up in the inaugural Big Ten match play at the TPC of Heron Bay in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. In the NCAA Match Play, U-M made it to the semifinals.
• Michigan competed in its first match play format at the NCAA Championships since the Wolverines won back-to-back NCAA titles in 1934 and 1935.
• By virtue of their top 15 finishes in stroke play, sophomores Alexander Sitompul and Lion Kim earned the minimum of honorable mention All-America status. Full selections will be announced next week.
• Alexander Sitompul ties his career-best, 54-hole tournament score with a two-under 211 at the NCAA Finals. It equals the five-under 211 he posted at the 2009 River Landing Intercollegiate, playing at par 72. Overall, it marks the eighth tournament this season a Wolverine has finished under par.
• Closing with a 1-0-1 record, Matt Thompson remains undefeated in match play format events. After going 3-0 at the Big Ten Match Play event he is 4-0-1 in his career.
• Michigan closed the 2008-09 season with a 292.05 scoring averaging, setting a new U-M record. It topped the record set last season by nearly two-and-a-half shots; the 2007-08 Wolverines averaged 294.42.
• Lion Kim closed the 2008-09 season averaging 72.89 strokes per round to become just the second Wolverine in history to average below 73 in a season. The only other Wolverine to do so was former All-American Michael Harris, who did it three times -- the school record of 72.23 (1999-2000), 72.41 (1997-98) and 72.72 (1998-99).
• Michigan closes the 2008-09 season with 57 total rounds of par or better. Bill Rankin led the way with 12, while Lion Kim, Alexander Sitompul and Matt Thompson each had 10. Nick Pumford finished with nine. Sitompul is the only Wolverine starter to finish the season with all sub-par numbers.
• Michigan made its first NCAA Championships appearance in 12 years. U-M's last appearance was in 1997, when the Wolverines closed 25th after a 36-hole total of 597 (300-297). The score did not advance them past 36 holes. Overall, it was U-M's 23rd NCAA postseason appearance as a team.
• All five Wolverines are making their NCAA Championships debut. Four of U-M's five starters have two years experience playing in an NCAA Regional. Bill Rankin, Nick Pumford, Alexander Sitompul and Lion Kim have back-to-back NCAA Regional appearances for the Maize and Blue.
• Andrew Sapp has now taken three different schools and four total programs to the NCAA Championships. Overall, he is making his 11th trip to nationals. In his coaching career, he has helped lead North Carolina, Purdue's men's and women's teams and now the Wolverines to the national tournament.
• With his start at the NCAA Championships, Bill Rankin ended his career with 37 straight and not missing a start in his last three seasons. Nick Pumford closed his career starting his final 23 events, while Lion Kim extended his consecutive start streak to 19. All three were the only Wolverines to start all 13 events this season.
Players Mentioned
