Wolverines Announce Challenging 2009-10 Schedule
8/26/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
2009-10 U-M Men's Golf Schedule
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Following two team titles, a second straight NCAA Regional trip and seven top-five finishes capped off with a Final Four appearance in the NCAA Championships a season ago, University of Michigan men's golf coach Andrew Sapp released today (Wednesday, Aug. 26) the Wolverines' challenging 2009-10 tournament schedule.
"We are very excited about our schedule this year," said Sapp. "There have been some slight alterations to it, but overall we will compete in many of the tournaments from a year ago because we had a lot of success at those events."
U-M will compete in 10 regular season tournaments -- five fall events and five in the spring season -- followed with the postseason beginning in Independence, Minn., for the 2010 Big Ten Championships at the Windsong Farm Golf Club, April 30-May 2. Overall, seven of U-M's 10 slated events are return visits from a season ago.
Opening last year with back-to-back team wins at the Wolf Run Intercollegiate and the Wolverine Intercollegiate, Sapp's Wolverines will try to duplicate the feat repeating those events to start the 2009-10 season with a slight twist to the home event. Following the season opener at the 2009 Wolf Run Intercollegiate, Sept. 12-13, in Zionsville, Ind., U-M will switch Ann Arbor courses, hosting its annual home event at U-M's Radrick Farms Golf Course, Sept. 26-27.
"For just the second time in my eight years here, we will be hosting the Wolverine at Radrick Farms," said Sapp. "Our players love that course and it will be a wonderful venue for our 14-team field from all over the country."
After hosting its only event of the season, the Wolverines make their third straight trip to Glencoe, Ill., Oct. 4-5, for the Windon Memorial Classic at the Skokie Country Club. In its only new fall event from a year ago, U-M will travel to Macon, Ga., for the Brickyard Collegiate, Oct. 10-12, played at the Brickyard at Riverside. The fall season closes with a return trip to the Bridgestone Intercollegiate in Greensboro, N.C., Oct. 24-25. Last year, U-M closed with a third-place team finish at the event played at the Forest Oaks Country Club.
"We are looking forward to playing in the Brickyard Collegiate event in mid-October," said Sapp. "This will be a very quality event for us as it hosts some of the top teams in the southsuch asGeorgia, Georgia Tech, Florida State, LSU and Clemson."
After a three-month break from competition, the Wolverines return for the 2010 spring season, opening with the Big Ten Match Play Championship in Coral Springs, Fla., Feb. 12-13. After finishing as the runner-up a year ago, the Wolverines will look to take advantage of their 2009 match play experience and move up one more spot in the conference event played at the TPC of Heron Bay.
Closing out February, U-M will make its eighth trip to the Puerto Rico Classic, Feb. 21-23, which is played at the Rio Mar Country Club, River Course in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico. The annual event, hosted by Purdue, usually includes a field with several of the top 25 teams in the country. Taking its spring break in California, the Maize and Blue will close out the trip, March 8-9, playing at the Fresno State Lexus Classic at the San Joaquin Country Club, in Fresno, Calif.
"We have an exciting spring set up in 2010," said Sapp. "Highlighting the spring is our spring break trip to California. We will play Stanford in a match, as well as have the opportunity of playing at Pebble Beach and Cypress Point before closing out the trip playing in Fresno State's event."
After a runner-up finish last season, Michigan heads back to Boca Raton, Fla., for the FAU/Spring Break Championship, March 26-29, at the Gleneagles Country Club. To close the regular season, the Wolverines head to Raleigh, N.C., April 9-10, for the Wolfpack Intercollegiate at the Lonnie Poole Golf Course.
The NCAA postseason will continue with its new format after successful run in 2009. After expanding the NCAA regional field to six sites, being played May 20-22, the top five teams and top individual from a non-qualifying team will advance to the NCAA Finals played at the Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tenn., June 1-6. Like the 2009 format, at the end of the 54 holes of the NCAA Finals, an individual champion will be crowned and only the top eight teams will advance to a match-play playoff to determine the 2010 team national champion.
The listing of 2010 NCAA Regional sites include: New Haven, Conn. (Yale University Golf Course); South Bend, Ind. (The Warren Golf Course); Woodstock, Ga. (Capital City Club); Bryan, Texas (The Traditions Club); Santee, Calif. (Carlton Oaks Golf Course) and Bremerton, Wash. (Gold Mountain Golf Club).
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
