This Week in Michigan Women's Golf: NCAA Championships
5/12/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
May 12, 2016
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• Golfstat Team Ranking: 47th
• Golfweek Team Ranking: 49th
THIS WEEK
Fri-Wed., May 20-25 -- at NCAA Championships (Eugene, Ore.)
Championships Central | Eugene Country Club
Next on the Tee: NCAA Championships
The wait is over! The University of Michigan women's golf team will return to the NCAA Championships for the first time in 14 years. The Wolverines will travel to Eugene, Oregon, Friday through Wednesday, May 20-25, for the NCAA Finals. The six-day, 72-hole and team match-play event will be held at the Eugene Country Club and feature an 24-team field, and 10 invited individuals, competing for an opportunity win the NCAA individual and team crowns. The championship will be played in a 5-count-4 format with the Eugene C.C. set up for a par of 72 at 6,369 yards.
The NCAA Championships Format
All 24 teams and 12 individuals will complete 54 holes of stroke play. Following 54 holes of competition, the top 15 teams along with the top nine individuals not on an advancing team will advance for one additional day of stroke play to determine the top eight teams for match play and the 72-hole stroke-play individual champion. The top eight teams will be placed into a match-play bracket to determine the team national champion.
The NCAA Championships Field
The NCAA championships features a 24-team and 12-individual field competing for the national individual and team titles at the Eugene Country Club. The seeding for the finals will be:
1. Alabama
2. USC
3. UCLA
4. Florida
5. Duke
6. Georgia
7. Northwestern
8. Oklahoma State
9. Arizona
10. Arkansas
11. Stanford
12. Washington
13. Virginia
14. Florida State
15. South Carolina
16. Furman
17. Oregon
18. Tennessee
19. Texas
20. Ohio State
21. BYU
22. Miami (Fla)
23. North Carolina
24. Michigan
Individuals
1. Linnea Strom, Arizona State
2. Laura Lonardi, Baylor
3. Sarah Burnham, Michigan State
4. Bianca Pagdanganan, Gonzaga
5. Marianne Li, California
6. Jennifer Kupcho, Wake Forest
7. August Kim, Purdue
8. Andrea Wong, UC Davis
9. Lauren Stephenson, Clemson
10. Elise Bradley, LSU
11. Olivia Cason, Louisville
12. Leonie Harm, Houston
The NCAA Championships Schedule
Tuesday, May 17 -- Travel Day
Wednesday, May 18 -- Registration and course walk-around
Thursday, May 19 -- Practice Round (18), 9:30 a.m. PDT (shotgun start off No. 16)
Friday, May 20 -- First Round (18), 8:36 PDT (tee times off No. 1) #
Saturday, May 21 -- Second Round (18), 1:06 p.m. PDT (tee times off No. 10) #
Sunday, May 22 -- Third Round (18), 7:30 a.m. PDT (tee times off No. 1 and 10) ^
Monday, May 23 -- (if advance) Final Round (18), 11:50 a.m. PDT (tee times off No. 1 and 10)*
Tuesday, May 24 -- (if advance) Match Play First Round, 7 a.m. PDT (tee times off No. 1 and 10)
Tuesday, May 24 -- (if advance) Match Play Semifinal, 1:30 p.m. PDT (tee times off No. 1)
Wednesday, May 25 -- (if advance) Match Play Championship, 2:10 p.m. PDT (tee times off No. 1)
# U-M will play first and second rounds with Miami (Fla.) and North Carolina
^ Tee times will be based upon team standing
* Field cut to top 15 teams after 54 holes for final round; playing for individual title and team match play seeding
The NCAA Championships TV Schedule
The Golf Channel will broadcast more than 12 hours of live coverage during the NCAA Championships starting with Monday's final 18 holes of qualifying to Tuesday and Wednesday's match play.
» Monday, May 23 -- Final Round, Individual National Championship, 7-10 p.m. (Live)
» Tuesday, May 24 -- Quarterfinals, Team Match Play, 1:30-3:30 p.m. (Live)
» Tuesday, May 24 -- Semifinals, Team Match Play, 6:30-10 p.m. (Live)
» Wednesday, May 25 -- Finals, Team Match Play, 6-10 p.m. (Live)
The NCAA Championships Lineup
Michigan will have five players travel to the NCAA Championships, including junior Grace Choi, senior Catherine Peters, sophomore Megan Kim, sophomore Emily White and freshman Elodie Van Dievoet.
Michigan in the NCAA Postseason
Michigan has been represented in regional competition by the team or an individual 11 times, making team appearances in 2001, '02, '05, '07, '09, '11, '12 and now '16. Laura Olin (2004), Amy Schmucker (2006) and Ashley Bauer (2010) made central regional appearances as individuals. The Maize and Blue has advanced to the NCAA Finals twice in program history, including this season. The Wolverines finished 17th at the 2002 event held at Washington National in Auburn, Washington.
Below is a look at how the Wolverines have fared during NCAA postseason action:
• 2001, East Regional - 12th of 21 (308-308-309/925) - program's first invitation
• 2002, Central Regional - 6th of 21 (313-322-294/929)
• 2002, NCAA Finals - 17th of 24 (301-299-299-300/1199) - program's first advancement to NCAA Finals
• 2004, Central Regional - Laura Olin, individual, t-17th (75-76-78/229)
• 2005, Central Regional - 15th of 21 (301-320-305/926)
• 2006, Central Regional - Amy Schmucker, individual, t-71st (80-82-78/240)
• 2007, Central Regional - 13th of 21 (311-305-310/926) - hosted at U-M Golf Course
• 2009, Central Regional - 17th of 21 (312-321-327/960)
• 2010, Central Regional - Ashley Bauer, individual, t-76th (78-87-80/245)
• 2011, Central Regional - 18th of 24 (316-307-315/938)
• 2012, Central Regional - 16th of 24 (315-316-306/937)
• 2016, Alabama Regional - 6th of 18 (311-304-300/916)
The Last (and Only) NCAA Championships Appearance
In just its second NCAA Regional appearance, Michigan battled the elements the first two days of the Central Regional at Michigan State's Forest Akers West Course (May 9-11) in East Lansing before charging back with a final-round 294 to vault itself into a sixth-place finish and qualify for its first trip to the NCAA Championships. Moving on to Washington National, U-M finished 17th at NCAAs, and its 1,199 NCAA total set the U-M record for a 72-hole tournament by 17 strokes, bettering the old record of 1,216 set at the 2000 Big Ten Championships. Bess Bowers' 291 NCAA total set the U-M record for a 72-hole tournament by 11 strokes, bettering the old mark of 302 set by Sharon Park (1996-99) at the 1998 Big Ten Championships. [Recap ]
MATCH PLAY PREPARTION
• With the new match-play format for the NCAA Finals, Michigan and Wisconsin teamed up to host the East & West Match Play Challenge the last two years -- first in Ann Arbor (Radrick Farms Golf Course) and then in Madison (University Ridge).
• The idea was to mirror the new format with 36 holes of stroke play for seeding followed with match play to crown a champion.
• Michigan is 2-6 over the last two seasons in match play -- 2-4 in 2014 and 0-2 in 2015.
• Wolverine career match play records (NCAA lineup): Megan Kim (5-3), Catherine Peters (4-4), Grace Choi (3-5), Emily White (3-5), Elodie Van Dievoet (0-2)
NCAA ALABAMA REGIONAL
• Michigan received its first NCAA regional bid in four years and competed in the Alabama Regional at Shoal Creek Country Club. [ Recap ]
• With a program-record 916 NCAA Regional total, the Wolverines finished sixth and advanced to the NCAA Finals for the just the second time in program history. U-M's only other trip to the championships was 14 years ago in 2002 at Washington National in Auburn, Washington.
• U-M's sixth-place finish equals the program's best finish at a regional, tying the sixth-place showing at the 2002 NCAA Central Regional.
• U-M's 916 set the program's regional record by nine shots, topping the 925 tallied in the 2001 NCAA East Regional.
• Catherine Peters set the program's regional individual record with her fifth-place finish and 223 (77-74-72) total -- lowering the mark by a single shot.
BIG TEN TOURNAMENT
• Michigan finished sixth at the Big Ten Championships (April 22-24), setting a new U-M conference-championships record with an 865 (285-288-292) total. [ Recap ]
• The Wolverines' first-round 285 (-3) set a U-M team record for a single round at the conference tournament. U-M's second-round 288 (E) was the second best of all time. Both rounds topped the 291 tallied in the first round of the 2015 B1G Tournament.
• U-M's 865 total was 17 shots better than the previous record of 882 set by the Wolverines at the 2015 conference tournament.
• Grace Choi used a final-round 71 (-1) to tie for 15th with a 215 (-1) total, setting the U-M individual 54-hole B1G Championships record by two shots, marking the first time a Wolverine finished under par at the conference tournament.
• The Wolverines had three players finish among the top 25 -- Choi (t-15th), Megan Kim (t-17th) and Catherine Peters (t-25th).
WOLVERINE BITES
• For the first time since 2005, Michigan had multiple players on the All-Big Ten teams as Grace Choi received first team honors, while senior Catherine Peters was named to the second team. Choi is the first Wolverine to earn first team honors since 2010 (Ashley Bauer), while Peters' second team award gives U-M multiple All-Big Ten honorees for the first time in 11 years -- 2005, Brianna Broderick (first team), Laura Olin (first team) and Ali Stinson (second team) were all named all-conference.
• Michigan has three top-five finishes in 10 events this season. U-M highlighted the season with a third-place showing at the Yale Women's Golf Collegiate (Oct. 9-11). U-M added fourth-place finishes at the Las Vegas Showdown (Oct. 25-27) and the East & West Match Play Challenge (Sept. 20-22).
• The battle for the scoring title has heated up as Grace Choi took over the lead with school-record pace 73.83 per-round average. She is ahead of Catherine Peters' 74.14 and Emily White's 74.92. All three are chasing the school record of 73.51 set by Ashley Bauer (2007-10) during the 2009-10 season.
• With the scoring race heating up, nearly every veteran Wolverine is averaging almost one-and-a-half strokes better than their single season-best scoring average. Below is a listing of the improvements.
» Emily White: 74.92, -2.99 (77.91, 2014-15)
» Catherine Peters: 74.14, -2.62 (76.76, 2014-15)
» Grace Choi: 73.83, -1.81 (75.64, 2013-14)
» Kathy Lim: 75.43, -1.45 (76.88, 2014-15)
» Megan Kim: 75.10, -0.94 (76.04, 2014-15)
• Michigan is averaging 295.55 per team round this season. This average is currently the only sub-300 team average in program history. The Wolverine record -- with a minimum of 10 total events -- is 302.53 set during the 2009-10 season -- a little less than seven shots higher (6.98) per team round. This year alone, U-M has five sub-par team totals, including a U-M-record 275 (-13) in the first round of the Las Vegas Showdown (Oct. 25-27).
• Michigan set the U-M 54-hole tournament record at the Las Vegas Showdown (Oct. 25-27) by 38 strokes. With all three of U-M's team tallies -- 275 (-13), 279 (-9) and 281 (-7) -- breaking U-M's record for all-time lowest round, the Maize and Blue finished with an 835 (-29) team total to lower the U-M 54-hole record by a little less than 40 shots -- 873 at the 2001 Lady Northern Invitational (Sept. 21-23).
• U-M produced a 36-hole team tournament record with a 584 total at the East & West Match Play Challenge (Sept. 20-22). The Wolverines were nine shots better than the previous mark of 593 (296-297) tallied at the 2013 Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championships (Sept. 20-22). It marks just the second time in program history the Wolverines closed a 36-hole event sub-600.
• With 205 (-11) individual totals at the Las Vegas Showdown (Oct. 26-27), Grace Choi and Catherine Peters both lowered the 54-hole individual record by four strokes. Choi (71-65-69) and Peters (68-68-69) topped the previous record of 209 (-4) set by Ashley Bauer (2007-10), which was tallied at the 2010 Rio Verde Invitational (March 5-7).
• With her 139 (-5) tally in the stroke-play qualifier of the East & West Match Play Challenge (Sept. 20-22), Grace Choi shattered the U-M 36-hole tournament record by eight strokes. The previous mark was from recently departed Lauren Grogan (2012-15), who had a 147 (72-75) at the 2013 Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship (Sept. 20-22).
• Emily White became U-M's 28th individual medalist after defeating Clemson's Lauren Stephenson on the second playoff hole to win at the Yale Women's Intercollegiate (Oct. 9-11). It was the first time White led U-M at an event after not having finished lower than 20th in her career. She finished with a career-best 211 (-2) 54-hole tally. The title was the first under U-M head coach Jan Dowling.
• With Emily White's win at the Yale Women's Intercollegiate, Michigan now has two Wolverines who have brought home hardware from an event this season. In the second fall event, Kathy Lim won the individual match play bracket at the East & West Match Play Challenge (Sept. 20-22).
CHIPS & PUTTS
• Michigan is averaging 295.55 per team round, which is well below school-record pace. In fact, no U-M team has finished a season averaging below 300, as the current scoring average is 302.53 set during the 2009-10 season.
• Grace Choi leads the Wolverines with a near U-M record scoring pace of 73.83 per round. Ashley Bauer (2007-10) holds the record, averaging 73.51 during the 2009-10 season.
• Michigan has had 22 sub-par individual rounds, with 11 of those below the 70-stroke barrier.
• All seven Wolverines have set a new career best for a tournament single round this season.
• Michigan has recorded eight sub-par individual tournament totals.
• Michigan has a record of 83-64-1 overall and 23-12 against the Big Ten this season.
INTO THE RECORD BOOKS
• Grace Choi tied the U-M single-round record with a 65 (-7) in the second round of the Las Vegas Showdown (Oct. 26). With 11 pars and seven birdies in her bogey-free round, she equaled Ashley Bauer's (2007-10) school record of 65.
• Choi shot a U-M-record 139 (-5) 36-hole tournament total at the East & West Match Play Challenge (Sept. 20-22).
• Choi, and Catherine Peters, set a U-M-record 205 (-11) 54-hole tournament total at the Las Vegas Showdown.
• With her 215 (-1) tally at the Big Ten Championships, Choi set the U-M record at the conference tournament and became the first Wolverines to finish under par in program history.
• Michigan set the U-M record for lowest team round (275, -13) in the first round of the Las Vegas Showdown.
• Michigan set the U-M records for 36-hole tournament (584, East & West Match Play Challenge) and 54-hole tournament (835, -29, Las Vegas Showdown).
• Michigan set school records for Big Ten Tournament total (865; 17 shots better) and NCAA regional (916; 10 shots better).
Communications Contact: Tom Wywrot
