Michigan
Florida Gators Invitational
Four Top-25 Wolverines Lead Michigan to Third at Gators Invitational
3/8/2020 8:40:00 PM | Women's Golf
» Tallying a final team total of 286, Michigan posted a season-low 869 54-hole total to finished third at the Florida Gators Invitational at the Mark Bostick Golf Course. The Wolverines were just a single shot out of second.
» With a final-round 68 (-2), Ashley Kim led U-M for the third straight event and posted a third consecutive top 10 finish after tying for third with a 213 (+3) total.
» Ashley Lau (74-72-71) and freshman Hailey Borja (74-69-74) help U-M put three in the top 10 individually as they tied for seventh with 217 totals.
» Sophia Trombetta made her first start since October and finished 22nd with a 223 total
» U-M closed its spring-break trip with back-to-back top five team finishes -- Hurricane Invitational (4th of 12) and Gators Invitational (3rd of 12).
Site: Gainesville, Florida
Course: Mark Bostick Golf Course (Par 70, 6,002 yards)
Tournament: Florida Gators Invitational
U-M Team Standing: 3rd Place of 12 Teams (292-291-286/869)
Top U-M Individual: Ashley Kim, t-3rd (70-75-68/213, +3)
Next U-M Event: Mon-Tue., March 16-17 -- Briar's Creek Invitational (John's Island, S.C.)
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Paced by a final round 68 (-2) from junior Ashley Kim and a 71 (+1) from sophomore Ashley Lau, the University of Michigan women's golf team closed the Florida Gators Invitational with a 286 team total to give the Wolverines a third-place finish with a season-low 869 54-hole total at the Mark Bostick Golf Course.
"It was really great to be in the final pairing again on the last day," said U-M head coach Jan Dowling. "It's an incredible experience for our young team as we progress through the spring season. We are gaining invaluable experience. We just have to stay patient because we will start firing on all cylinders soon.
"Having three finish among the top 10 is tremendous. The course was an awesome test and will get us ready for the postseason. The greens were really fast and penalizing if missed in the wrong spot. Solid, solid golf from all three. We are excited to take this momentum into the rest of our spring season."
The Wolverines began the final leg of their 2020 spring-break trip fresh off a fourth-place finish at Miami's Hurricane Invitational in Coral Gables, Florida. Heading to Gainesville, U-M maintained its momentum posting team tallies of 292 and 291 as the Wolverines positioned themselves third after 36 holes. Posting the second-lowest team total of the final round at 286, the Maize and Blue made a push for the runner-up position, but stayed in the third spot with a season-low 869 -- just a shot back of Virginia Tech's 868.
En route to U-M's second straight top five finish, the Wolverines placed four individuals in the top 25 and three among the top 10, led by Kim's third straight top-10 finish as she tied for third with a 213 (+3) total. After opening with a 70 (E) she followed with a 75 to sit among the top 10 after 36 holes. Using four final-round birdies, Kim carded her sixth round of par or better over her last nine rounds to vault herself to the third spot.
"Ashley (Kim) was so close to bringing home some more hardware," said Dowling. "Her birdie streaks are impressive; she's fearless. And, it's fun to watch her make so many putts, capitalizing on her great ball control off the tee and into the greens."
"Today's round was very solid considering the windy conditions, and I wanted to play well to put a good score for the team," said Kim. "This whole week was super consistent and we worked and practiced hard this week to get to where we are. Our team is definitely climbing and striving to get a win. I'm super happy for the team and cannot wait to compete again."
Freshman Hailey Borja (74-69-74) and sophomore Ashley Lau (74-72-71) gave the Wolverines three among the top 10 as they both tied for seventh with 217 totals. Borja's second-round 69 (-1) was a career low and marked the first time she cracked the 70 barrier. Lau used a season-low-tying 71 (+1) in the final round to produce a season-low 217 54-hole total.
Making her first start since early October, sophomore Sophia Trombetta gave U-M four individuals among the top 25 as she was 22nd with a 223 total. Freshman Anika Dy played as an individual and also earned a top 25 position after tying for 23rd at 224.
The Wolverines will return from their spring-break trip for a week of classes before heading out to John's Island, South Carolina, for the College of Charleston's Briar's Creek Invitational. The two-day, 54-hole event is scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, March 16-17 at the Golf Club at Briar's Creek.
Final Team Standings
 1. Florida                284-286-280 = 850 (+10)  2. Virginia Tech          296-278-294 = 868  3. MICHIGAN               292-291-286 = 869  4. Penn State             298-292-289 = 879    Central Florida        288-296-295 = 879  6. Campbell               296-298-306 = 900  7. Tennessee              300-301-303 = 904  8. South Florida          303-305-308 = 916  9. Daytona State College  310-301-306 = 917 10. Kansas                 303-309-312 = 924 11. Florida International  312-304-309 = 925 12. Florida Atlantic       316-311-308 = 935
Top Individuals
 1. Tunrada Piddon, UCF               68-71-73 = 212 (+2)  2. Marta Perez SanMartin, Florida    74-71-67 = 212  3. ASHLEY KIM, U-M                   70-75-68 = 213    Jessica Spicer, Virginia Tech     76-67-70 = 213    Annabell Fuller, Florida          69-73-71 = 213  6. Clara Manzalini, Florida          70-73-71 = 214  7. HAILEY BORJA, U-M                 74-69-74 = 217    ASHLEY LAU, U-M                   74-72-71 = 217    Mathilde Delavallade, Penn State  73-68-76 = 217    Addison Baggarly, Florida         77-69-71 = 217
Other Michigan Individuals
 22. Sophia Trombetta  74-76-73 = 223 T52. Mikaela Schulz    81-75-76 = 232 T23. Anika Dy          79-71-74 = 224* T47. Hannah Ghelfi     79-74-78 = 231* * playing as individual
Players Mentioned
