Women's Golf Brings in Trio of Signees during National Signing Period
11/10/2021 9:47:00 PM | Women's Golf
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan women's golf head coach Jan Dowling announced Wednesday (Nov. 10), the signing of Mara Janess (Barrington, Ill.) and twin sisters Lauren Sung and Sydney Sung (Palo Alto, Calif.) to National of Letters of Intent during fall signing period.
"All three of our signees bring in a very high skill set with great national tournament experience," said Dowling. "However, what stands out is all three have not even come close to peaking with regards to their ability and achievements. This group will continue to improve throughout their four year career at Michigan, and we are so excited to get them on campus to start working."
Ranked as the top golfer in Illinois for the Class of 2022, Janess capped off a stellar prep career, guiding Barrington to its first ever Class 2A State title in 2021 and added her second career Class 2A medalist honor after a 141 (-3; 71-70) tally. Throughout her career, she helped Barrington to two runner-up Class 2A team finishes and won her first of two individual state titles in 2019 after a 147 (76-71) total victory in a sudden death playoff.
This past summer, Janess won the 2021 Western Junior Amateur Championship following a dominating 5&4 win over Katie Scheck in the championship match to win the Icely Cup. She added a quarterfinal finish in the 2021 Illinois State Women's Amateur and a pair of medalist runner-ups at the Dupage County Junior Classic (70-70/140, -2) and Medinah Country Shrine Junior (72-72/144, E).
"I am so thrilled to join the Wolverine family and be in Ann Arbor next fall!" said Janess. "I look forward to being a part of the women's golf program with my future teammates and great coaches."
"Mara is an incredible athlete who brings in a skill set of length and speed that will bode well throughout her collegiate career and beyond," said Dowling. "She has learned how to win in the past two years with some great tournament experiences. Additionally, she has a passion to improve and carries herself with a ton of maturity which will make her transition to college golf very smooth."
The second pair of twins and fifth pair of sisters to play together at Michigan, the Sung sisters will arrive at Michigan following strong careers at Palo Alto High School, where they helped win the school's first ever state title at the 2019 CIF State High School Finals.
"Lauren has an incredibly high ceiling," said Dowling. "Her enthusiasm for her golf development, academics and desire to become a Wolverine was evident from the beginning of the recruiting process. With her strong work ethic and inquisitive mind, her already strong golf game will take off in our team environment as well as consistent coaching. She has vast tournament experience already and a great athletic mind that will help her achieve a lot throughout her career at Michigan"
"Sydney comes in with a wealth of experience competing in junior golf's most elite events," added Dowling. "She has competed all across the country in different conditions against the nation's best. This has helped prepare her for the next level and she will be a force for our team right away. Like her sister, Sydney's ceiling is incredibly high and being surrounded by great collegiate players on our current roster as well as consistent coaching will help her achieve lofty goals for herself and the team"
Sydney, who is ranked as the No. 13 golfer in California for the Class of 2022, highlighted her prep career winning the Central Coast Sectional (CCS) Tournament and guiding Palo Alto out of the regional to the state finals in 2019. While there, Palo Alto went on to win the title and recorded the first title ever for a Northern California team.
Throughout her junior career, she accumulated nine top-10 finishes, six of which were top-5 finishes on the AJGA circuit. This past summer she tied for seventh at the Bubba Conlee Junior Golf Tournament (69-78/147) and the 2021 Kathy Whitworth Invitational (72-73/145) while finishing 13th at the American Junior Golfer's Association's (AJGA) Allison Lee Championship (69-72-82/223).
In 2020, she was the medalist runner-up at the AJGA Junior at Pronghorn, third at the AJGA Wincraft/MacArthur Towel & Sports Future Legends and fourth at the 2020 AJGA Girls Invitational at Stanford. She also qualified for 2020 Junior Worlds with a 69 and third place finish at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex.
"I am extremely excited to become a part of the Michigan family!" said Sydney Sung. "I can't wait to work under such dedicated coaches and around motivating teammates. I truly believe that Michigan will help me reach all of my goals with its amazing resources and networks. I'm counting down the days until I get to Ann Arbor!"
In addition to the 2019 CIF State title, Lauren, who is ranked 23rd in California for the Class of 2022, posted 10 top-10 finishes with two top-5s in AJGA play including a third place showing at the AJGA at Forest Lake (72-74-71/216) and a fourth place finish at the AJGA Junior at Ruby Hill (69-72-73/ 214).
"I am incredibly excited to be joining the Wolverine family and coming to Ann Arbor next fall!" said Lauren Sung. "It has always been my dream to play collegiate golf at the highest level while attending an amazing academic institution. Choosing Michigan was the best decision I could have ever made and it puts me on the path to greater success, and helps me achieve my goals - academically and athletically. I can't wait to get to work and be a part of this amazing program and coaches."
With a 69 she qualified for 2021 Junior Worlds and finished 41st, added a third place finish at the AJGA IHY Detroit Junior at Forest Lake (72-74-71/217) and tied for 17th at the 2021 Bubba Conlee Junior Golf Tournament (73-79/152). In 2020, she posted four AJGA top 10 finishes highlighted by a pair of sixth place finishes at the Wincraft/MacArthur Towel & Sports Future legends (79-73-74/226) and Kyle Stanley Championship (73-37/111).
In 2018 and at the age of 14, Lauren competed in the U.S. Women's Amateur at The Golf Club of Tennessee and missed the cut after posting a 151 (77-74) stroke play tally.
At the end of the 2021-22 season, the Wolverines are expected to lose seniors Sophia Trombetta and Jacqueline Young in addition to graduate student Ashley Kim, who returned after the NCAA allowed an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
