This Week in Michigan Women's Golf: Big Ten Championships

» Michigan will begin postseason play at the Big Ten Championships in Maineville, Ohio. It is the fourth year the conference tournament will be played at the TPC River's Bend.
» U-M heads to the postseason with six straight top-five team finishes, including in all four events this season.
» Coming off her first career win, Ashley Lau leads the Wolverines with a 72.38 per round average.
» Three of the six Wolverines will be making their postseason debuts.

THIS WEEK
Fri-Sun., April 23-25 -- at Big Ten Championships (Maineville, Ohio)
Live Scoring | Big Ten Championships | TPC River's Bend

Next on the Tee: Big Ten Championships

Postseason play is here! The University of Michigan women's golf team will shift its focus toward its second season as the Wolverines travel to Maineville, Ohio, Friday through Sunday (April 23-25) for the 54-hole Big Ten Championships. For the ninth straight year the conference tournament will be held at a neutral site, as this year's event will once again be at TPC River's Bend. The Big Ten Championships will be played in a 6-count-4 format with TPC River's Bend being set up for a par of 72 at 6,300 yards.

The Big Ten Championships Field

There will be 13 of 14 conference schools participating in the 2021 Big Ten Championships. The current seeding (1-14) with GolfStat relative rankings (4/20/21) are: No. 1 seed Maryland (19), No. 2 seed Michigan (25), No. 3 seed Northwestern (30), No. 4 seed Illinois (41), No. 5 seed Michigan State (38), No. 6 seed Purdue (42), No. 7 seed Nebraska (55), No. 8 seed Ohio State (62), No. 9 seed Penn State (72), No. 10 seed Minnesota (74), No. 11 seed Iowa (84), No. 12 seed Wisconsin (85), No. 13 seed Rutgers (116) and No. 14 seed Indiana (147). Ohio State will not participate in the postseason as part of its self-imposed ban for NCAA infractions.

The Big Ten Championships Schedule

Thursday, April 22 -- Practice Round (18), 9:45 a.m.
Friday, April 23 -- First Round (18), 10:18 a.m. (tee times off No. 1 with Maryland and Northwestern)
Saturday, April 24 -- Second Round (18), 8:30 a.m. (tee times off Nos. 1 and 10)
Sunday, April 25 -- Final Round (18), 8 a.m. (tee times off Nos. 1 and 10)

The Big Ten Championships

First-Day Pairings
Tee #1 (8:30 a.m.) -- #7 Nebraska, #9 Penn State, #10 Minnesota
Tee #1 (9:24 a.m.) -- #4 Illinois, #5 Michigan State, #6 Purdue
Tee #1 (10:18 a.m.) -- #1 Maryland, #2 Michigan, #3 Northwestern
Tee #10 (8:57 a.m.) -- #13 Rutgers, #14 Indiana
Tee #10 (9:33 a.m.) -- #11 Iowa, #12 Wisconsin

Second-Day Pairings
Tee #1 (8:30 a.m.) -- #7 Team, #8 Team, #9 Team
Tee #1 (9:24 a.m.) --#4 Team, #5 Team, #6 Team
Tee #1 (10:18 a.m.) -- #1 Team, #2 Team, #3 Team
Tee #10 (8:57 a.m.) -- #12 Team, #13 Team
Tee #10 (9:33 a.m.) -- #10 Team, #11 Team

Final-Day Pairings
Tee #1 (8:00 a.m.) -- #7 Team, #8 Team, #9 Team
Tee #1 (8:54 a.m.) --#4 Team, #5 Team, #6 Team
Tee #1 (9:48 a.m.) -- #1 Team, #2 Team, #3 Team
Tee #10 (8:27 a.m.) -- #12 Team, #13 Team
Tee #10 (9:03 a.m.) -- #10 Team, #11 Team

The Big Ten Championships Lineup

Michigan will bring six starters to the Big Ten Championships. Traveling to Maineville, Ohio, will be junior Ashley Lau, freshman Monet Chun, senior Ashley Kim, sophomore Hailey Borja, sophomore Mikaela Schulz and junior Sophia Trombetta.

Big Ten Championships Experience

• Ashley Kim -- third: 2018 (t-43rd, 226), 2019 (t-56th, 153)
• Ashley Lau -- second: 2019 (t-11th, 145)
• Sophia Trombetta -- second: 2019 (t-33rd, 149)
• Hailey Borja -- first championship
• Mikaela Schulz -- first championship
• Monet Chun -- first championship

Michigan at the Big Ten Championships

Michigan has 10 top-five finishes at the Big Ten Championships including a runner-up finish in 2005 and a third-place finish in 2002. In 2017, Elodie Van Dievoet won the program's first medalist honor with a 210 (-6) tally. Prior to her performance, the Wolverines had three individuals finish as the runner-up -- LeAnna Wicks (2002, t-2nd), Ashley Bauer (2010, 2nd) and Yugene Lee (2012, 2nd).

Looking at the 2019 and 2020 Big Ten Championships

Michigan posted a final-round 285 (-3) at the 2019 Big Ten Championships to finish seventh with a 583 total. After weather forced the cancellation of the second round, the conference tournament was played in 36 holes for the first time in Big Ten history. Elodie Van Dievoet shot 68 (-3) to vault herself to the top five, tying for fifth with a 142 (-2) championships total in the final round of her career. Ashley Lau closed her first Big Ten Championships tied for 11th at 145 (+1). Due to the coronavirus global pandemic, the 2020 Big Ten and NCAA postseasons were canceled.

Michigan at TPC River's Bend

The Big Ten is hosting its fourth conference championship at TPC River's Bend in Maineville, Ohio. The Wolverines posted a fifth-place finish in 2017 and followed with seventh-place finishes in 2018 and 2019. U-M's best 54-hole tally at the TPC was an 883 in 2018, after the Maize and Blue recorded its lowest team tally with a 290 in the second round. The Wolverines have produced nine sub-par rounds over the last three conference events, paced by Elodie Van Dievoet's 68 (-4) in the second round of the 2019 championships.

Wolverine Bites

• Michigan has four straight top-five team finishes in 2021. After nearly a year away from tournament play, U-M was third at the Florida State Match Up (896), fifth at the Briar's Creek Invitational (890), third at the PING/ASU Invitational (864) and fourth at the Indiana Invitational (877). Adding in last season before COVID-19 truncated the season, U-M has six straight top-five team finishes -- fourth at 2020 Hurricane Invitational (891) and third at 2020 Florida Gators Invitational (861).

• With a team average of 293.54, the Wolverines have posted six of seven team tallies of 292 or better, with a season-low 286 (-2) in the final round of the PING/ASU Invitational. The Maize and Blue saves the best for last, averaging 294.40 (1st), 296.00 (2nd) and 290.00 (3rd).

• Ashley Lau used a career-low-tying 68 (-4) in the final round of the Indiana Invitational to record her first career medalist honor and earn the 32nd in program history. Lau (73-71-68) shot a career-low 212 (-4) to share the top spot with Michigan State's Valery Plata (69-73-70) and Kent State's Emily Price (73-67-72). Lau is the first Wolverine to earn a title since Ashley Kim shared medalist honors at the 2020 Hurricane Invitational.

• Ashley Lau continues to be the Wolverines' quiet grinder. After opening the spring with a 73 (t-2nd) in the match against Florida Golf Coast, she tied for 18th (224) at the FSU Match Up. Since then, she has led the Maize and Blue in the next three events -- Briar's Creek Invitational (7th, 219), PING/ASU Invitational (t-6th, 213, -3) and Indiana Invitational (t-1st, 212, -4). She leads the Wolverines with a 72.38 per round average. She has produced a career-low and U-M season-best round of 68 (-4) in her last two final rounds.

• Ashley Lau holds the top two 54-hole totals on the season with a 212 (-4) at the Indiana Invitational and a 213 (-3) at the PING/ASU Invitational. In fact, she has three of the top five by a Wolverine this season and is posting 217.00 per three-round event. The next closest Wolverine in Monet Chun with a 220.25 average.

• It is crazy to think Monet Chun keeps getting better. She has started her Michigan career with five straight finishes among the top 25, with four among the top 15. After tying for second (73) to start her career vs. FGCU, she tied for 12th at the Florida State Match Up (223), tied for 13th at the Briar's Creek Invitational (221) and was ninth at the PING/ASU Invitational (215, -1). She is second on the Wolverines with a 73.38 per round average.

• Before tournament play began, Hailey Borja was named the Big Ten Golfer of the Week (Jan. 20) after tying her career low with a 69 (-3) as Michigan prepared for its tournament season with a 289-322 victory over Florida Gulf Coast during a training trip in Florida. She compiled four birdies and a match-best 13 pars, finishing as U-M's top golfer by four shots and posting the Wolverines' only sub-par round of the match.

• Borja has started every event this season and is carrying a 73.92 scoring average, which is third overall. She is second with three sub-par rounds and has three top-25 individual finishes with a season-best ninth at the FSU Match Up (222). Last season, Borja posted nine rounds at par or better including three sub-par rounds.

• Ashley Kim posted a season-best tie for 17th at the PING/ASU Invitational with a 217 (+1) tally, as she posted a season-low 70 (-2) in the first round. She is scoring at a 75.08 per round clip -- fourth best on U-M. Last season, she led U-M with a 72.67 scoring average. She highlighted 2019-20 by posting her first individual win at Miami's Hurricane Invitational (March 2-3).

• Mikaela Schulz has played in all five events this season, with three starts. Over her last three final rounds she has closed with tallies of 73 (+1, Briar's Creek), 72 (even, PING/ASU Invitational) and 72 (even, Indiana Invitational). Overall, she has posted a 77.0 per round average, with 78.60 (1st) and 77.75 (2nd) averages in her first 36 holes. She has closed with a 74.25 final round average.

• Last season, Ashley Kim (first team) and Hailey Borja (second team) were named All-Big Ten. It marked the fourth time in program history the Wolverines had multiple selections in the same season, while Borja became the first U-M freshman to be named all-conference. Overall, Kim and Borja become U-M's 14th and 15th all-conference selections.

Next on the Tee

• Mon-Wed., May 10-12 -- NCAA Regional (NCAA selected, four sites)
• Fri-Wed., May 21-26 -- NCAA Championships (Scottsdale, Ariz.)