Michigan
NCAA Columbus Regional
Michigan Advances to NCAA Finals for Fourth Time in Program History
5/12/2021 7:43:00 PM | Women's Golf
» Posting a 301 final-round tally, Michigan posted an 885 NCAA Columbus Regional total to tie for fifth (Kent State) and advances to the NCAA Finals for the fourth time in program history.
» The Wolverines advance to the NCAA Finals for the third time under head coach Jan Dowling, who is in her eighth season with the Maize and Blue.
» Monet Chun led U-M, tying for second after using a career-low-tying 215 (70-70-75, -1) total, while Hailey Borja tied for 17th at 221 (69-75-77).
» U-M's tie for fifth, as well as its 885 total, are both the program's best finish and lowest 54-hole total in the NCAA postseason.
Site: Columbus, Ohio
Tournament: NCAA Columbus Regional (Day 3 of 3)
Course: OSU Golf Club Scarlet Course (par 72, 6,358 yards)
U-M Team Standing: Tie-5th place of 18 teams (288-296-301/885)
Top U-M Individual: Monet Chun, tie-2nd (70-70-75/215, -1)
Next U-M Event: Fri-Wed., May 21-26 -- at NCAA Championships (Scottsdale, Ariz.)
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Led by freshman Monet Chun's runner-up individual finish, the 24th-ranked University of Michigan women's golf team held on to tie for fifth after posting an 885 54-hole NCAA Columbus Regional total Wednesday (May 12) at the Ohio State University Golf Club and advance to the NCAA Finals for the fourth time in program history.
Earning a third NCAA Finals appearance under U-M coach Jan Dowling, the Wolverines will be joined by regional champion Georgia (865), Duke (880), Arizona State (880), Kentucky (883) and Kent State (885) as the six teams advancing out of the Columbus regional. The six advancing teams will head to the Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., from Friday through Wednesday, May 21-26. Advancing individuals from Columbus were Vanderbilt's Louise Yu (217, +1) and Celina Sattelkau (218, +2), Virginia's Beth Lillie (217, +1).
"Advancing always requires a full team effort, and this week was no exception," said Dowling. "We had a tough stretch today, and once again the team dug deep when it mattered most. That's what great players do. We are thrilled and proud, and can't wait to get to Scottsdale."
Paced with a career-low-tying 69 (-3) from sophomore Hailey Borja, an opening 70 (-2) from Chun and a 73 (+1) from junior Ashley Lau, the Wolverines etched a U-M NCAA postseason-low even par 288 in Monday's (May 10) first round to position themselves third. Battling windy and chilly conditions in Tuesday's (May 11) second round, Chun led U-M with a second 70 (-2) keeping her in medalist contention and helping the Wolverines tally a 296 to move them to second place.
With birdies on four of her first six holes, Chun got off to a red-hot start in Wednesday's final round, but the rest of the Wolverines each had two bogeys or more apiece as U-M was 12-over par on the front nine, slipping U-M to the fourth spot.
Making the turn, senior Ashley Kim led a Wolverines back-nine rally, recording nine straight pars, while two birdies from Lau had her finish the side one-under. Two more birdies from Borja helped her go even-par over her final nine holes. As sophomore Mikaela Schulz added eight of her 15 final-round pars on the back side, U-M scraped out a 301 total to tie for fifth with Kent State.
"Today was tough all around," said Lau. "For me, I just wasn't comfortable but definitely fought hard on the back nine. We all fought hard. I am so proud of this team. We played well this week, and the entire season, and I am so happy we are moving on to nationals. Hard work does pay off. We are looking forward to playing and competing for a national title at Grayhawk."
Recording a career-low 215 (-1) total for the third time this season, Chun (70-70-75) paced the Wolverines with the best NCAA postseason finish in program history as she was in a three-way tie for second. Borja's tie for 17th (69-75-77/221) helped U-M post two Wolverines among the top 20 individually in the NCAA postseason for the first time. Lau rounded out the top three as she tied for 24th at 223 (73-74-76).
"It's super exciting to be going to Scottsdale for nationals," said Borja. "We all fought hard throughout the whole regional, and today we knew that every shot was going to count. Especially after making the turn, we all knew it was time to fight hard. Now, it's time to work on a couple things back in Ann Arbor, and we will be fighting hard at nationals."
With the tie for fifth, U-M not only posted the program's best NCAA postseason finish, it now has a top-five team finish in all seven events this season, extending its streak nine consecutive dating back to last season.
Final Team Standings
1. Georgia 289-288-288 = 865 (+1) 2. Duke 287-298-295 = 880 Arizona State 291-301-288 = 880 4. Kentucky 298-295-290 = 883 5. MICHIGAN 288-296-301 = 885 Kent State 291-298-296 = 885 7. Oklahoma 286-312-290 = 888 8. Vanderbilt 297-300-292 = 889 9. Virginia 296-299-299 = 894 10. Clemson 299-303-297 = 899 11. Campbell 298-306-298 = 902 12. Washington 296-316-293 = 905 13. Illinois 297-310-299 = 906 14. Coastal Carolina 298-313-302 = 913 15. New Mexico 310-310-296 = 916 Nebraska 307-313-296 = 916 17. Youngstown State 322-318-319 = 959 18. Evansville 323-335-317 = 975
Top Individuals
1. Jenny Bae, Georgia 71-68-73 = 212 (-4) 2. MONET CHUN, U-M 70-70-75 = 215 Caley McGinty, Kent State 70-73-72 = 215 Linn Grant, Arizona State 71-74-70 = 215 5. Louise Yu, Vanderbilt 72-75-70 = 217 Beth Lillie, Virginia 72-72-73 = 217 Rikke Svejgaard, Kentucky 75-72-70 = 217 Maria Villanueva, Kentucky 73-71-73 = 217 Candice Mahe, Georgia 71-75-71 = 217 Isabella Holpfer, Georgi 72-70-75 = 217 11. Celina Sattelkau, Vanderbilt 72-72-74 = 218 Gina Kim, Duke 70-74-74 = 218
Other Michigan Individuals
T17. Hailey Borja 69-75-77 = 221 T24. Ashley Lau 73-74-76 = 223 T45. Ashley Kim 76-78-75 = 229 T55. Mikaela Schulz 78-77-75 = 230
