Michigan
Mary Fossum Invitational
Wolverines to Open Season Heading to MSU's Mary Fossum Invitational
9/14/2023 11:17:00 AM | Women's Golf
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's golf team begins its 2023-24 season heading down I-96 to East Lansing and Forest Akers West Course for Michigan State's Mary Fossum Invitational, Sunday and Monday (Sept. 17-18). The 15-team field will play 54-holes (36-18) in a two-day shotgun format.
Notes
• There will be 15 teams among the field for the Mary Fossum Invitational, including: Grand Valley State, Kent State, Maryland, Michigan State, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, Oakland, Ohio State, Purdue, Tennessee, Toledo and Virginia Tech. Including U-M, three additional teams will be allowed an individual -- North Carolina, Notre Dame and Tennessee.
• U-M will travel five starters and an individual to the Mary Fossum Invitational. Fifth-year senior Hailey Borja and senior Monet Chun head up U-M's starting group. Redshirt-sophomore Mara Janess and freshmen Sidney Yermish and Grace Wang will make their first career starts in their collegiate debuts. Sydney Sung will play as U-M's individual.
• Michigan returns to the Mary Fossum Invitational for the first time since the 2014 fall season, when a trio of top-25 finishers -- Julia Montgomery (230, t-10th), Lauren Grogan (231, t-13th) and Grace Choi (235, t-24th) -- paced U-M to a 928 team score and a tie for fifth place.
• Michigan will make its 15th trip to the Mary Fossum Invitational, where the Wolverines have posted five top-five finishes, including winning the 2004 event (919). The Maize and Blue posted its lowest team tally with a 294 in the second round of the 2011 event.
• One of the most memorable moments for U-M at Forest Akers West Course was at the 2002 NCAA Central Regional. In just U-M's second-ever regional appearance, Bess Bowers (t-11th) paced the Wolverines to a sixth-place finish, advancing them to the program's first ever NCAA Finals (17th) at Washington National.
• Hailey Borja and Mikaela Schulz return for the 2023-24 season after utilizing the COVID-19 season of competition waiver granting them an additional year of eligibility. Borja has played in 39 career events carrying a 73.28 scoring average while Schulz has 32 events under belt with a 75.72 career average.
• U-M also welcomed Emilie Paltrinieri (UCLA) -- the program's first graduate transfer. The Milan, Italy, native spent the last four years with the Bruins, starting 26 of her 31 events, helping UCLA reach three straight NCAA regionals (2021, '22, '23) and advance to the NCAA Finals twice (2021, '22).
• With her start at the Mary Fossum, Borja will make her 40th straight for the Maize and Blue, which will crack U-M's all-time top 10. Former All-Big Ten golfer Laura Olin (2002-05) holds the all-time mark with 50. In addition, Chun follows making her 32nd career start.
• Playing in her ninth career USGA event and fourth U.S. Women's Amateur, Borja reached the semifinals for the first time in her career having never reached beyond the Sweet 16. Additionally, by reaching the Final Four, she helped U-M have a Wolverine in the semifinal for a second straight year. In 2022 at Chambers Bay, Chun reached the semifinal and finished as the runner-up at the prestigious amateur championship.
• This summer, Lauren Sung won the Pacific Northwest Women's Amateur and followed with a runner-up finish at the California Women's Amateur. She finished with a 9-1 match play record over her last two match-play events. As a freshman, she started nine of 10 events and carried a 75.86 scoring average.
Players Mentioned
