Wolverines to Close Spring Break at Gators Invitational

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's golf team will close its spring break heading to Gainesville, Fla., for the Gators Invitational, Friday through Sunday (March 7-9). Originally scheduled for the weekend, impending weather could shift the event to a two-day event; however, a final decision has yet to be made. The Mark Bostick Golf Course will be set up for a par 70 with 6,002 yards.

Notes

• Michigan will make its fifth trip to Florida's home event -- the Gators Invitational. After a third-place (869) finish in 2020, the 2021 event was canceled due to COVID-19. Returning in 2022, the Wolverines used an 851 (-13) total to tie with Florida for the team title. In 2023, U-M posted a 10th-place finish in the rain-shortened 36-hole event. Last season, former Wolverine Hailey Borja's tie for eighth helped the Maize and Blue to a tie for sixth finish.

• Individually, former Wolverine Ashley Lau won the 2022 Gators Invitational after her U-M record 203 (-7) 54-hole total. After an opening 67 and following with a 70, she trailed the overall leader by two shots. With a final round and career-low, 66 (-4), Lau rallied to win her second straight spring event by a shot.

• There will be 14 teams making up the field for the Gators Invitational, including Charlotte, Chattanooga, Eastern Michigan, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, No. 29 Florida, Jacksonville, Mercer, Michigan, No. 15 Ole Miss, South Alabama, No. 31 UCF, USF, and No. 11 Virginia.

• U-M will travel the five starters and an individual to the Gators Invitational. Redshirt-sophomore Mara Janess, junior Lauren Sung, freshman Suzie Tran, freshman Mimi Guo, and freshman Jenna Shilts make up U-M's starting five. Junior Sydney Sung will compete as an individual.

• Closing with its first spring event posting the first sub-par team total of the season (287, -1), Michigan finished fifth (869) at the Spartan Sun Coast Invitational. Janess paced the Wolverines, tying for third with a career-low 212 (-4). After an opening 72 (E), she posted back-to-back career-low-tying 70s (-2) to record her first top-five finish.

• Three Wolverines are in a battle for the scoring lead. Janess has taken over the top spot with her 73.93 average. Lauren Sung is behind her with a 74.07, while rookie Tran is third at 74.73. As a team, U-M has seven sub-par tallies and eight of par. Overall, the Wolverines averaged 75.11 per round.

• Newcomer Tran is one of two Wolverines to start all five events, including leading the Maize and Blue in her career debut at the Boilermaker Classic (t-15th). Her consistency has been a key to her success as she has 54-hole tallies of 224, 224, 225, 226, and 222 and averages 224.2 per event.

• Fellow newcomer Guo will make her second straight start at the Gators Invitational. She had a career-best performance at the Spartan Sun Coast Invitational as she tied for 30th with a new career-low 221, including a career-low 72 (E) in the second round.

• In the fall season, the Maize and Blue had at least one Wolverine close to the top 20 in all four events. The duo of Tran (15th) and Guo (t-16th) paced U-M in their collegiate debuts at the Boilermaker Classic. Janess and Sydney Sung then guided the Wolverines at the Mary Fossum with top 10 finishes (t-7th and t-9th, respectively), followed by top 20s at the Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational (t-15th and t-19th, respectively). In the fall finale in Hawaii, Lauren Sung's t-16th led U-M at the Nanea Invitational.