8A — Wednesday, September 19, 2018
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wolverines finish sixth at East and West Match Play Challenge
Sunday through Tuesday, the
Michigan
women’s
golf
team
hosted its season opener at one
of the team’s two home courses
— Radrick Farms Golf Course. At
times, it appeared the Wolverines
had the home field advantage.
During Monday’s match play
round, Michigan was tied with
Texas A&M with only one group
still on the course.
Luckily for the Wolverines,
sophomore Ashley Kim was in
that final group. Despite trailing
by one hole with four left to play,
she notched a par and then three
consecutive birdies to win her
match by two holes and help
Michigan defeat the Aggies, 3-2.
Overall, though, the Wolverines’
performance was mediocre and the
team finished the three-day East
and West Match Play Challenge
in sixth place. UC Davis won the
tournament by default because its
final round opponent, Iowa State,
withdrew from the field.
On Sunday, the eight teams
present competed
in 36 holes of
stroke
play
to
determine seeding
for the ensuing
match
play
tournament. The
top
four
teams
from stroke play
qualified
for
a
championship
bracket while the
bottom competed
in a consolation bracket. Each
round of the match play brackets
consisted of 18 holes, with the
semifinals and finals on Monday
and Tuesday, respectively.
Michigan had a rocky stroke-
play performance. Over the first
18 holes, the Wolverines’ score of
301 put them in seventh place, and
although they made big strides the
second time around with a score of
a 290, it wasn’t enough. Michigan
stayed in seventh
place.
“We
kinda
kicked ourselves
in
the
foot
a
little bit in that
first
round
but
recovered
very
nicely,”
said
Michigan
coach
Jan Dowling. “I’d
say
ball-striking
contributed to the
change.”
Kim’s performance was the
highlight
of
the
stroke
play
competition. She carded scores of
73 and 72 to tie for eighth place.
“She’s very determined to have
a great season, and she was ready
to go in that first tournament,”
Dowling said. “She took her
preparation very seriously and
she’s looking forward to the rest of
our tournaments.”
Freshmen
Ashley Lau and
junior
Alisa
Snyder had stellar
second
round
scores of 71 and
72. They finished
stroke
play
in
17th
and
23rd,
accordingly,
and
their
success
sparked
the
Wolverines’
11-shot
improvement
between
rounds.
Freshman
Sophia
Trombetta and senior Elodie Van
Dievoet, also in the lineup, placed
in 31st and 40th respectively.
After defeating Texas A&M,
Michigan
faced
Oregon
on
Tuesday. But the Ducks proved
too much to handle, and the
Wolverines fell, 4.5-0.5. Though
Van Dievoet tied her match, her
teammates all lost their respective
matches.
“We
played
well, they played
well,
but
they
definitely
played
better
than
us,”
Dowling
said. “Plenty of
positives to take
away
from
our
week.”
Junior Hannah
Ghelfi
and
freshman Jacqueline Young also
competed, but as individuals. They
placed 28th and 46th among all
competitors, and Ghelfi finished
as runner-up in the individual
bracket.
Regardless of the outcome, the
Wolverines were glad to get match
play practice, especially since the
National Championship consists of
a match play tournament.
“It’s important to get that
experience,” Dowling said. “We
don’t play match play all year. … It
can get you in this great one-shot-
at-a-time mentality, and it requires
some experience. … It creates a lot
of great team camaraderie.”
Additionally, while many sports
enjoy frequent home play, golf is an
exception. Thus, hosting a home
tournament was a memorable
occasion for Michigan.
“Radrick is a great place to host
a tournament,” Dowling said. “It’s
really good. It’s hard, but it’s really
good.
“It’s always nice to compete at
home. Golfers at any level don’t get
to compete at home very often. …
It’s a pretty special thing.”
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Sophomore Ashley Kim recorded a par and three consecutive birdies to help Michigan achieve a 3-2 win over Texas A&M during Monday’s match play round.
ROHAN KUMAR
Daily Sports Writer
“I’d say ball-
striking
contributed to
the change.”
“Golfers at any
level don’t get to
compete at home
very often.”