Michigan
NCAA Central Regional (Day 1)
U-M Seventh after Rain-Delayed First Round at Regional
5/9/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Site:Â East Lansing, Mich.
Course:Â Forest Akers West Course (par 72, 6,053 yards)
Tournament:Â NCAA Central Regional (Day 1 of 3)
U-M Standing:Â 7th Place of 21 Teams (313) after Day 1
Top U-M Individual:Â Bess Bowers, tie-15th (77)
Next Event:Â Fri-Sat., May 10-11 -- at NCAA Central Regional (East Lansing, Mich.)
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Despite having to wait for nearly two and a half hours due to rain and thunderstorm delays and wind gusts up to 29 miles per hour, the University of Michigan women's golf team tallied a 313 first-round team total today (Thursday, May 9) to sit in seventh of the 21 teams at the NCAA Central Regional. Senior Bess Bowers (Bloomington, Ind./North HS) led the Wolverines with a five-over-par 77 at the Forest Akers West Course.
Bess Bowers
After three weather delays holding off the start of the first round, Michigan finally headed to the No. 10 tee box alongside Big Ten Conference rivals Ohio State and host Michigan State to start the first round of the Wolverines' second straight NCAA Regional trip.
Bowers led the Wolverines in the first round after having a solid back nine as she carded pars on her first six holes. After bogeying No. 16, she struck back with a birdie on 17, but another bogey on 18 closed out her first nine at plus-one. Then the winds caused havoc on the front nine for all of the Wolverines. Bowers finished the front going plus-four to give her the team-low round of 77. Junior Kim Benedict (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester Adams HS) followed Benedict as she fired a six-over 78 after recording pars on 12 of the 18 holes in the first round.
Freshman Laura Olin (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie HS) and senior Misia Lemanski (Grosse Ile, Mich./Grosse Ile HS) both finished the first round with seven-over 79s. Olin got off to a shaky start on the back nine as she finished plus-four, but she recovered on the front as she parred seven on the final nine holes to finish at 79. Lemanski did the reverse as she parred seven of her first nine holes before going plus-five on the front nine for her 79. Senior LeAnna Wicks (Brighton, Mich./Brighton HS) got off to a strong start, birding 13 and chipping in for birdie on 18 to turn in 35 (-1), but two triple-bogeys on the front led to a final 81.
Individually, Bowers is tied for 15th (77), Benedict is tied for 23rd (78), Olin and Lemanski are tied for 30th (79) and Wicks is tied for 52nd (81) in the 108-player field.
Kent State is atop the leaderboard after tallying a 304 team total. Oklahoma State is second at 306, while Baylor and Purdue are tied for third at 309. Baylor's Melanie Hagewood is the individual leader with a two-under 70.
The Wolverines will continue the NCAA Central Regional with the second round Friday (May 10), teeing off from the first tee beginning at 12:20 p.m., again with Big Ten rivals Ohio State and Michigan State. The 54-hole regional concludes Saturday (May 11) with a final 18 holes at 8 a.m. The top eight teams and top two individuals not on a qualifying team will advance to the NCAA Championships on May 21-24 in Auburn, Wash.
Team Standings (After Day 1)
1. Kent State 304 (+16)
2. Oklahoma State 306
3. Baylor 309
Purdue 309
5. Michigan State 310
6. Ohio State 311
7. MICHIGAN 313
8. TCU 314
9. Tulsa 315
10. Texas 316
11. Oklahoma 319
12. Illinois 324
Wisconsin 324
14. Kansas State 325
Northwestern 325
16. Florida State 327
17. UNC-Wilmington 331
18. Bradley 337
19. Indiana 339
Nebraska 339
21. St. Francis (Pa.) 357
Top Individuals
1. Melanie Hagewood, Baylor 70 (-2)
2. Martina Gillen, Kent State 71
Stacy Prammanasudh, Tulsa 71
Christy Rittenhouse, Purdue 71
5. Veronique Drouin, Kent State 73
Lori Sutherland, TCU 73
7. Jennifer Karr, Oklahoma State 75
Caroline Laurens, Purdue 75
Stacy Snider, Michigan State 75
Kristen White, Ohio State 75
Michigan Individual Scores
T15. Bess Bowers 37-40 = 77 (+5) T23. Kim Benedict 39-39 = 78 T30. Misia Lemanski 38-41 = 79 T30. Laura Olin 40-39 = 79 T52. LeAnna Wicks 35-46 = 81
QUOTES
Head Coach Kathy Teichert
On the first round of the regional ... "I think it is a little disappointing. I think we were tentative after having the three delays. The mental mindset wasn't there. But everyone was in the same situation and was playing in the same conditions. We need to be able to roll with the adversity. We have been in these conditions all year long and especially the last couple of tournaments. We are a better team than this."
On what Michigan needs to do ... "We need to make sure that we stay patient and keep our focus. Tomorrow is a very big and important day for us. We need to make the move."
Senior Bess Bowers
On the first round of the NCAA Regional ... "With the way the weather was this morning, you just have to stay patient. I did really well on the front because I like playing in the rain, but the wind really picked up on the back nine and you have to adjust your game. I really took my time and made sure I concentrated on the wind elements that came into play. I learned a lot with this round. I know what I need to work on. Tomorrow is another day."
On the weather delay affecting the team's nerves ... "We warmed up three times today. I think everyone was really excited. I think we have seen so much weather like this in the last few weeks that we are used to it. I think after a while everyone was really chomping at the bit to get out there and get going."
On the keys for the second round ... "We need to hit more putts. We need to stay within our games and not worry about the little things. It's a three-round tournament."
Junior Kim Benedict
On the first round of the NCAA Regional ... "I don't think I was really ready to go out there. I really wasn't warmed up with all the delays. But I just concentrated throughout the entire round and tried to stay patient. There were some mistakes made, but I think I can, and the team can, adjust tomorrow. We just know we are a better team than we played today."
On the first-round delays ... "There was a lot of chaos out there. I think everyone got really anxious to get going. I warmed up three times. It just can become nerve racking when you get ready, go out, come back in, go out, come back in. But we have been playing in these type of conditions the last month, so we are used to it."
NOTES
• Michigan is making its second consecutive NCAA Regional appearance.
• Freshman Laura Olin is playing in her first career NCAA Regional. The other four players -- junior Kim Benedict and seniors Bess Bowers, Misia Lemanski and LeAnna Wicks -- all participated in the 2001 NCAA East Regional (May 10-12, 2001).
Players Mentioned
