2003-04 GFM Big Ten Championships -- Day 2 Quotes
5/9/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Q U O T E S
Michigan Coach Andrew Sapp
On today's finish ... "It's a great way to end the season. I was really proud of the way the guys played. They left a lot out on the golf course yesterday, and they knew that they could play better. We just sat down and talked about how we were teeing off first and wanted to post a number and see how many teams we could pass. And they did that. A great way for our two seniors to end their college career, with the best round they've probably seen since they've been here. For Scott (Carlton) to birdie his last two holes to get back to even par was just enormous for us. And I can't say anything more about Kevin (Dore). That's the round that we needed. And Christian (Vozza) played a great round as well. It was fun to watch today. It's a good way to end the year and the guys will finish the year on a very high note, and it will motivate them to work hard over the summer and continue to improve because they can see that they can compete with the best teams in the Big Ten."
On the season ... "Before we came into this tournament I looked at all the tournaments we had played in that were the same events we played in last year. I think we improved every tournament that we played. I don't know what the true statistics are, but I think our finishes were better in every tournament that we played the same event. So that's definitely a positive. It's a step in the right direction. So it is a slow process, but these guys are on board and are working hard to continue to improve. And it's exciting to have a trio of Rob (Tighe) and Christian and Kevin coming back next year along with the guys who are also returning and some freshmen who are coming in as well. So we are just looking to continue to improve year after year until we are at the top of the Big Ten."
Senior Scott Carlton
On doing well for his last collegiate performance ... "I think I just wanted to have fun today. Yesterday wasn't so much fun. Other than that, I just approached it like a normal round. When I got to the last hole, one of the things I thought about yesterday was that it would be really cool to birdie the last hole and finish well. I also wanted to shoot under par, so actually I was trying to hole it from the fairway. But once I made birdie on eight, I knew I had a chance to get back to even, so to birdie nine was pretty great."
On the team's finish today ... "It's great. I think, for the young guys, that's awesome, because it gives them something to build on. That's the kind of golf they can play and the kind of golf it takes. For Dave (Nichols) and I, in the last two years it's one of the lowest rounds we've posted, so from that perspective it's awesome and it looks like we're going to move up the leaderboard."
On his collegiate career ... "I think it's been a long road, and at this point I'm probably too close to it to realize what it's going to mean to me in a few years. But obviously, as a whole, it's been a great experience. For that it's been excellent."
Senior Dave Nichols
On the final round ... "Honestly, as I was finishing up, I realized it was over, but I still can't believe it's over. I feel like I'm going to play during the summer and come back in the fall and go after it again. It's definitely sad. It's probably been the best four years of my life. All in all, today's probably the best I've played all year, but I really got nothing out of it. I probably could have easily been six or eight shots better. A lot of three-putts, a lot of short birdie putts missed. So it's sort of disappointing, because I know that if we could have had one more round in the 60s we really could have moved up. But it still looks like we're going to have one of the lowest rounds of the day so there are no complaints."
On the team building for next year ... "I just can't say enough about these younger guys, they really stepped it up. Guys like Kevin and Christian, Brandon (Duff), Will (Kendall) and Matt (McLaughlin). There is just a ridiculous amount of talent on this team. They're just going to keep getting better and better. Next year, without a doubt, they will be top three in the Big Ten."
On his collegiate career ... "I definitely want to take some time off from golf, just to get away from it all and decide exactly what I want to do. I don't think I want to make it a career. Out of these last four years, I wish this last year would have gone a little bit better, but I can't look back and have any regrets. I've met so many great people through golf, and there is definitely no doubt in my mind this was a great place for me."
Sophomore Christian Vozza
On his and the team's final round ... "I guess for myself, I just tried to get myself opportunities. I kept hitting them close, especially in the last five or six holes. I just kept trying to give myself the opportunities and capitalize on it. And unfortunately, coming down the stretch I didn't get the chance to make any putts, but overall I was happy with round, shooting one-under. As far as the team goes, I know we're really happy about the way we finished. We are ecstatic really. It's probably the lowest score we've ever shot. I guess last night we were just chatting and saying this was really disappointing. We just knew we had to come out and shoot a pretty deep score under par. I think we all just focused and kept that goal in mind and kept giving ourselves the opportunities to make birdies and try to get up and down and not three-putt. Just pretty basic things."
On the season's finish building to next year ... "I guess Kevin and I have played pretty well this spring. I wish our team could have played better in the fall, too, but it'll come. We've got some good players coming in and hopefully they can contribute along with the great players we've got now. We've just got to basically set our standards higher and stop playing bad golf. All of us can play great golf. And we've just all got to come together and the same time, same day, like we did today. I think we'll be happy next year if that happens."
Freshman Kevin Dore
On his career-best round ... "It was just solid. I got off to a really good start. I hit it to about a foot on 10 and made a nice birdie on 11. So that was a big plus, just getting off to a good start and getting a little more relaxed. It's a lot easier to play a good round when you get off to a good start than when you make a bogey or two, just because you get out of the gate quick. I just carried that over. I hit a lot of good shots today and made a couple good putts and overall just played a solid round."
On finishing the year on a high note ... "Today's just been great. Everybody's been really happy with the way we played, and Coach is really pleased. To put it bluntly, yesterday was just a big disappointment. To come back and play solid is something we can build on and use to hopefully get off to a good start next year and hopefully achieve bigger and better things."
On his first year of collegiate golf ... "It was definitely up and down. I had some really good moments and some pretty bad moments. But it's definitely been a good learning experience and something that will help me in the next three years to keep improving and keep playing better golf. Overall it was a great time, though, I couldn't have had a better time playing golf and hanging out with other teammates. It was just great."
