Michigan
Big Ten Championships
Schmucker Takes Fifth, Team Places Fourth in Big Ten
4/30/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- With periods of rain showers scattered throughout the final round causing erratic play, senior Amy Schmucker (Cold Spring, Minn./Rocori HS) shot a three-over 75 to give the University of Michigan women's golf team a 307 final round tally today (Sunday, April 30) and moved the Wolverines up one position to finish fourth at the 2006 Big Ten Conference Championships at Indiana's IU Golf Course.
The Maize and Blue closed out the 72-hole championship with a 1,202 team total, which was the second best championship total in the program's history. After opening with a 296 and 301 in Friday's first 36-holes, the Wolverines found themselves in the fifth overall spot. Tallying a 298 in Saturday's third round, Michigan maintained its fifth place standing going into the final round. With rainy weather conditions changing the IU Golf Course throughout the final round, Schmucker's 75 and sophomore Lindsay Davis' (Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS) 76 helped the Wolverines post a final round score of 307 which helped them move past host Indiana and claim a fourth place team finish.
Schmucker, who finished fifth, and Davis, who was 11th, led the Wolverines throughout the entire championship as the duo both closed out with top 12 finishes, marking just the fourth time in the program's history U-M has had at least two players among the top 12.
Schmucker, who was an All-Big Ten second team selection and U-M's Big Ten Sportsmanship Honoree, opened up her championship posting back-to-back rounds of 74 before she found a groove in the third round as she fired a one-under 71 to put her among the top five individually. With the rains throughout the final round she closed with a 75 to giving her a career-best 294 72-hole total and the fifth place finish, which was the second best by any Wolverine at the Big Ten tournament. Schmucker's championship total also marked just the second time in history a Wolverine has gone below 300 in a 72-hole event.
Davis played consistent golf throughout the championships. After opening with a three-over 75 in the first round, she tallied her tournament-best with a one-over 72 in the second round to put her among the top 10. She fired her second three-over 75 in the third round and closed with a four-over 76 in the final round to slip her one spot, but still get her among the top 12, as she was 11th individually with a 299 total. Following Schmucker's lead, Davis' total made her just the third Wolverine to finish a 72-hole tournament with a sub-300 total.
Competing in her first Big Ten Championships, senior Kelly Easton (Port Huron, Mich./Northern HS) closed out with a top 25 finish as she tied for 22nd with a 307 total. After posting a career-best one-over 73 in the first round, she sandwiched rounds of 79 around a 76 to help put her among the top 25. Juniors Ali Stinson (Penticton, B.C./Penticton Secondary) and Brianna Broderick (Richmond, Mo./Richmond HS) both tied for 34th with 312 totals. Stinson descended her tournament as she opened with a 79, fired back-to-back 78s and closed with a 77 for her 312 total. Broderick opened with a 78 and had back-to-back rounds of 76 before rainy conditions got the best of her in the final round as she posted an 82 for her 312 total.
Closing out the Wolverine scoring was redshirt-junior Julie Inwood (Chelsea, Mich./Chelsea HS), who tied for 52nd with a 321 in her first Big Ten Championships. She started the tournament on fire posting a career-best two-over 74 in the final round. She followed with back-to-back 80s and closed with an 87 in the rainy final round.
Overall, the 2006 Big Ten Championships became a three-team race as Purdue, Ohio State and Michigan State all battled throughout the three-day event. The Boilermakers (290-296-295-298) came through in the end putting four individuals among the top 12 to help give them a six-shot win with a 1,179 championship total. Ohio State (293-297-296-299) fought back in the final round, but could not catch Purdue as the Buckeyes claimed the runner-up spot with a 1,185 team total. Michigan State (296-294-293-308) followed in third with a 1,191 team total.
Individually, Northwestern's Alice Kim used a first round four-under 68 to put her atop the individual leaderboard, where she never looked back leading start and holding on at the end to win medalist honors. Kim (68-72-74-77) closed with a one-shot victory after her 291 championship total. Michigan State's Sara Brown (72-73-71-76), Ohio State's Carling Coffing (72-74-71-75) and Purdue's Maria Hernandez (72-73-74-73) were all tied for the runner-up spot with 292 championship totals.
With the completion of the Big Ten Championships, the Wolverines will now turn their attention towards an NCAA Regional selection bid, which will be announced by the NCAA Selecton Committee, Monday, May 1.
Team Standings
1. Purdue 290-296-295-298 = 1179 2. Ohio State 293-297-296-299 = 1185 3. Michigan State 296-294-293-308 = 1191 4. MICHIGAN 296-301-298-307 = 1202 5. Northwestern 297-303-302-310 = 1212 6. Indiana 300-292-301-321 = 1214 7. Penn State 303-302-299-311 = 1215 8. Iowa 301-302-300-320 = 1223 9. Wisconsin 313-300-314-325 = 1252 10. Illinois 321-304-314-319 = 1258 11. Minnesota 311-307-318-327 = 1263
Top Individuals
1. Alice Kim, Northwestern 68-72-74-77 = 291 2. Sara Brown, Michigan State 72-73-71-76 = 292 Carling Coffing, Ohio State 72-74-71-75 = 292 Maria Hernandez, Purdue 72-73-74-73 = 292 5. AMY SCHMUCKER, U-M 74-74-71-75 = 294 6. Christel Boeljon, Purdue 72-74-74-75 = 295 Elaine Harris, Indiana 71-70-76-78 = 295 8. Myrte Eikenaar, Purdue 73-74-76-75 = 298 Dana Je, Ohio State 75-74-76-73 = 298 Shannon Johnson, Indiana 75-72-72-79 = 298 11. LINDSAY DAVIS, U-M 75-73-75-76 = 299 12. Whitney Frykman, Purdue 73-78-74-75 = 300
Other Michigan Individuals
T22. Kelly Easton 73-79-76-79 = 307 T34. Ali Stinson 79-78-78-77 = 312 T34. Brianna Broderick 78-76-76-82 = 312 T52. Julie Inwood 74-80-80-87 = 321
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
