Michigan
The Landfall Tradition
Savich, Shu Lead Michigan to Third-Place Tie at Landfall
10/26/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Site: Wilmington, N.C.
Course: Nicklaus Course (Pines-Ocean) at Country Club of Landfall (par 72, 6,064 yards)
Tournament: Landfall Tradition
U-M Team Finish: Tie-3rd Place of 12 Teams (321-294-301/916)
Top U-M Individual: Milena Savich, 8th (80-69-76/225)
Next U-M Event: Sun-Mon., Nov. 2-3 -- at Challenge at Wolfdancer (Austin, Texas)
WILMINGTON, N.C. -- With each of its five players shooting 77 or better in the final round, the University of Michigan women's golf team posted a team score of 301 Sunday (Oct. 26) and finished in a tie for third against a strong field at the Landfall Tradition, hosted by UNC Wilmington at Country Club of Landfall's par-72, 6,064-yard Nicklaus Course.
U-M carded rounds of 321, 294 and 301 for a 916 total to tie North Carolina (305-303-308/916), ranked 13th in the Oct. 17 Golf World/NGCA poll, and place ahead of No. 22 Florida (307-309-303/919) in fifth.
Michigan, which sat in eighth place after a lackluster 321 in Friday's opening round, rebounded Saturday to shoot 294, the second best round of the tournament behind champion Wake Forest's even-par 288 in the second round. The Wolverines moved up four spots to fourth after the second round, then picked up seven shots on North Carolina in the final round to share third place.
Freshman Milena Savich(Carmel, Ind./Carmel HS) and sophomore Louisa Shu(West Bloomfield, Mich./Birmingham Seaholm HS) spearheaded the comeback in the last two rounds, with Savich shooting a career-best 69 followed by a 76 to finish eighth (80-69-76/225) and Shu closing with back-to-back rounds of 73 to tie for 15th (84-73-73).
Savich's second-round 69 was the best score of the day among the tournament's 60 competitors and wound up being the second best of the tournament behind the final-round, four-under 68 turned in by Abby Bools of East Carolina. Savich made four birdies and a lone bogey for her 69, birdieing both par 3s for a one-under 35 on the front nine and making two birdies and seven pars to shoot 34 on the back.
Shu was solid over the tournament's final 36 holes, with a total of four birdies, six bogeys and 26 pars on her scorecards. She was one of three Wolverines who shot 35 on the back nine Sunday, joining senior Lydia Bentez Coln(Dorado, Puerto Rico/Pendleton School) and junior Ashley Bauer(Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc HS). Bauer ended up tying for 25th (81-76-76/233), while Bentez Coln shared 36th place (80-80-77/237).
Sophomore Min Yean Tan(Queensland, Australia/Hills International College) finished in a tie for 22nd (80-76-76/232). She had just two bad holes in the second round, making two double bogeys to accompany 16 pars, and she aided U-M's strong finish with three birdies on the back nine Sunday.
Led by individual champion Dolores White, ninth-ranked Wake Forest (297-288-295/880) earned the team title by an impressive 28 shots over No. 25 Ohio State (303-306-299/908). White, one of four Demon Deacons among the top seven individual finishers, shot 218 (75-73-70) for a two-stroke margin of victory over Bools (78-74-68/220).
The Wolverines will close out their fall schedule Sunday and Monday (Nov. 2-3) at the Challenge at Wolfdancer. The tournament, hosted by Texas State, will be played at Wolfdancer Golf Club near Austin, Texas.
Team Standings
1. Wake Forest 297-288-295 = 880 (+16) 2. Ohio State 303-306-299 = 908 3. MICHIGAN 321-294-301 = 916 North Carolina 305-303-308 = 916 5. Florida 307-309-303 = 919 6. East Carolina 318-308-296 = 922 7. Notre Dame 326-298-303 = 927 8. North Carolina State 322-308-306 = 936 9. Northwestern 315-316-311 = 942 10. UNC Wilmington 320-315-313 = 948 11. Tulsa 322-319-316 = 957 12. UNC Greensboro 332-332-299 = 963
Top Individuals
1. Dolores White, Wake Forest 75-73-70 = 218 (+2) 2. Abby Bools, East Carolina 78-74-68 = 220 3. Jean Chua, Wake Forest 79-70-72 = 221 4. Amber Littman, East Carolina 74-74-74 = 222 Natalie Sheary, Wake Forest 72-75-75 = 222 6. Vicky Villanueva, Ohio State 73-78-73 = 224 Cheyenne Woods, Wake Forest 75-71-78 = 224 8. MILENA SAVICH, U-M 80-69-76 = 225 9. Nara Shin, Ohio State 79-73-74 = 226 10. Andrea Watts, Florida 74-77-76 = 227 Jessica Yadloczky, Florida 78-76-73 = 227
Other Michigan Individuals
T15. Louisa Shu 84-73-73 = 230 T22. Min Yean Tan 80-76-76 = 232 T25. Ashley Bauer 81-76-76 = 233 T36. Lydia Benitez Colon 80-80-77 = 237
Q UO T E S
Michigan coach Kathy Teichert
On the differences in rounds leading to third place finish ... "After the first nine holes (of day 1) we were in third place and I thought we were doing pretty well. It was really, really windy. We were talking three to four clubs difference for the wind. We proceeded to make some doubles, and then we had a triple and quad -- all from counters. So, all of a sudden the good round turned and it was not a good round at all. On top of that, it took us six hours and 15 minutes to play the first round. So, we were all exhausted after the first day. But the next day was a new day. It was a little windy at the start of the round, but it calmed down. We just played really well. I was very pleased with that. We brought in the second lowest round of the day. Today, it was just perfect weather and we continued where the second round left off and it allowed us to really finish well and come away with a strong tie for third place finish. Four players in the top 25, you cannot beat that."
On if her team is hitting its stride at the right time ... "It's great we are playing well. The kids are driven. They have worked really hard and they have some confidence. This is a team with great chemistry. Everyone gets along very well and support one another. When you have that it helps. It's nice to see and have that especially when they even make some mistakes. They shake it off and offset it with a great score on another hole to close with a good score."
On the play of Louis Shu this weekend ..."She came up huge for us. I am really proud of her. She made a comment to me about a conversation we had about her averaging 78s in tournaments, and she wanted to get off that track. She did. The last two rounds, she played really well. She told me she had a lot of shots 15 feet or less into the greens and converted on some of those to really drive her rounds. Even when she hit the ball into the water on No. 17 yesterday, her next shot she hit it up close and made the putt for a bogey, that was key. It was huge. It was huge for confidence. It was huge for keeping her score going. She didn't falter and that has been something we have been working. Making sure she can stay with the round and not let it slip away. She just played well this weekend for us."
Sophomore Louisa Shu
On the Landfall ... "The first day was brutal. I had a lot of big numbers. When I came back after that round I just told myself that I didn't want to make any doubles or triples in the round. With that I hit the ball a ton better and played well the rest of the way. It was great just to see everyone comeback after the first round. We came back on that second day and had the second lowest score of the day. Everyone was excited to come out and play well today and hit fairways and greens. Everything just really worked out."
On if she feels she has broken through with her finish at the Landfall ... "I feel like I definitely have. I have been stuck at the 78, 79 round for a really long time. I was really trying to see how I could get my score lower. I feel this will help confidence wise and help me stay consistent for the rest of the season. I am not really sure I just want to hit fairways and greens."
On the strong finish helpingU-M... "Last year we did not play well here, so it was really nice to see how much we improved for last year to this year. It gives momentum to play well in Texas and finish up the fall well. It also helps improve our ranking which will help us get to the regional in the fall."
Freshman Milena Savich
On rebounding with the 69 in the second round ... "My second round I just committed to every single shot I hit. The first round I played the same as I did in the second, I just had a quad on the 17th hole. So everything in the first and second round was pretty much identical without that big number. I got into a groove and just committed to every shot."
On the team's finish ... "We are very, very pleased with how we finished. After the first round coach told us we were going to have to rally and we did. We shot 294 in the second round so that was good. We tied with North Carolina, it would have been nice to pass them, but we beat a bunch of really great teams. I know we improved our finish from last year so that is really good as well. We believe in ourselves and that was the difference. We were paired in the final group today and that was just going to show if we played well that we really are a great team. Even though there are team's ranked ahead of us, we have the capability of beating them."
N O T E S
Michigan's tie for third team finish at the Landfall Tradition gives the Wolverines four top-five finishes in the five events this fall. U-M won the Wolverine Invitational, closed third at the Windy City Classic and finished fifth at the Lady Northern Invitational.
Michigan's second round 294 team total was the second lowest team round score of the fall season. It was just a stroke off the season's best of 293 tallied in the first round of the Wolverine Invitational. U-M has posted three team rounds under 300 this season.
Michigan placed four players among the top 25 individually for the second time this season at the Landfall Tradition -- Milena Savich (8th), Louisa Shu (t-15th), Min Yean Tan (t-22nd) and Ashley Bauer (t-25th). Earlier this season, the Wolverines had four players close among the top 25 at the Wolverine Invitational.
Milena Savich's three-under 69 in the second round of the Landfall was a career-best. The round topped her prior best of 72 shot in the first round of the Windy City Classic and marked the first time she broke the 70 stroke barrier. It is also the second round under 70 this season by a Wolverine. Ashley Bauer currently holds the top round with a three-under 68 in the first round at the Wolverine Invitational.
With her eighth-place individual finish, Milena Savich has posted three top-10 finishes in her five events this season. She also led U-M at a tournament for the second time this season.
Louisa Shu posted and then tied a career-best with back-to-back rounds of one-over 73 in the second and final round of the Landfall Tradition. The tallies topped her prior best of 74 which she had in the final round of the Mary Fossum Invitational. The two rounds also helped Shu to a career-best 54-hole tournament total of 230 at the Landfall.
With her start at the Landfall Tradition Ashley Bauer has now started 28 straight tournaments and has not missed a start in her entire three-year career. Meanwhile, Min Yean Tan has 16 straight starts for U-M.
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
