Maize and Blue Faces Many Challenges in 2008-09 Schedule
8/4/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
2008-09 Michigan Men's Golf Schedule
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan men's golf head coach Andrew Sapp announced today (Monday, Aug. 4) the schedule for the upcoming 2008-09 season. Last season, the Wolverines posted two tournament wins andfive individual titles, as well as a fifth-place showing at the Big Ten Championships -- the best in 10 years -- and their first bid to an NCAA regional in eight years.
"We are very excited about this year's schedule," said Sapp. "We have been able to continually improve our strength of schedule each year and it shows in the level of improvement of our players over the past few years. It will be great to play on both coasts this fall with a trip to California and a trip to North Carolina and we have added a few new tournaments into the rotation which gives our players the opportunity to play some different teams in different areas of the country."
The Maize and Blue opens with a trip to Zionsville, Ind., Sept. 13-14, for the Wolf Run Intercollegiate, where senior Nick Pumford(St. Charles, Mich./St. Charles HS) will look to defend his 2007 individual title. The Wolverine Intercollegiate returns this season to Ann Arbor, Mich., after being played in Florida last season under the name Wolverine at Mission Inn. The event held at the U-M Golf Course is scheduled for Sept. 20-21.
In October, the Wolverines will head to Glencoe, Ill., for the Windon Memorial Classic Oct. 5-6, before heading to Palm Springs, Calif., Oct. 13-14, for The Prestige played at PGA West. U-M will close the fall season with a trip to Greensboro, N.C., for the Bridgestone Intercollegiate (Oct. 27-28).
Following the winter the break, the Wolverines will open the spring season with a new feature on the schedule. Along with the other Big Ten teams, U-M will compete at the Big Ten Match Play at the TPC of Heron Bay in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Feb. 13-14. The tournament will consist of each conference school playing one another in match play to mirror the newly formatted NCAA finals.
"One new event we will be playing in is the Big Ten Match Play in February," said Sapp. "This will be a new format for all of our teams, and with the NCAA Championship going with three rounds of stroke play and an elite eight match play to determine the team national champion, we wanted to be a conference that was proactive in preparing our players for the NCAAs."
Following the match play event, the Wolverines will make their seventh trip to the Puerto Rico Classic, Feb. 27-March 1. Last year, the Wolverines earned their best team finish with a sixth-place showing at the prestigious tournament that features more than eight nationally-ranked teams. The Maize and Blue will close March with the Pinehurst Intercollegiate, March 15-17, and the Spring Break Classic, March 27-29. In the final regular-season tune-up, U-M will compete at the River Landing Intercollegiate April 10-11.
The Wolverines will hit postseason when they head to Penn State's Blue Course in State College, Pa., for the 2008 Big Ten Championships. The three-day event will be 72-holes, held May 1-3. Following the Big Ten Championships, the Wolverines will be looking for their second straight NCAA bid. This year, the NCAA regional format has expanded from three regional sites to six, with the top five finishers in each region heading to the NCAA finals. Regional play will be May 14-16, with sites at Galloway, N.J., Austin, Texas, San Francisco, Calif., Stillwater, Okla., Sorrento, Fla., and Bowling Green, Ky.
In addition to the regional format alteration, the NCAA finals -- held May 27-30-- will be changed as well in 2009. With the top 30 teams playing, an individual champion will be determined after 54 holes of play and the top eight teams will move forward into a match-play format. The eight teams will be seeded one through eight with No. 1 playing No. 8, No. 2 playing No. 7, No. 3 playing No. 6 and No. 4 facing No. 5.
"This year's NCAA Championship format change will be very intriguing," said Sapp. "I am not sure how I will like it personally, but I just hope that we have the opportunity to witness it firsthand this year by making it that far and competing in the Elite Eight."
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
