Michigan
Illinois
Wolverines Finish Runner-up at Big Ten Match Play Championship
2/14/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Site: Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Course: TPC of Heron Bay (par 72, 7,288 yards)
Tournament: Big Ten Match Play Championship
Score: Championship-- #2 Indiana 3.5, #4 Michigan 2.5
Next Event: Fri-Sun., Feb. 27-March 1 -- at Puerto Rico Classic (Rio Grande, Puerto Rico)
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- After knocking off top-seeded Illinois in the semifinal, the fourth-seeded University of Michigan men's golf team dropped a dramatic back-and-forth championship match to second-seeded Indiana to finish as the runner-up today (Saturday, Feb. 14) at the inaugural 2009 Big Ten Match Play Championship at the TPC of Heron Bay.
With the heroics of senior co-captain Bill Rankin(Traverse City, Mich./Central HS), the Wolverines opened Saturday's play with a stunning come-from-behind win to defeat top seeded Illinois, 3.5 to 2.5. After being down two holes with three remaining, he was able to pull back into his match with Illinois' Matt Hoffman, tying it with a six-foot putt on his final hole to even the match and secure the win for the Maize and Blue. If Rankin would have missed the putt U-M would have lost in a tiebreaker.
In total, the Wolverines tallied three match wins against the Illini to advance to the final against Indiana, which defeated Michigan State, 4.5 to 1.5, in the semifinal. Junior Ross Millman(St. Louis, Mo./Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School) and freshman Matt Thompson(Battle Creek, Mich./Lakeview HS), who earned all-tournament honors, had a pair of 1-up decisions over Mason Jacobs and Zach Barlow, respectively, while senior co-captain Nick Pumford(St. Charles, Mich./St. Charles HS) closed out a 3-and-1 victory over Luke Guthrie to help the Wolverines reach the final.
In the championship match, the Wolverines and Hoosiers battled back and forth as the conference foes posted a split in the first four matches, setting up the drama down the stretch. After Millman dropped a 6-and-4 decision to Drew Allenspach, Thompson, who had a perfect 3-0 record during the weekend, evened the match when he closed out Chase Wright, 4 and 3. After trailing early, Pumford could not complete the comeback as he lost 1 up to David Erdy, giving the lead back to IU. Sophomore Alexander Sitompul(Jakarta, Indonesia/Bradenton Prep Academy) stepped up his play to eventhe final with a 3-and-2 victory over Seth Brandon.
With two matches remaining, sophomore Lion Kim(Lake Mary, Fla./Lake Mary Prep School) was not able to hold off IU's Jorge Campillo, dropping a 4-and-2 decision to give the Hoosiers a 3-2 lead. In the final match, Rankintrailed Alex Martin most of his match but was again able to rebound. Looking to send the match into a sudden-death playoff, Rankin closed hard but was only able to earn a half a point against Martin, giving IU the Big Ten Match Play title. Rankin closed the event halving all three of his matches.
The Wolverines earned a first-round bye by virtue of their fourth seed and won 4-2 in their quarterfinal match against Iowa yesterday (Friday, Feb. 13) to advance to the semifinal.
In the inaugural conference match play championship, each head-to-head match winner delivers a point to his team. The Big Ten Conference is the first conference to emulate the new NCAA Golf Championship format with this weekend's Big Ten Match Play Championship. The NCAA Finals will begin with 54 holes of stroke play to narrow the field to eight teams. Those eight squads will then compete in match play to determine the national champion.
The Wolverines will now take two weeks off before taking their annual trip Friday through Sunday (Feb. 27-March 1) trip for the 2009 Puerto Rico Classic. The 54-hole tournament will be played at the Rio Mar Country Club's River Course in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico. Last season, Michigan closed sixth overall for its best finish ever in the southern event.
Following are match-by-match results:
Match Play Championship -- #2 Indiana 3.5, #4 Michigan 2.5
Saturday, Feb. 14 - afternoon match
No. 6 -- Drew Allenspach d. Ross Millman, 6 and 4
No. 5 -- Matt Thompson d. Chase Wright, 4 and 3
No. 4 -- David Erdy d. Nick Pumford, 1 up
No. 3 -- Alexander Sitompul d. Seth Brandon, 3 and 2
No. 2 -- Bill Rankin halved Alex Martin
No. 1 -- Jorge Campillo d. Lion Kim, 4 and 2
Match Play Semifinal -- #4 Michigan 3.5, #1 Illinois 2.5
Saturday, Feb. 14 - morning match
No. 6 -- Ross Millman d. Mason Jacobs, 1 up
No. 5 -- Matt Thompson d. Zach Barlow, 1 up
No. 4 -- Nick Pumford d. Luke Guthrie, 3 and 1
No. 3 -- Chris DeForest d. Alexander Sitompul, 2 up
No. 2 -- Bill Rankin halved Matt Hoffman
No. 1 -- Scott Langlet d. Lion Kim, 3 and 2
Match Play Quarterfinal -- #4 Michigan 4, #5 Iowa 2
Friday, Feb. 13 - morning match
No. 6 -- Ross Millman (U-M) d. Chris Brant (Iowa), 1 up
No. 5 -- Matt Thompson (U-M) d. Bradley George (Iowa), 2 and 1
No. 4 -- Barrett Kelpin (Iowa) d. Nick Pumford (U-M), 5 and 4
No. 3 -- Alexander Sitompul (U-M) halved Brad Hopfinger (Iowa)
No. 2 -- Bill Rankin (U-M) halved Vince Indiana (Iowa)
No. 1 -- Lion Kim (U-M) d. Cole Peevler (Iowa), 3 and 2
Match Play First Round -- Bye
Friday, Feb. 13
Bye with No. 4 seed
Wolverine Match Play Records
Matt Thompson (3-0)
Bill Rankin (0-0-3)
Ross Millman (2-1)
Alexander Sitompul (1-1-1)
Lion Kim (1-2)
Nick Pumford (1-2)
2009 Big Ten Match Play Championship Results
First Round
Northwestern d. Penn State (3-3 w/tiebreak)
Purdue d. Minnesota (5 to 1)
Wisconsin d. Ohio State (3-3 w/tiebreak)
Quarterfinal
Illinois d. Northwestern (4 to 2)
Michigan d. Iowa (4 to 2)
Indiana d. Purdue (4 to 2)
Michigan State d. Wisconsin (3.5 to 2.5)
Semifinal
Michigan d. Illinois (3.5 to 2.5)
Indiana d. Michigan State (4.5 to 1.5)
Championship
Indiana d. Michigan (3.5 to 2.5)
Consolation
Penn State d. Minnesota (4 to 2)
Northwestern d. Iowa (3. to 1.5)
Purdue d. Wisconsin (3.5 to 2.5)
Minnesota d. Ohio State (4.5 to 1.5)
Ohio State d. Penn State (5 to 1)
Third-Place Match
Michigan State d. Illinois (4 to 2)
Fifth-Place Match
Northwestern d. Purdue (3-3 w/tiebreak)
Seventh-Place Match
Wisconsin d. Iowa (4 to 2)
Big Ten Match Play Records
Indiana(3-0)
Northwestern (3-1)
Michigan (2-1)
Michigan State (2-1)
Purdue (2-2)
Wisconsin (2-2)
Illinois (1-2)
Minnesota (1-2)
Ohio State (1-2)
Penn State (1-2)
Iowa (0-3)
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Andrew Sapp
On the Wolverines match-play weekend..."We fought hard today. Obviously, I wished we would have won, but we really gave Indiana a good battle right to the end, especially after we were able to beat a great Illinois team in the morning. We really had solid and heady play from our guys throughout the entire weekend. I can only be pleased to see that. Even with it being a match play format, if it were stroke play we would have had some low numbers. That is what makes it just a little easier. The fact we were playing well and just simply got beat by a good team. That is what you can only ask for. The guys fought really hard.
"You cannot say enough about Bill (Rankin) and his play. He came back in all of his matches. He didn't win any of them, but he didn't lose any either. I was really pleased with Matt (Thompson) to win all his matches as a freshman was tremendous. He and Ross (Millman), with the way they played, really helped get us out ahead. It made it easier for guys behind them to see we were winning matches and really helped spur them on the entire event.
"Again, I am pleased with how we played. It was a great way to start off the spring. We didn't take home the big crystal, but we are looking forward to use this momentum and play well in the always strong field at the Puerto Rico Classic."
N O T E S
Matt Thompson earned Big Ten Match Play All Tournament honors after going 3-0 during the event. Joining him on the teamare Indiana's Jorge Campillo, Michigan State's Jordan Ensrud, Northwestern's Eric Chun, Penn State's Chad Bricker and Ohio State's Vaughn Snyder.
With his start at Big Ten Match Play, Bill Rankin has now started 30 straight tournaments and has not missed a start in the last three seasons. Rankin, Nick Pumford, Lion Kim and Ross Millman have started all six events.
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
