Michigan
Ohio State
Michigan Closes Big Ten Match Play with Sixth-Place Finish
2/13/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Feb. 13, 2010
Site: Coral Springs, Fla.
Course: TPC of Heron Bay (par 72, 7,288 yards)
Tournament: Big Ten Match Play Championship
Scores: Consolation Semifinal: U-M 3.5, Ohio State 2.5; Consolation Final: Illinois 4.5, U-M 1.5
Next U-M Event: Sun-Tue., Feb. 21-23 -- at Puerto Rico Classic (Rio Grande, Puerto Rico)
CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. -- After playing back-to-back dramatic consolation matches, the University of Michigan men's golf team closed the 2010 Big Ten Match Play Championship in sixth place today (Saturday, Feb. 13) after going 1-2 during the two-day event held at the TPC of Heron Bay.
Michigan's Big Ten rivalry against Ohio State reached another peak this morning in the consolation semifinal match. After freshman Rahul Bakshi (Chandigarh, India/St. John's) dropped his match, 6 and 5, to Brad Smith and sophomore Alex Frankel (Atlanta, Ga./Lovett School) was unable to hold off Brad Wright, losing 3 and 2, the seventh-seeded Buckeyes quickly built a 2-0 lead.
U-M then flipped the momentum in its favor, as junior Lion Kim (Lake Mary, Fla./Lake Mary Prep School) knocked off Matthew Turner, 2 and 1, and freshman Jack Schultz (Whitefish Bay, Wis./Whitefish Bay) defeated Michael Cress, 3 and 1, to knot the score at 2-2.
After falling two back with two holes remaining, junior Alexander Sitompul (Jakarta, Indonesia/Bradenton Prep Academy [Fla.]) birdied the 17th hole to regain a hole on Zachery Soble. Needing to win the hole to halve the match, Sitompul drained a 50-foot curving putt to split the hole and the match.
With the score tied at 2.5-2.5, sophomore Matt Thompson (Battle Creek, Mich./Lakeview) held a 2-up lead but was not able to hold the lead for long as Bo Hoag won the 16th and 17th holes to square the match. On No. 18, Thompson knocked down a 20-foot bending putt to win the hole and secure the team win for the Wolverines, 3.5-2.5, advancing U-M to the consolation final against No. 1 Illinois.
In the consolation final, U-M matched Illinois early through the first nine holes before the Illini turned up their play with several birdies on the back nine to pull away and go on for the 4.5-1.5 decision. For the Maize and Blue, Schultz stayed undefeated in his first Big Ten Match Play, winning his final hole against Zach Barlow to halve the match and finish the weekend with a 2-0-1 record. The Wolverines' lone win against Illinois came from Kim, who defeated Luke Guthrie 2 and 1, giving him a 2-1 record.
The Wolverines will take a week to prepare before taking off for their annual trip to the 2010 Puerto Rico Classic, Sunday through Tuesday (Feb. 21-23). The 54-hole tournament will be played at the Rio Mar Country Club's in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.
• Day One Results (vs. Northwestern)
Following are match-by-match results:
Match Play Consolation Final -- No. 1 Illinois 4.5, No. 3 Michigan 1.5
Saturday, Feb. 13
No. 1 -- Scott Langley (ILL) def. Matt Thompson (U-M), 4 and 3
No. 2 -- Lion Kim (U-M) def. Luke Guthrie (ILL), 2 and 1
No. 3 -- Jack Schultz (U-M) halved with Zach Barlow (ILL)
No. 4 -- Matt Hoffman (ILL) def. Rahul Bakshi (U-M), 6 and 5
No. 5 -- Chris DeForest (ILL) def. Alex Frankel (U-M), 6 and 5
No. 6 -- Ross Frankenberg (ILL) def. Alexander Sitompul (U-M), 3 and 2
Match Play Consolation Semifinal -- No. 3 seed Michigan 3.5, No. 7 Ohio State 2.5
Saturday, Feb. 13
No. 1 -- Matt Thompson (U-M) def. Bo Hoag (OSU), 1-up
No. 2 -- Lion Kim (U-M) def. Matthew Turner (OSU), 2 and 1
No. 3 -- Jack Schultz (U-M) Michael Cress (OSU), 3 and 1
No. 4 -- Brad Smith (OSU) def. Rahul Bakshi (U-M), 6 and 5
No. 5 -- Brad Wright (OSU) def. Alex Frankel (U-M), 3 and 2
No. 6 -- Alexander Sitompul (U-M) halved with Zachery Soble (OSU)
Match Play Quarterfinal -- No. 6 seed Northwestern 4, No. 3 seed Michigan 2
Friday, Feb. 12
No. 1 -- Josh Dupont (NW) def. Matt Thompson (U-M), 3 and 2
No. 2 -- David Lipsky (NW) def. Lion Kim (U-M), 5 and 4
No. 3 -- Jack Schultz (U-M) def. Jonathan Bowers (NW), 3 and 1
No. 4 -- Eric Chun (NW) def. Rahul Bakshi (U-M), 2 and 1
No. 5 -- Sam Chien (NW) def. Alex Frankel (U-M), 5 and 4
No. 6 -- Alexander Sitompul (U-M) def. Nick Lasole (NW), 1-up
Match Play First Round -- Bye
Friday, Feb. 12
Bye with No. 3 seed
Wolverine Match Play Records
Jack Schultz (2-0-1)
Lion Kim (2-1)
Alexander Sitompul (1-1-1)
Matt Thompson (1-2)
Rahul Bakshi (0-3)
Alex Frankel (0-3)
2010 Big Ten Match Play Championship Results
Championship Match
#6 Northwestern def. #9 Purdue (6-0)
Third Place Match
#2 Iowa def. #4 Minnesota (3.5-2.5)
Fifth Place Match
#1 Illinois def. #3 Michigan (4.5-1.5)
Seventh Place Match
#7 Ohio State def. #5 Indiana (5-1)
Championship Semifinal
#9 Purdue def. #4 Minnesota (4.5-1.5)
#6 Northwestern def. #2 Iowa (3.5-2.5)
Consolation Semifinal
#3 Michigan def. #7 Ohio State (3.5-2.5)
#10 Michigan State def. #11 Wisconsin (4.5-1.5)
Quarterfinal
#6 Northwestern def. #4 Michigan (4-2)
#2 Iowa def. #7 Ohio State (3-3 w/tiebreak)
#11 Wisconsin def. #10 Michigan State (4-2)
#1 Illinois def. #5 Indiana (4-2)
First Round
#7 Ohio State def. #10 Michigan State (5-1)
#6 Northwestern def. #11 Wisconsin (5-1)
#9 Purdue def. #1 Illinois (3.5-2.5)
#4 Minnesota def. #5 Indiana (3.5-2.5)
Note: Penn State was unable to travel and compete due to severe weather.
Note: There were only four matches played per round
N O T E S
• Michigan earned a first-round bye for the second straight year at the Big Ten Match Play Championship. The Wolverines were the No. 3 seed at this year's event, and played as the fourth seed at last year's inaugural event.
• This marks the second year of the Big Ten Match Play Championship. Last season, Indiana defeated Michigan for the title, 3.5-2.5.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Andrew Sapp
On the ebbs and flows of the emotions of playing back-to-back matches ... "Today reminded me of nationals. We had a dramatic win and then had a little bit of a letdown. It's hard to come back after barely winning a match and then heading right back out play someone who has not really played at all that day or even been through an emotional situation like we had. Still, you have to go out and play and those are not excuses. The windy conditions were definitely draining.
"Illinois just played well. They threw a lot of birdies at us and you have to give credit to them. We hung in on the front nine, but they hit the gas on the back nine on us and took off. So I would say we were a little bit drained and just were not able to finish the second round off today.
"You have to look at it this way, the two teams we lost to were Northwestern, who went on to win and were the hottest team of the week, and Illinois, who is ranked in the top 10 in the country and was the best team here. We still have a lot of work to do. It just showed us that we need to strengthen our team at the four and five positions. We just cannot rely on the top three all the time. We need to relieve that pressure on them and get some solid play from the back end of our lineup."
On if he likes the format of the Big Ten Match Play to start the spring season ... "I like this event to start the spring off. It is a good venue for us. It is a good format for us. You just never know in the spring, you can have a bad hole and put a triple (bogey) on the card and it can kill you stroke wise, but here you only lose a hole in match play. So, for the first event of the spring it is a spectacular event for us to play. It's a great opportunity for all the Big Ten teams to get together and compete. It's great to try a new format and get things started for the remainder of the season."
On what preparations need to be made for getting back to stroke play and the Puerto Rico Classic ... "For us, it's going to always be different for every person. For some, it is ball striking. For some, it is making a few more putts. For some, it is chipping a little better. We just will have to look at everyone individually to figure out what areas to address the most. But we are excited to get back to competing again and, hopefully, we can take some of the things we learned here, improve upon them and play well in Puerto Rico."
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
