Michigan
Wolverine Intercollegiate (Day 1)
Echavarria, Schultz in Top 10 after First Day of Wolverine Invite
9/12/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich.
Course: U-M Golf Course (par 71, 6,687 yards)
Tournament: Wolverine Intercollegiate (Day 1 of 2)
U-M Standing: 4th Place of 11 Teams (283-285/568) after Day 1
Top U-M Individual: Miguel Echavarria, sixth (71-68/139, -3)
Final Round: Tuesday, Sept. 13 -- host Wolverine Intercollegiate - Final Round (U-M Golf Course), 8 a.m. (tee times)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Juniors Miguel Echavarria (Medellin, Colombia/The Columbus School) and Jack Schultz (Whitefish Bay, Wis./Whitefish Bay HS) each carded second-round 68s to help the University of Michigan men's golf team shoot a 568 today (Monday, Sept. 12) and sit fourth after 36 holes of the Wolverine Intercollegiate at the U-M Golf Course. Echavarria, who tied a career best with his second-round tally, is the top Wolverine individual after day one, holding sixth place (71-68/139). Schultz is tied with three others in seventh (72-68/140).
Senior Matt Thompson (Battle Creek, Mich./Lakeview HS) opened with a three-under 68, while Echavarria posted an even-par 71 to give U-M a one-under 283 in the first round. After a bogey on his second hole, Thompson had three of his four birdies in his final six holes, while Echavarria tallied four birdies throughout his even-par round. Schultz helped the Wolverine cause with a one-over 72.
In the second round, Echavarria caught fire with his playing partners -- California's Joel Stalter (63, -8) and Baylor's Ryan O'Rear (66, -5) -- scattering seven birdies throughout his 18 holes. Following Echavarria's lead, Schultz posted seven birdies of his own.
Other Wolverine starter scoring include junior Rahul Bakshi (Chandigarh, India/St. John's HS) tied for 40th at 148 (72-76) and junior Matt Alessi (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Birmingham Brother Rice), starting and playing in his first collegiate event, tied for 48th at 152 (78-74).
The Wolverines had three individuals competing, with freshman Noori Hyun (Seoul, Korea/Centreville HS [Va.]) tied for 37th at 147 (71-76), sophomore Matt Felsenfeld (West Bloomfield, Mich./Leadbetter Golf Academy [Fla.]) tied for 55th at 156 (76-80) and freshman Andrew Wong (Deerfield Beach, Fla./Pompano Beach HS) tied for 57th at 160 (83-77).
The Wolverine Intercollegiate concludes with the final 18 holes Tuesday (Sept. 13) at the U-M Golf Course. Tee times begin at 8 a.m. off No. 1 and 10.
Team Standings (After Day 1)
1. California 281-275 = 556 (-12)
2. Michigan State 285-276 = 561
3. Baylor 284-278 = 562
4. MICHIGAN 283-285 = 568
5. North Carolina 284-289 = 573
6. Missouri 290-286 = 576
7. IUPUI 300-283 = 583
Iowa State 290-293 = 583
9. Detroit 294-291 = 585
10. Marquette 294-294 = 588
11. Oakland 302-295 = 597
Top Individuals
1. Joel Stalter, California 72-63 = 135 (-7)
2. Dan Ellis, Michigan State 70-66 = 136
3. Michael Kim, California 68-69 = 137
Ryan O'Rear, Baylor 71-66 = 137
5. Chris Mory, Michigan State 70-68 = 138
6. MIGUEL ECHAVARRIA, U-M 71-68 = 139
7. JACK SCHULTZ, U-M 72-68 = 140
Mikkel BjerchAndresn, Baylor 69-71 = 140
Emilio Cuartero, Missouri 72-68 = 140
Jace Long, Missouri 67-73 = 140
Other Wolverine Individuals
T16. Matt Thompson 68-75 = 143 T40. Rahul Bakshi 72-76 = 148 T48. Matt Alessi 78-74 = 152 T37. Noori Hyun 71-76 = 147* T55. Matt Felsenfeld 76-80 = 156* T57. Andrew Wong 83-77 = 160*
* played as individual
NOTES
• Miguel Echavarria tied a career best, posting a three-under 68 in second round. He equaled the 68 (-4) he fired in the second round of the 2010 Rod Myers Invitational.
• Michigan coach Chris Whitten made his head coaching debut. Whitten was the Wolverines' assistant coach for the last five years before being named the successor to Andrew Sapp, who left to coach his alma mater, North Carolina -- also playing in this week's tournament.
• Freshmen Noori Hyun and Andrew Wong made their collegiate debuts. Junior Matt Alessi, who earned a spot on the team as a walk-on, made his first collegiate debut and start.
• Former U-M coach Jim Carras served as the official starter for the event. Carras was the head coach at U-M for 20 years (1982-2002).
TOURNAMENT NOTE
• California's Joel Stalter tied the U-M Course record with an eight-under 63 in the second round. He equaled the mark of James McLean (Minnesota), who had a 63 in the second round of the 1999 Wolverine Invitational.
QUOTES
Michigan Head Coach Chris Whitten
On his impressions of the first two rounds ... "Our practices have been a little short this week. We had high expectations coming in and we got off to a bit of a slow start, but the guys finished off their first round well, which had us feeling good going into the second round. We weren't quite as strong in the second round, but there's a lot more birdies to be made tomorrow, that's for sure."
On Miguel Echavarria ... "Miguel found some things in his game this summer that really gave him a jump start. It really looks like he's carrying that over into the college season. I expect him to make a really nice jump this year and this is just the beginning of that."
On Jack Schultz and Matt Thompson ... "Jack had an incredible summer and this was just a nice, solid start for him and I know Matt is feeling disappointed right now with his second round, but that's just going to give him more motivation for tomorrow."
On what to concentrate on tomorrow ... "We'll go over the hole locations and make sure we're approaching them from the proper side and some technical things. The course will be dryer, faster and better tomorrow, so we'll come in with the mindset of going low."
U-M Junior Miguel Echavarria
On what he changed in the summer ... "I made some changes in my posture and grip, just trying to get more constant with my swing and trying to have the same rhythm. It was hard in the beginning, but it's starting to pay off lately. Today, I played pretty well. It was a relatively good round. I had some good putts, missed some short ones too. In general, I hit the ball pretty well."
On the goal for tomorrow ... "We have to go and shoot as low as we can. We have to catch up with the other teams and make some birdies. We have to avoid the mistakes because here you can hit a good shot and end up on the wrong side and you can make a bogey or a double. We're just going to try and play some good golf and make some birdies."
On playing better when your group is on a roll ... "He (Cal's Joel Stalter) shot eight under and (Baylor's Ryan O'Rear) shot five under and I shot three under. It actually made my score look like nothing in comparison. You kind of want to catch up to them and keep pace. It's either that or you just play really bad and go the other way. Usually, you will try to catch up."
Players Mentioned
