U-M Closes 10th at Big Ten Championships

Sunday, April 28

French Lick, Ind.

8:00 AM

Michigan

Big Ten Championships

4/28/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf

April 28, 2013

• Photo Gallery

Site: French Lick, Ind.
Course: French Lick Resort, Donald Ross Course (par 72, 6,007 yards)
Tournament: Big Ten Championships
U-M Team Standing: 10th Place of 12 Teams (306-316-310/932)
Top U-M Individual: Lauren Grogan, tie-23rd (75-79-75/229)
Next U-M Event: Monday, April 29 -- NCAA Selection Show (NCAA.com), 9 p.m.

FRENCH LICK, Ind. -- Highlighted with a top-25 finish by sophomore Lauren Grogan (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Watterson HS), the University of Michigan women's golf team posted a 932 final team total today (Sunday, April 28) to finish 10th at the Big Ten Championships played on the Donald Ross Course at the French Lick Resort.

Playing the conference tournament in a 54-hole format for just the sixth time in school history, the Wolverines opened with a 306 team total during Friday's (April 26) first round to sit seventh overall. Grogan's three-over 75 and junior Alyssa Shimel's (Pemberville, Ohio/Eastwood HS) four-over 76 led the Wolverines on the first day.

Shimel followed in Saturday's (April 27) second round, carding a three-over 75, while Grogan posted a 79 as the U-M squad combined for 316 total putting the Wolverines 10th with one round remaining. In today's final round, Grogan closed with her second three-over 75, while sophomore Linda Luo (Bradenton, Fla./Lakewood Ranch HS) carded a 77 as the Wolverines tallied a 310 to close with a 932 and finish 10th.

Individually, Grogan led U-M as she tied for 23rd with a 229 total (75-79-75), while Shimel gave U-M two among the top 30 after she tied for 26th at 230 (76-75-79). Luo followed in 40th at 235 (77-81-77) to round of U-M's top three finishes. Other Michigan finishes included freshman Catherine Peters (Clarence, N.Y./Clarence HS) closing her first conference tournament tying for 56th at 241 (78-83-80), junior Chelsea Pezzola (Bradenton, Fla./Saint Stephens Episcopal Prep) tying for 56th at 243 (80-84-79) and junior Yugene Lee (Athens, Ga./Oconee County HS) closing 68th at 248 (79-81-88).

With 884 final totals, Northwestern (287-295-302) and Purdue (293-294-297) tied for the Big Ten title. It marked the first time the Wildcats have claimed the conference tournament title, while the Boilermakers captured their sixth overall. Michigan State rallied in the final round to finish third at 889 (303-297-289). In addition to the team title, Purdue's Paula Reto captured medalist honors with a four-under 212 championship total.

U-M will now wait to see if the Wolverines will have an individual invited to an NCAA regional, which will take place Thursday through Saturday (May 16-18). There will be three different regional sites for this year's NCAA postseason -- Norman, Okla. (Jimmie Austin OU Golf Course); Auburn, Ala. (Auburn University Club) and Palo Alto, Calif. (Stanford Golf Course).

Final Team Standings

 1. Northwestern     287-295-302 = 884 (+20)    Purdue           293-294-297 = 884 3. Michigan State   303-297-289 = 889 4. Penn State       296-305-299 = 900 5. Indiana          310-303-303 = 916 6. Wisconsin        305-311-301 = 917 7. Ohio State       301-307-310 = 918 8. Minnesota        312-305-304 = 921 9. Iowa             313-306-305 = 92410. MICHIGAN         306-316-310 = 93211. Nebraska         321-313-301 = 93512. Illinois         311-318-317 = 946

Top Individuals

 1. Paula Reto, Purdue                71-71-70 = 212 (-4) 2. Caroline Powers, Michigan State   75-73-71 = 219 3. Katlyn Elliott, Penn State        72-75-73 = 220    Christine Meier, Michigan State   75-72-73 = 220 5. Allyssa Ferrell, Michigan State   74-75-72 = 221 6. Kaitlin Park, Northwestern        71-72-79 = 222 7. Devon Brown, Northwestern         74-74-75 = 223    Kishi Sinha, Purdue               73-73-77 = 223 9. Aurora Kan, Purdue                74-76-74 = 224    Carmen Laguna, Minnesota          76-76-72 = 224    Elizabeth Szokol, Northwestern    74-75-75 = 224

Michigan Individuals

T23. Lauren Grogan      75-79-75 = 229T26. Alyssa Shimel      76-75-79 = 230 40. Linda Luo          77-81-77 = 235T56. Catherine Peters   78-83-80 = 241T59. Chelsea Pezzola    80-84-79 = 243 68. Yugene Lee         79-81-88 = 248

• Previous Results: Day 2 | Day 1

N O T E S

• Michigan competed in 10 events this season, all of which finished as 54-hole events.

• Michigan competed in a 54-hole conference tournament for the sixth time in team history.

• Michigan's 932 total ties the second-best team total for a 54-hole conference tournament.

• Lauren Grogan led U-M in an event for the fourth time this season. Linda Luo closed as U-M's leader with five.

Q U O T E S

Michigan Head Coach Cheryl Stacy
On the Big Ten Championships ... "After the first round we felt we were in good shape and in high spirits. We were in the ballpark. After our second round, it was very disappointing. We thought the momentum was on our side with Lauren (Grogan) and Alyssa (Shimel) playing well, but that second round really got us. We were very up and down. We would get off to a good start and be in pretty good shape and then the second nine we let it go. It was kind of indicative of our entire season. However, we have taken many, many positives throughout the entire year. We know we have a lot of work to do. So, we are going to start next season now after talking with the girls. We talked about expectations, what tournaments to play in this summer and really start to focus in our games and come in ready next year."

On the experiences the roster gained with no seniors ... "It was a unique situation with no seniors. We never really had the same lineup the entire season. We had a lot of experience, both up and down that can only help us. We really had to learn things the hard way this year. We hope that going through that is going to pay off this summer and carry over into next year."

Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423