Michigan
Iowa
U-M Defeats Iowa on Final Day of East & West Match Play Challenge
9/22/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Sept. 22, 2014
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Site: Ann Arbor, Mich.
Course: Radrick Farms Golf Course (par 72, 6,292 yards)
Tournament: East & West Match Play Challenge (Day 3 of 3)
Match Play: Michigan 4, Iowa 1 (7th & 8th Place)
Next U-M Event: Fri-Sun., Oct. 17-19 -- at Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship (Knoxville, Tenn.)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's golf team defeated Iowa today (Sept. 22) in the final round of match play at the first-ever East & West Match Play Challenge, hosted by U-M at the Radrick Farms golf course.
In the final matchup of the consolation bracket, U-M finished the weekend coming away with a 4-1 victory over the Hawkeyes. Sophomore Grace Choi (Dallas, Texas/Woodrow Wilson HS), the top-seeded player for the Maize and Blue, led things off by winning her second of two matchups on the weekend, defeating Iowa's Elisa Suarez, 3-and-2.
Freshman Emily White (Saline, Mich./Saline HS) was victorious against the Hawkeyes' Shelby Phillips, 5-and-4, while senior Lauren Grogan (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Watterson HS) dispatched of Amy Ihm, 3-and-1, and sophomore Julia Montgomery (Utica, Mich./Utica HS) defeated Jessie Sindlinger, 6-and-4.
Freshman Kathy Lim (Langley, British Columbia/R.E Mountain Secondary) suffered U-M's lone defeat, a 3-and-2 loss at the hands of Iowa's Jessica Ip.
In the individual side of the bracket, freshman Megan Kim (Redondo Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS) was defeated in the final by individual match-play champion Lina Aguillon from Ohio State. Also competing in that portion of the bracket was junior Catherine Peters (Clarence, N.Y./Clarence HS), who earned a 3-and-1 victory over Wisconsin's Ali Nageotte to claim third place as an individual.
With the home event over, the Wolverines will have a little more than a three-week break before heading to Knoxville, Tenn., Friday through Sunday, Oct. 17-19, for Tennessee's Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship, which will be held at the Cherokee Country Club. Last year, U-M earned a top-10 finish, tying for 10th as a team, while Grogan led the Maize and Blue, tying for 25th individually.
TEAM RESULTS
Michigan defeats Iowa, 4-1
Grace Choi, U-M defeats Elisa Suarez, Iowa, 3&2
Jessica Ip, Iowa defeats Kathy Lim, U-M 3&2
Emily White, U-M defeats Shelby Phillips, Iowa, 5&4
Lauren Grogan, U-M defeats Amy Ihm, Iowa, 3&1
Julia Montgomery, U-M defeats Jessie Sindlinger, Iowa, 6&4
Individual Results
Lina Aguillon, Ohio State (1st) defeats Megan Kim, Michigan (2nd), 1-up
Catherine Peters, Michigan (3rd) defeats Ali Nageotte, Wisconsin (4th), 3&1
• Previous Results: Day 2 | Day 1
N O T E S
• U-M hosted its first-ever match-play style event as well as its first-ever event at the Radrick Farms Golf Course in Ann Arbor. In addition, the event marks the first event hosted by the Wolverines under second-year head coach Jan Dowling.
• The second-round 73 recorded by Julia Montgomery on Saturday (Sept. 20) set a new career-low 18-hole score for the sophomore transfer. Montgomery bested her previous career low, which she carded last weekend at Michigan State's Mary Fossum Invitational, by two strokes.
• Freshmen Megan Kim and Kathy Lim also set new career bests on Saturday, with Kim carding a first-round, even-par 72 and Lim shooting a 73 during the day's second loop.
• Coming off a top-10 finish in the stroke-play portion of the event while competing as an individual, freshman Megan Kim earned a convincing victory in Sunday's (Sept. 21) first round of match play.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Jan Dowling
On finishing strong and carrying momentum into the next event ... "The team wanted a little redemption this morning, and I like that fight in them. It made it a lot of fun watching today. There was a lot of competitiveness and I saw a few fist pumps from our players out there, playing hard for themselves and for Michigan. I loved the team camaraderie and it was nice to come out on top at the end to take away some good positives from this weekend. We have a three-week break coming up and we have some work to do, and that happens when you don't play well. It becomes obvious when you don't play well, which things you need to work on, but that's a good thing because it is so early in the season."
On her impressions of the match play format ... "Honestly, I love it. I think it's a thrilling format and it brings teams together. It's a lot of fun. You're going head-to-head, you know exactly what you need to do and if you're a competitor it's some of the most fun golf you'll ever play. After experiencing this I think the NCAA Championships are going to be special as things unfold on the women's side."
On hosting at the Radrick Farms course ... "We are extremely fortunate at Michigan to have two championship golf courses and two great facilities to compete on. To bring the teams in that we did and play a Pete Dye course with unbelievable conditions was fantastic. Radrick Farms did a great job hosting; everything that we asked for they delivered, and beyond. The course was in great shape and the teams really enjoyed it. It was a fair, but good test of golf."
On Cat Peters and Megan Kim, competing as individuals this weekend ... "I was very impressed with the competitiveness of Cat and Megan. To have the experiences that they had this week is just going to help us down the road. It makes us deeper; we're a better team top-to-bottom because of it."
On developing a young roster ... "Every time you compete you learn something. When we were out there on the course the last three days, we really had the opportunity to learn a lot about our game(s). We have the next three weeks to work and we are working to peak in March, April and May. We want to play well now; we want to perform well now, because these are great opportunities to gain important experience, too, but we are going to continue to learn and grow. For everyone to have the experiences they had this week is going to make us better as long as we are positive and keep working on our strengths while developing our weaknesses."
U-M Senior Lauren Grogan
On what it was to compete in a match play event ... "It was great. Definitely different than anything I have done before. It was a lot of fun to be able to think a little differently. Like Coach (Dowling) said, an event like this truly keeps you in the one-shot at a time mindset. You just need to stay in the present because once the hole is over it is over -- you could win with a double bogey or you could win with an eagle."
On how match play was different ..."I loved that this event because it was really all about the team, the team, the team. Obviously, we are always playing a team, but in match play you truly want your team to play well. You are playing for them. You need the three points and you are out there fighting to help your team get that third point. This event really helped us stay in the process and, again, stay in the one shot at a time mentality. It helps us look at what we have at that particular moment and act upon that."
On playing an event at Radrick Farms Golf Course ... "Radrick was in spectacular shape. I don't think I have ever seen it in this great of shape. I know staff did a tremendous job keeping the greens rolling especially with all the weather we had. People were kind of questioning how the greens would roll and every time we would get ready to play the course looked like it was unaffected by any weather. We could not have asked for a better venue."
On where the Wolverines go before heading into Tennessee ... "We had a quick turnaround from our Michigan State event to our home event, so I am sure we will have a little bit of qualifying to keep us out on the course as much as we can and to keep the competition level up. I know we will work a lot on short game. It is an area of our games we always need to work on. As a whole we need to make sure we come out strong, not put ourselves in a position to have to claw out ourselves because at both tournaments we have had good rounds on that 36 hole day, but struggled the first round. We just have to make sure we do a better job getting out of the gates earlier and not expect to come back when you are behind."
U-M Sophomore Grace Choi
On closing the East & West event with victory over Iowa ... "It was great to be able to finish the way we did. The first match did not go the way we wanted but we really dug deep and didn't give up. I am happy with how we finished."
On competing in the match play format ... "This match play event was great. It is a great team format. You truly want your teammates to do as well and want them to beat their opponent. Every hole counts, every match play counts. It was different, but I loved it."
On chipping in to win her first match against Miami in dramatic fashion ... "My third shot I had about 35 yards in. I was short of a bunker, hitting up hill and could not see the bottom of the flag. There was even a hill and about four feet green to work with, so I was just trying to get it close. I just opened the face, hit a flop shot and it looked good in the air. I saw people getting excited and clapping and then Coach (Mattson) told me it went it. My first reaction was 'no it didn't.' It was pretty cool to finish the match that way. Definitely was not expecting that, but that is the fun of match play. You hit shots you weren't expecting to pull off."
On what U-M does over the next three weeks prior to Tennessee's event ... "That is what coach (Dowling) is really good at. She knows how to hone in on your weaknesses and then work on those. I am sure over the next three weeks there will be a lot of individual work. So I am excited to get back to work and really focus on improving."
Contact: Tom Wywrot
