Wolverines Open Spring with Best Finish Ever in Puerto Rico

Tuesday, February 14

Rio Grande, Puerto Rico

7:30 AM AT

Michigan

Lady Puerto Rico Classic

Wolverines Open Spring with Best Finish Ever in Puerto Rico

2/14/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf

Feb. 14, 2017

» Despite a final-round 304 team tally, Michigan finished ninth at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic, which is the highest finish for the Wolverines at Purdue's spring-opening event.
» Elodie Van Dievoet used a career-best-tying 69 (-3) in the second round to help her to a 219 tally. She led the Wolverines for the third time in five events this season.
» Grace Choi gave U-M two among the top 20 as she posted a 222 tally to tie for 20th -- the 13th top-20 finish of her career.
» In her second career start, Alisa Snyder posted a career-best 73 (+1) in the second round and tied for 30th individually with a career-best 225 54-hole total.

Site: Rio Grande, P.R.
Course: Rio Mar Country Club, River Course (par 72, 6,164 yards)
Tournament: Lady Puerto Rico Classic (Day 3 of 3)
U-M Team Standing: 9th Place of 15 Teams (298-294-304/896)
Top U-M Individual: Elodie Van Dievoet, tie-12th (73-69-77/219)
Next U-M Event: Mon-Wed., Feb. 27-March 1 -- at Hurricane Invitational (Miami, Fla.)

RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico -- With sophomore Elodie Van Dievoet leading the Maize and Blue with a tie for 12th, combined with senior Grace Choi's top-20 finish and a career-best performance from freshman Alisa Snyder, the University of Michigan women's golf team opened its spring season by posting the program's highest finish ever at Purdue's Lady Puerto Rico Classic, closing ninth with an 896 tally on Tuesday (Feb. 14).

"If we look at our tournament in Puerto Rico, we accomplished part of our goal for each event which is to get ourselves in contention," said U-M coach Jan Dowling. "Going into the final round, we were nine shots back. If we had gotten off to a better start, we could have made a run at it. Overall, it was impressive to see so many birdies coming out of the winter, and we had our two lowest team rounds ever at Rio Mar. We let our round get away from us today, but plenty of positives as we move into the bulk of our spring season."

After a three-month layoff, the Wolverines opened the spring season Sunday (Feb. 12) with their eighth sub-300 team tally (298) as Choi's three birdies on her opening 18 holes yielded a 71 (-1) -- her third sub-par round this season. Van Dievoet added an opening 73 (+1) to help position U-M sixth. U-M's 298 was the first time the Wolverines ever broke 300 at the Puerto Rico event.

Van Dievoet caught fire in the second round Monday (Feb. 13) as the Wolverines improved four shots to post a 294 team total and move up to a tie for fifth after 36 holes. She used seven birdies on the day to tie her career-best single-round tally with a 69 (-3), while Snyder posted five birdies of her own to produce a career-best 73 (+1).

Junior Megan Kim carded the Maize and Blue's best final-round score with a 75 as the Wolverines slipped three spots, closing with a 304 and giving them a ninth-place finish at 896. The Wolverines had never finished better than a tie for 11th in the nine previous Puerto Rico events.

Van Dievoet just missed the best individual finish mark in Puerto Rico as she tied for 12th at 219 (73-69-77), one spot behind former Wolverine Meagan Bauer's (2009-12) tie for 11th in 2011.

"Elodie played beautifully for the entire week," said Dowling. "Her ball striking was impressive, and she made lots of putts the first two rounds. She knows she can compete against some of the best players in the country after the last three days, and she will have this great experience to use in the future. She's been very focused in her practice, and we are so happy she is seeing great results."

Choi closed with her 13th career top-20 finish with a tie for 20th at 222 (71-75-76), while Snyder equaled her best individual finish, tying for 30th, but lowered her career-best 54-hole total by six shots with her 225 (76-73-76).

"We have plenty of positives to take away from this week but plenty to work on as well," added Dowling. "We have a great winter break planned and are excited to get back to work."

The Wolverines will have two weeks off before heading to Miami for the Hurricane Invitational, set for Monday through Wednesday, Feb. 27-March 1, at the Biltmore Golf Course. It will be the fifth appearance in the event over the last six seasons. Last year, U-M closed seventh with an 867 team total as White (t-20th) and Choi (t-24th) gave the Wolverine two among the top 25 individually.

Final Team Standings

 1. N.C. State   303-289-285 = 877 (+13) 2. Furman       290-293-295 = 878    Kent State   293-293-292 = 878 4. TCU          294-296-293 = 883 5. Georgia      294-298-292 = 884 6. Baylor       298-295-294 = 887 7. Texas Tech   292-301-300 = 893 8. Arkansas     299-292-304 = 895 9. MICHIGAN     298-294-304 = 89610. Iowa State   305-302-293 = 90011. Purdue       308-298-298 = 90412. Vanderbilt   308-302-296 = 90613. Augusta      305-303-299 = 90714. Maryland     315-301-295 = 91115. LSU          299-306-307 = 912

Top Individuals

 1. Maria Vesga, Baylor         70-73-72 = 215 (-1)    Naomi Ko, N.C. State        74-71-70 = 215    Haylee Harford, Furman      70-69-76 = 215    Amy Lee, Baylor             71-71-73 = 215    Panitta Yusabai, Maryland   72-73-70 = 215 6. Taylor Totland, Furman      71-73-72 = 216 7. Gabby Barker, Texas Tech    72-70-75 = 217    Celia Barquin, Iowa State   72-73-72 = 217 9. Sarah Bae, N.C. State       78-70-70 = 218    Amelia Grohn, Iowa State    78-71-69 = 218    Emmy Martin, TCU            73-72-73 = 218

Michigan Individuals

T12. Elodie Van Dievoet   73-69-77 = 219T20. Grace Choi           71-75-76 = 222T30. Alisa Snyder         76-73-76 = 225T51. Megan Kim            78-77-75 = 230T77. Emily White          85-81-79 = 245

Communications Contact: Tom Wywrot