Michigan
East & West Qualifying
This Week in Michigan Women's Golf: East & West Match Play Challenge
9/15/2017 2:12:00 PM | Women's Golf
» Michigan opens the season Sunday through Tuesday (Sept. 17-19) at the East & West Match Play Challenge at University Ridge in Madison, Wisconsin. It is the fourth annual event with split hosting duties by the Wolverines and Badgers.
» U-M returns four of its five starters from a year ago -- seniors Emily White and Megan Kim, junior Elodie Van Dievoet and sophomore Alisa Snyder. All four will start the season opener.
» Freshman Ashley Kim will make her first collegiate start at the East & West Match Play Challenge. Ashley is the younger sister of senior Megan.
» Senior Kathy Lim, who won the 2015 individual bracket at the East & West Match Play, will be U-M's representative in the 2017 individual tournament.
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THIS WEEK
• Sun-Tue., Sept. 17-19 -- at East & West Match Play Challenge (Madison, Wis.)
Live Scoring
• Sunday, Sept. 17 -- Stroke Play Qualifying
• Mon-Tue., Sept. 18-19 -- Team Match Play | Individual Match Play
On the Tee: The East & West Match Play Challenge
The University of Michigan and University of Wisconsin will team up for the fourth straight year for the East & West Match Play Challenge, Saturday through Tuesday, Sept. 17-19, at University of Ridge Golf Course in Madison, Wisconsin. The field of eight teams will play 36 holes of stroke play to determine seeding for team match play. In addition, eight non-team individuals will compete in a stroke-play and match-play bracket of their own. University Ridge will be set up for a par 72 and 6,219 yards.
The Tournament Field
There will be eight teams competing in the East & West Match Play Challenge, including Iowa State, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oregon State, Oregon, UC Davis and host Wisconsin. There will also be eight individuals invited, one from each team.
The Tournament Format
A total of 36 holes will be played to determine match-play seeding/bracket. From there, the top four teams will advance to the championship bracket, while the bottom four move to consolation. The eight individuals will follow the same protocol as the teams. Match play will feature five players in head-to-head individual play. The first team to three points (one point for each individual win) will advance. Extra holes will be played as necessary.
The Tournament Rationale
With the NCAA Finals format altered in 2015 from straight stroke play to a match-play format to determine the team champion, Michigan and Wisconsin teamed up to host a match-play event to mirror the new NCAA format and give teams the experience to assist them in postseason play.
The Tournament Schedule
Saturday, Sept. 16 -- Practice Round beginning at 8 a.m. CDT (tee times; U-M at 9 a.m.)
Sunday, Sept. 17 -- First Round (18) beginning at 9 a.m. CDT (shotgun)
Sunday, Sept. 17 -- Second Round (18) continuous play following completion of first round
Monday, Sept. 18 -- Match Play beginning at 9 a.m. CDT (tee times off No. 1 & 10)
Tuesday, Sept. 19 -- Match Play beginning at 8:30 a.m. CDT (tee times off No. 1 & 10)
The Michigan Lineup
Michigan's starting five will be senior Emily White, junior Elodie Van Dievoet, senior Megan Kim, freshman Ashley Kim and sophomore Alisa Snyder. Senior Kathy Kim, who won the 2015 individual bracket, will be U-M's representative in the 2017 individual tournament.
Michigan and the East & West Challenge
2016 East & West: Returning to Radrick Farms, Michigan closed the third event with a seventh-place finish. After back-to-back 299s had U-M qualify for stroke play fifth, the Wolverines lost their opening consolation bracket match to UC Davis, 3-2. Rebounding on the final day, U-M swept Nebraska, 5-0, to close seventh. In the individual bracket, Snyder made her collegiate debut and finished as the runner-up after dropping the championship match, 4-and-3, to Kentucky's Sarah Shipley. » Recaps: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3
2015 East & West: Playing at Wisconsin's University Ridge, Michigan closed with a fourth-place team finish. The Wolverines were second in the stroke-play qualifier with a school-record 584 36-hole total before dropping matches to eventual winner Oregon (4-1) and Indiana (4-1). Kathy Lim won the individual match play bracket with a convincing 4-and-3 win over Wisconsin's Jessica Reinecke. » Recaps: Day 1 | Day 2 |Day 3
2014 East & West: Hosting the inaugural event at Radrick Farms Golf Course, Michigan was eighth in stroke play and went 1-1 in match play to finish seventh. U-M dropped its opening match to Miami (4-1) before defeating Iowa (4-1) on the final day. Megan Kim was the runner-up in the individual bracket after losing 1-up to Ohio State's Lina Aguillon. » Recaps: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3
REVIEWING 2016-17
Paced by a breakout season from Elodie Van Dievoet, U-M closed the 2016-17 season with its second straight NCAA Championships appearance and with the program's best finish at the national final, tying for 16th. Earning All-Big Ten first team honors as well as U-M's first All-America citation, Van Dievoet won U-M's first individual title at the Big Ten Championships (April 21-23), while U-M posted the 10th top-five finish at the conference tournament, closing fifth. Earning a second straight team bid to the NCAA Regional, U-M was sent to Columbus, Ohio, where the Wolverines had just played three weeks earlier. Van Dievoet's dramatic 18-foot birdie putt on her final hole rallied U-M to a sixth-place finish and advancement to the program's second straight NCAA Finals appearance. » Season in Review
WOLVERINE BITES
• Michigan has made back-to-back NCAA Regional appearances and advanced to the NCAA Finals the last two seasons. U-M had only one prior NCAA Finals appearance, in 2002, finishing 17th. The Wolverines tied for 18th in 2016 and followed with a tie for 16th in 2017.
• The 2016-17 squad averaged 298.00 as a team to record just the second season average less than 300 in program history. A year earlier, U-M set the program record with a 295.56 per round tally. The previous program best was 302.53.
• In just four seasons under Dowling, U-M has posted two top-five finishes at the Big Ten Championships -- 2015 (5th) and 2017 (5th). Prior to Dowling's arrival, U-M had recorded just eight total top-five finishes at the conference tournament. In fact, Dowling's squad just missed a third top-five in 2016 when it finished sixth.
• Van Dievoet had a remarkable 2017 postseason for the Wolverines. After winning the Big Ten individual title, her dramatic 18-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole at the Columbus Regional helped send U-M to the NCAA Finals for a second straight season and give her a top-10 individual finish (t-9th). In the finals, she recorded the highest individual finish for a Wolverine, tying for fourth, while pacing U-M to its best finish at the championships, a tie for 16th.
• Van Dievoet became the ninth Wolverine to earn All-Big Ten first team honors and gave U-M back-to-back seasons of first team selections after former Wolverine Grace Choi (2014-17) earned the accolade in 2016. Throughout U-M's history, 13 total players have garnered All-Big Ten honors, with nine first-team accolades.
NEXT ON THE TEE
Mon-Wed., Sept. 25-27 -- Golfweek Conference Challenge (Vail, Colorado)
Fri-Sun., Oct. 13-15 -- Ruth's Chris Invitational (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Players Mentioned
