This Week in Michigan Men's Golf: Northern Intercollegiate

» Michigan heads to Sugar Grove, Illinois, for Northern Illinois' Northern Intercollegiate at Rich Harvest Farms.
» Senior Nick Carlson will open his final campaign making his 35th career start.
» Freshmen Ben Dunne and Patrick Sullivan are scheduled to start their first career collegiate events.
» The 2018-19 season marks the eighth season for head coach Chris Whitten.

THIS WEEK
• Sat-Sun., Sept. 15-16 -- Northern Intercollegiate (Sugar Grove, Ill.)
Live Scoring | Rich Harvest Farms

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On the Tee: Northern Intercollegiate

The University of Michigan men's golf team opens its 2018-19 season playing in Northern Illinois' Northern Intercollegiate, Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 15-16. The 54-hole event will be held in Sugar Grove, Illinois, at the prestigious Rich Harvest Farms Golf Course. The 14-team field will play 36 holes on Saturday (Sept. 15) and a final 18 on Sunday (Sept. 16). Selected teams, including U-M, will be allowed an individual. Rich Harvest Farms will be set up for a par 72 and 7,253 yards

The Northern Intercollegiate Field

There will be 14 teams in the field at the Northern Intercollegiate: Augusta, Aurora, Coastal Carolina, Grand Canyon, Marquette, Miami (Ohio), Michigan, Missouri, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Toledo, UMKC and Wisconsin.

The Northern Intercollegiate Schedule

Friday, Sept. 14 -- Practice Round (18), 11:50 a.m. CDT (tee times off No. 1)
Saturday, Sept. 15 -- First Round (18), 8:15 a.m. CDT (shotgun)
Saturday, Sept. 15 -- Second Round (18), continuous play following completion of first round
Sunday, Sept. 16 -- Final Round (18), 8:15 a.m. CDT (shotgun)

The Northern Intercollegiate Lineup

Michigan will bring a five-member starting squad and one individual to the Northern Intercollegiate: senior Nick Carlson, sophomores Charlie Pilon and Henry Spring and freshmen Ben Dunne and Patrick Sullivan make up the starting unit for the Maize and Blue. Junior Brent Ito will travel and play as an individual.

Last Year at the Northern Intercollegiate

With a final-round 285 (-3), Michigan posted an even-par 864, 54-hole event total to finish fifth at the Northern Intercollegiate held at Rich Harvest Farms. Recent grad Kyle Mueller used a bogey-free final round to tie his season best with a closing 67 (-5) to lead U-M, tying for eighth individually at 212 (71-74-67, -4). Nick Carlson tied for 23rd at 217 (71-73-73, +1), while Henry Spring tied for 30th at 219 (77-70-72) in his first collegiate start. [ Recap ]

Wolverine Bites

• Nick Carlson will look to provide a veteran presence for the Wolverines this season. Last season, he finished with a 73.35 strokes-per-round average -- second on the team -- and started 10 events.

• Last season, Brent Ito started eight of 10 events in his second campaign and averaged 75.81 per round. He led the Wolverines at the Big Ten Match Play Championships (Feb. 9-10) with a 2-1-1 record. Ito highlighted his season in his final event with a career-low 67 (-3) in the second round at the Big Ten Championships (April 27-29).

• U-M's "Down Under Duo" of Charlie Pilon (Australia) and Henry Spring (New Zealand) gained valuable experience a year ago. Pilon started nine of his 10 events and was third on the Wolverines with a 74.24 per-round average. He won his first collegiate event, tying with Kyle Mueller at the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate (March 3-4). Spring started seven of his nine events and sported a 75.41 average. He closed his season with a career-best tie for 10th at the Big Ten Championships, which included a career-low 69 (-3) in the second round.

• Newcomer Patrick Sullivan joins the Wolverines after closing his high school career as Michigan's Mr. Golf. After a dramatic two-hole playoff to win the individual title at the Division I State Finals, his medalist honor helped Grosse Pointe South to the state crown by 19 shots and after two straight years as the runner-up. Classmate Ben Dunne looks to make an impact as well after helping his high school -- Cedar Park -- to a Class 5A runner-up finish in 2017 and a third-place finish in 2018.

Inside the Maize and Blue

• Michigan made its fifth straight NCAA regional appearance in 2017-18, as Kyle Mueller won the Columbus Regional and made his second career NCAA Finals appearance. During the five-year stretch, U-M has three team appearances (2017 Washington, 2016 Vanderbilt and 2015 Washington) and two individual appearances (2018 Mueller and 2014 Chris O'Neill).

• U-M has 41 NCAA postseason appearances with 13 regional stops since the format changed to regional play in 1989. The Wolverines have participated as a team in six Central Regionals (1995, 1997, 2000, 2008, 2010, 2011), two Washington Regionals (2015, 2017), the Southwest Regional (2009) and the Franklin Regional (2016). The Wolverines add three regional invitations in 2012 (Matt Thompson), 2014 (Chris O'Neill) and 2018 (Kyle Mueller). U-M has made 23 NCAA team final appearances, winning back-to-back national titles in 1934 and 1935. The Wolverines also have had 11 individuals advance to the NCAA Finals, with the last by Mueller in 2018.

Up Next

• Sun-Mon., Sept. 23-24 -- Windon Memorial Classic (Lake Forest, Ill.)
• Sun-Mon., Oct. 7-8 -- Fighting Irish Classic (South Bend, Ind.)