Wolverines Split on Final Day of Big Ten Match Play

Saturday, February 8

Palm Coast, Fla.

8:00 AM

Michigan

3.5

2.5

Wisconsin

Patrick Sullivan (Michigan Photography)

2/8/2020 7:23:00 PM | Men's Golf

By: Tom Wywrot

» With a 3.5-2.5 win over No. 12 Wisconsin to start the final day followed with a 5-1 loss to No. 4 Ohio State, No. 9 Michigan finished the spring with a 1-1-2 record at the 2020 Big Ten Championships.
» Patrick Sullivan finished his first career match-play event with an unblemished 4-0 record.
» Brent Ito and Charlie Pilon finished with 2-2 records over the two-day event.

Site: Palm Coast, Fla.
Course: Hammock Beach Resort - Ocean Course (par 72, 7,183 yards)
Tournament: Big Ten Match Play Championship (Day 2 of 2)
U-M Team Standing: 1-1-2
Match 3: Michigan 3.5, Wisconsin 3.5
Match 4: Ohio State 5, Michigan 1
Next U-M Event: Sat-Sun., March 7-8 -- host, Desert Mountain Intercollegiate (Scottsdale, Ariz.)

PALM COAST, Fla. -- Splitting its Saturday matches, the University of Michigan men's golf team closed the day with a 1-1 record and closed the 2020 Big Ten Match Play Championship on Saturday (Feb. 8) with a 1-1-2 record after the Hammock Beach Resort's Ocean Course.

"It was another step in the right direction for us today," said U-M head coach Zach Barlow. "Having Pier (Francesco De Col) even his match right at the end helped to give us the win and give us some momentum heading into the afternoon. However, small mistakes added up against Ohio State and it cost us.

"Overall, it was a positive weekend. Patrick (Sullivan) was dominant all weekend long. We were happy to see him really take care of business and finish with a 4-0 record. I am just really proud of his effort.

"In the end, it was good to get out there and compete. It helped us get a snapshot of what we need to work on before we host the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate in a month."

In Saturday's opening match, U-M faced off with No. 12-seed Wisconsin in one of the event's additional matches. After a 2-and-1 victory by Brent Ito over Wisconsin's Sam Anderson and a 3-and-2 win by Charlie Pilon over Griffin Barela, the Maize and Blue appeared to be headed to its third straight even finish. However, in the third round's final, freshman Pier Francesco De Col was able to draw even on the final hole of his match with Pete Kuhl to earn a half of a point and give the Wolverines their first win over the spring event, 3.5-2.5.

The Wolverines finished their event with a 5-1 loss to No. 4-seed Ohio State. Despite the loss, a 1-up victory from sophomore Patrick Sullivan helped close his first match-play event with an unblemished record of 4-0. In addition to Sullivan, Ito and Pilon each finish with 2-2 records over the weekend.

The Wolverines will not compete again until early March when they will host the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate, Saturday and Sunday, March 7-8 at the Outlaw Course in Scottsdale, Arizona.

2020 Big Ten Match Play Championships

Michigan defeats Wisconsin, 3.5-2.5
Brent Ito (U-M) defeats Sam Anderson (Wis.), 2-and-1
Charlie Pilon (U-M) defeats Griffin Barela (Wis.), 3-and-2
Nick Robinson (Wis.) defeats Henry Spring (U-M), 3-and-2
Coalter Smith (Wis.) defeats Ben Dunne (U-M), 3-and-2
Pier Francesco De Col (U-M) halves with Pete Kuhl (Wis.), halved
Patrick Sullivan (U-M) defeats Sebastian Iqbal (Wis.), 3-and-2

Michigan loses to Ohio State, 5-1
Felix Kvarnstrom (OSU) defeats Brent Ito (U-M), 6-and-5
Patrick Schmucking (OSU) defeats Charlie Pilon (U-M), 1-up
Grant Engle (OSU) defeats Henry Spring (U-M), 2-and-1
Kevin Stone (OSU) defeats Ben Dunne (U-M), 3-and-2
Laken Hinton (OSU) defeats Pier Francesco De Col (U-M), 5-and-3
Patrick Sullivan (U-M) defeats Jackson Chandler (OSU), 1-up