Michigan
NCAA Finals, Stroke Play
This Week in Michigan Women's Golf: NCAA Finals
5/17/2021 5:44:00 PM | Women's Golf
» Michigan heads to Scottsdale, Ariz., and Grayhawk Golf Club for the Wolverines' fourth trip to the NCAA Finals and third since 2016.
» As a team, U-M advanced to the NCAA Finals after posting a program-best tie for fifth at the NCAA Columbus Regional with a U-M postseason record of 885 (288-296-301).
» U-M heads to the NCAA Finals with eight straight top-five team finishes, including in all six events this season.
» All-Big Ten first teamer Ashley Lau leads U-M with a 72.37 average, while Big Ten Freshman of the Year and first team selection Monet Chun is second at 72.84.
THIS WEEK
Fri-Wed., May 21-26 -- at NCAA Finals (Scottsdale, Ariz.)
Live Scoring | NCAA Women's Golf | Grayhawk Golf Club
Next on the Tee: NCAA Finals
After the program's best finish at an NCAA regional (tie for fifth), the 24th-ranked University of Michigan women's golf team will compete at its fourth NCAA Finals, Friday through Wednesday (May 21-26) in Scottsdale, Ariz. The six-day championships will be held at Grayhawk Golf Club. The finals will be played in a five-count-four format with the course scheduled for a set up for a par of 72 at 6,429 yards.
The NCAA Format
The NCAA Finals consists of 24 teams and 12 individuals playing 54 holes of stroke play. The top 15 teams along with the top nine individuals not on an advancing team then play for one additional day of stroke play to determine the top eight teams for match-play competition and the 72-hole stroke play individual champion. The top eight teams then compete in two days of match play for the team national championship.
The NCAA Finals Field
There are 24 teams and 12 individuals that advanced to the 2021 NCAA Finals. The teams include: No. 22 Alabama, No. 8 Arizona State, No. 21 Arizona, No. 10 Auburn, No. 11 Baylor, No. 2 Duke, No. 9 Florida State, No. 20 Georgia, No. 12 Kent State, Kentucky, No. 4 LSU, No. 19 Maryland, Michigan State, No. 24 Michigan, No. 5 Oklahoma State, No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 14 Oregon, No. 1 South Carolina, No. 18 Stanford, No. 16 Texas, UCLA, No. 7 USC, No. 17 Virginia Tech and No. 3 Wake Forest.
The 12 individuals include: Hanna Alberto (Sam Houston), Kaisa Arwefiall (San Jose State), Mikayla Bardwell (Tennessee), Christin Eisenbeiss (North Florida), Karen Fredgaard (Houston), Nataliya Guseva (Miami), Lauren Hartlage (Louisville), Beth Lillie (Virginia), Celina Sattelkau (Vanderbilt), Brigitte Thibault (Fresno State), Louise Yu (Vanderbilt) and Anna Zanusso (Denver).
The NCAA Finals Schedule
Tuesday, May 18 -- Travel Day
Wednesday, May 19 -- Practice, Camelback Golf Course, morning
Wednesday, May 19 -- Coaches/Players walk Grayhawk, Noon MST/PDT
Thursday, May 20 -- Practice Round (18), 9:18 a.m. MST/PDT (tee times off No. 10)
Friday, May 21 -- First Round (18), 7:36 a.m. MST/PDT (tee times off No. 10 with Arizona and UCLA)
Saturday, May 22 -- Second Round (18), 12:36 p.m. MST/PDT (tee times off No. 1 with Arizona and UCLA)
Sunday, May 23 -- Third Round (18), 6:30 a.m. MST/PDT (tee times off Nos. 1 and 10)
Monday, May 24 -- Final Round (18), 10:00 a.m. MST/PDT (if advance, tee times off Nos. 1 and 10)
Tuesday, May 25 -- Match Play Quarterfinal, 6:20 a.m. MST/PDT (if advance, tee times off Nos. 1 and 10)
Tuesday, May 25 -- Match Play Semifinal, 12:45 p.m. MST/PDT (if advance, tee times off No. 1)
Wednesday, May 26 -- Match Play Championship, 1:35 p.m. MST/PDT (if advance, tee times off No. 1)
Michigan's NCAA Finals Lineup
Michigan will have a five-member starting lineup at the NCAA Finals. Heading to Arizona will be junior Ashley Lau, freshman Monet Chun, sophomore Hailey Borja, senior Ashley Kim and sophomore Mikaela Schulz. Junior Sophia Trombetta will also travel as U-M's alternate player.
Michigan in the NCAA Postseason
U-M has been represented in regional competition by the team or an individual 14 times, making team appearances in 2001, '02, '05, '07, '09, '11, '12, '16, '17 and '21. Four Wolverines -- Laura Olin (2004), Amy Schmucker (2006), Ashley Bauer (2010) and Ashley Lau (2019) -- were invited as individuals to a regional.
Michigan Advancing to the NCAA Finals
The Maize and Blue has advanced to the NCAA Finals four times in program history. Michigan finished 17th at the 2002 event held at Washington National in Auburn, Wash., and tied for 18th at the 2016 event held at Oregon Country Club in Eugene, Ore. In 2017, U-M tied for 16th at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill. In 2021, the Wolverines tied for fifth at the NCAA Columbus Regional to advance for the program's fourth trip.
Wolverines Breakdown in the NCAA postseason
• 2001, East Regional - 12th of 21 (308-308-309/925) - first invitation
• 2002, Central Regional - 6th of 21 (313-322-294/929)
    • 2002, NCAA Finals - 17th of 24 (301-299-299-300/1199) - first advancement to NCAA Finals
• 2004, Central Regional - Laura Olin, individual, t-17th (75-76-78/229)
• 2005, Central Regional - 15th of 21 (301-320-305/926)
• 2006, Central Regional - Amy Schmucker, individual, t-71st (80-82-78/240)
• 2007, Central Regional - 13th of 21 (311-305-310/926) - hosted at U-M Golf Course
• 2009, Central Regional - 17th of 21 (312-321-327/960)
• 2010, Central Regional - Ashley Bauer, individual, t-76th (78-87-80/245)
• 2011, Central Regional - 18th of 24 (316-307-315/938)
• 2012, Central Regional - 16th of 24 (315-316-306/937)
• 2016, Alabama Regional - 6th of 18 (311-304-300/916)
    • 2016, NCAA Finals - t-18th of 24 (296-299-292/887) - second advancement to NCAA Finals
• 2017, Columbus Regional - 6th of 18 (312-293-303/908)
    • 2017, NCAA Finals - t-16th of 24 (315-315-299/929) - third advancement to NCAA Finals
• 2019, East Lansing Regional - Ashley Lau, individual, t-47th (76-77-72/225)
• 2021, Columbus Regional - t-5th of 18 (288-296-301/885) - fourth advancement to NCAA Finals
    • 2021, NCAA Finals
A Three-Peat (of sorts)
In U-M's last three team regional appearances (2016, '17, '21) the Wolverines have advanced to the NCAA Finals -- giving the Maize and Blue trips to nationals in three of the last five events. It should be noted U-M had an individual invitee (Ashley Lau) in 2019 and the 2020 postseason was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Review of NCAA Columbus Regional
• Michigan posted an 885 NCAA Columbus Regional total to tie for fifth (Kent State) and advance to the NCAA Finals for the fourth time in program history -- the third under Jan Dowling, who is in her eighth season.
• Monet Chun led U-M, tying for second with a career-low-tying 215 (70-70-75, -1) total, while Hailey Borja tied for 17th at 221 (69-75-77) and Ashley Lau tied for 24th at 223 (73-74-76).
• The three Wolverines finishing in the top 25 was the first time U-M has accomplished that in the NCAA postseason.
• U-M's tie for fifth and as its 885 total were the program's best finish and lowest 54-hole total in the NCAA postseason. The Wolverines added an NCAA postseason program-record even-par 288 team tally in the first round.
• In Michigan's two Columbus regional appearances, the Wolverines advanced to the NCAA Finals (2017, '21).
Review of the Big Ten Championships
• With its second straight U-M Big Ten Championships record 284 (-4) team tally, Michigan tied as the runner-up at the Big Ten Championships -- equally the Wolverines best finish at the conference tournament.
• U-M's 858 (290-284-284, -6) 54-hole total set the program's lowest team score at the conference championship by seven shots and was the first sub-par team tally.
• Ashley Lau, who earned all-tournament honors, used three straight sub-par rounds to tie for third at 211 (-5), the second-lowest 54-hole total in program history. Monet Chun tied for ninth with a 215 (-1), the lowest freshman 54-hole total at the conference tournament.
• The runner-up finish is U-M's best finish at the conference championships in 16 years (2005, second) and marks just the second time the Wolverines closed as the runner-up. In fact, the 2021 finish is just the third top-three team finish and 11th top-five in program history.
Golf Channel Quick Hitters
• Michigan heads to the NCAA Finals with eight straight top-five team finishes, including in all six events in 2021.
• Michigan is making its fourth NCAA Finals appearance (2002, '16, '17 and '21).
• Michigan has advanced to the NCAA Finals in each of its last three team regional appearances.
• Jan Dowling is making her sixth NCAA Finals appearance as a coach -- Duke (1, assistant), Florida (2, head coach) and Michigan (3, head coach).
• Four of U-M's starting five are making their NCAA postseason debuts (Ashley Kim, Borja, Mikaela Schulz, Chun), while Lau is making her second after playing as an individual in 2019.
• Monet Chun is U-M's second Big Ten Freshman of the Year and first in 25 years (Katy Loy, 1996). She added becoming the first U-M freshman to earn All-Big Ten first team honors.
• U-M had three All-Big Ten selections -- Chun (first), Ashley Lau (first), Hailey Borja (second) -- for the second time in program history and first for U-M in 16 years (2005).
• In the postseason, Chun has back-to-back career-low-tying 215 (-1) totals. In fact, she has recorded the career low three times in seven events this season.
• Lau holds the top three 54-hole totals this season, including a career-best 211 (-5) at the Big Ten Championships -- the second lowest in U-M's Big Ten history.
• Lau (72.37) and Chun (72.84) are the first Wolverines to carry a scoring average under 73. However, the shortened season due to COVID-19 will be eight events, and all of U-M's records are at a minimum of 10 events.
• Michigan has had a Wolverine finish in the top 10 in all seven events this season. U-M had two in the top 10 three times and two among the top 15 five times.
Wolverine Bites
• Michigan has produced six straight top-five team finishes this season. The count is eight consecutive dating back to the final two events of the COVID-19 shortened 2019-20 season. After opening this season with a win over Florida Gulf Coast, U-M was third at the Florida State Match Up (896), fifth at the Briar's Creek Invitational (890), third at the PING/ASU Invitational (864, E) and fourth at the Indiana Invitational (877). The Maize and Blue made it five straight with the runner-up finish at the Big Ten Championships (858, -6) and added the sixth at the NCAA Columbus Regional, tying for fifth (885).
• Monet Chun was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year as well an All-Big Ten first team selection. She becomes the second Wolverine to earn the conference's rookie honor, and first for U-M in 25 years, after Katy Loy earned the accolade in 1996.
• Ashley Lau and Monet Chun were named All-Big Ten first team and Hailey Borja was a second team selection for a second straight year, becoming just the fourth Wolverine to earn multiple honors. Lau also was U-M Big Ten Sportsmanship honoree. It is the second time in program history three Wolverines were honored in the same year. In 2005, Laura Olin (first), Brianna Broderick (first) and Ali Stinson (second) were the first U-M trio to earn the accolades.
• Ashley Lau has led the Wolverines in four events. All four of those events were top-10 finishes, including her first medalist honor at the Indiana Invitational with a 212 (-4) tally -- which helped her to her first Big Ten Golfer of the Week accolade. Overall, Lau holds the top three 54-hole tournament totals this season, including a career-low 211 (-5) at the Big Ten Championships, the second-lowest tally in program history.
• Ashley Lau has a team-best eight sub-par totals. Twice this season she has fired a U-M best and career-low 68 (-4) -- the final rounds of the PING/ASU Invitational and Indiana Invitational. Lau leads U-M with a 72.37 per round scoring average. She is also the team leader for 54-hole events with a 217.00 average.
• Monet Chun has six top-15 and five top-10 individual finishes. She has averaged 72.84 per round, which is second best on the team. She has posted five sub-par rounds, including a career-low 70 (-2), four times -- Indiana Invitational (first, April 17-18), the PING/ASU Invitational (second, March 26-28) and the NCAA Columbus Regional (first and second, May 10-12). Chun has posted a career-low-tying 215 (-1) three times -- PING/ASU Invitational, the Big Ten Championships (lowest U-M freshman tally all-time) and the NCAA regional.
• Hailey Borja started all seven events and has carried a career-best pace of 73.68 per round as she has five sub-par tallies and two of even par. She earned Big Ten Golfer of the Week honors after she tied her career low with a 69 (-3) to win the match vs. Florida Gulf Coast (Jan. 18). She recorded her third career-low 69 (-3) in the first round of the NCAA Columbus Regional (May 10-12). Borja has five top-25 individual finishes including tying for 16th at the Big Ten Championships and tying for 17th at the NCAA regional.
• Ashley Kim posted a season-best tie for 17th at the PING/ASU Invitational with a 217 (+1) tally after posting a season-low 70 (-2) in the first round. She is scoring at a 75.42 per round clip -- fourth best on U-M. Last season, she led U-M with a 72.67 scoring average in the seven-event shortened season, earned All-Big Ten (first team) honors and highlighted 2019-20 by posting her first individual win at Miami's Hurricane Invitational (March 2-3).
• Mikaela Schulz has played in all seven events, with five starts, including the last three straight. She has become a major contributor in the final round, averaging 73.83. That average is nearly four shots better than her average for her first (77.86) and second (77.50) rounds. She has posted her three lowest rounds in the last rounds with 72 (even, PING/ASU Invitational), 72 (even, Indiana Invitational) and a season-low 71 (-1, Big Ten Championships). Overall, she carries a 76.47 per round average.
Players Mentioned
