Michigan
Wolverine Invitational
This Week in Michigan Women's Golf: Wolverine Invitational
9/10/2021 6:06:00 PM | Women's Golf
» Michigan opens its 2021-22 season hosting the Wolverine Invitational. It marks the first time since 2012 the Wolverines have hosted an event at U-M Golf Course.
» The Wolverine Invitational will feature a 16-team field, including six Big Ten teams.
» U-M's fall event is a precursor to the spring of 2022, when it serves as one of four host sites for the NCAA Regional (May 9-11).
THIS WEEK
Mon-Tue., Sept. 13-14 -- host, Wolverine Invitational (U-M Golf Course)
Live Scoring
• Conqu'ring Heroes Podcast: Jan Dowling & Hailey Borja
Next on the Tee: Wolverine Invitational
The University of Michigan women's golf team will host the 2021 Wolverine Invitational on Monday and Tuesday (Sept. 13-14) at U-M Golf Course. There will be 16 teams competing in the 54-hole format with 36 holes played on Monday (Sept. 13) followed by a final 18 on Tuesday (Sept. 14). The course is expected to be set up for a par 71 and 6,232 yards.
The Wolverine Invitational Field
The Wolverine Invitational will feature a 16-team field including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa State, Kent State, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan, Nebraska, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Toledo, Washington, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Xavier. Several teams will have an individual competing, including Michigan (two), Illinois (one), Kent State (one), Kentucky (one), Louisville (one), Northwestern (one), Ohio State (one), Virginia (one) and Virginia Tech (one).
The Wolverine Invitational Schedule
Sunday, Sept. 12 -- Practice Round, 11 a.m. (Michigan at 2:45 and 3 p.m.)
Monday, Sept. 13 -- First Round (18), 8:45 a.m. (shotgun)
Monday, Sept. 13 -- Second Round (18), continuous play following the completion of the first round
Tuesday, Sept. 14 -- Final Round (18), 8:45 a.m. (shotgun)
Michigan's Wolverine Invitational Lineup
Michigan will have a five-member starting lineup at the Wolverine Invitational. Senior Ashley Lau will lead U-M's starters, followed by junior Mikaela Schulz, senior Sophia Trombetta, junior Hailey Borja and sophomore Monet Chun. Junior Anika Dy and senior Jacqueline Young will compete as individuals.
History of the Wolverine Invitational
Michigan hosts the Wolverine Invitational for the first times since 2012. Overall, this year's event marks the 22nd Wolverine Invite in program history and 31st all-time home event for the Maize and Blue. In 30 home tournaments, U-M has won 10, with the last coming in 2012. Indiana is second with seven, while Michigan State has three and Ohio State two. Baylor, Bowling Green, Notre Dame, Ohio, SMU, USC, UC Davis and Wisconsin each have one.
Wolverine Bites
• With no incoming freshmen, Michigan returns its entire roster from a season ago. Ashley Kim returns via the NCAA's extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while seniors Ashley Lau, Sophia Trombetta and Jacqueline Young highlight a veteran group. Juniors Hailey Borja, Anika Dy and Mikaela Schulz give U-M seven upperclassmen. The lone underclassman is sophomore Monet Chun -- last season's Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
• In eight events last season, Michigan finished among the top-five in seven. The Wolverines also had a run of nine straight top-five finishes before the 2019-20 spring season was canceled due to COVID-19. The streak was snapped with a 20th place finish at the NCAA Finals.
• Michigan will be without the services of graduate student Ashley Kim as she is out indefinitely with a thumb injury. Taking advantage of the NCAA rule to allow student-athletes an extra year of eligibility due to the coronavirus pandemic, Kim was expected to provide steady experience and leadership for the 2021-22 campaign. Kim has started 34 of her 35 career events and carries a 74.62 career scoring average. In the truncated 2020-21 season, she started all eight events, helping U-M to a runner-up finish at the Big Ten Championships, a fifth-place finish at the NCAA regional sending the Wolverines to their four NCAA Finals, where they finished 20th.
• Ashley Lau was named an All-America honorable mention by the Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) becoming the second Wolverine in program history to earn recognition, joining Elodie Van Dievoet (2016-19), who earned second team honors in 2017. Lau led the Wolverines with a 72.64 scoring average and a team-best nine sub-par rounds, including a career-best 68 (-4) twice in the first round of the PING/ASU Invitational and the final round of the Indiana Invitational. She earned her first medalist honor at that event with a 212 (-4) tally. She has not missed a start in her career with 27 consecutive.
• Last season, 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. It was 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. Additionally, Chun was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year to become the second Wolverine to earn the conference's rookie honor, and first in 25 years, after Katy Loy earned the accolade in 1996.
• Starting all eight events last season, Hailey Borja saved her best for last with a career-best 68 (-4) in the final round of the NCAA Finals. In addition to the career best, her 286 (-2) NCAA tally set a U-M postseason 72-hole record. She was the first Wolverines to advance to the fourth individual round at the NCAA Finals. She closed the season with a career-best pace of 73.30 per round as she had seven sub-par tallies and three of even par.
• Monet Chun was one of four Wolverines to start all eight tournaments last season, posting four top-10s that included a runner-up finish at the NCAA Columbus Regional (May 10-12). Her 73.82 per-round average was third best, while she recorded a career-low 70 (-2) five times. Chun posted a career-low-tying 215 (-1) on three occasions, including at the Big Ten Championships (April 23-25), which ended up as U-M's fourth sub-par 54-hole total at the conference championship, and the lowest U-M freshman.
• Mikaela Schulz made it two straight years receiving the WGCA's All-American Scholar accolade, becoming just the fourth Wolverine to earn multiple recognition by the coaching association. Schulz, who earned Academic All-Big Ten as well as Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honors this season, played in all eight events, with six starts, including the final four events. She carried a 76.68 scoring average and had a season-best 71 (-1) in the final round of the Big Ten Championships (April 23-25).
• Head coach Jan Dowling added former LPGA Tour professional and Tennessee collegiate golfer AJ Newell as the new assistant coach after the departure of Mandi Unruh. No strangers to each other, Dowling and Newell worked together once before when Newell was a sophomore at Tennessee (2012-13) and Dowling was the assistant coach. The following season, Dowling left to take over the Michigan program. During her five-year professional career, Newell made nine starts on the LPGA Tour in 2018 and played 35 events on the Symetra Tour (2016-20) before a back injury and subsequent surgery forced her retirement in 2020. She made 13 cuts on the Symetra Tour.
Players Mentioned
