The Michigan women's golf team was watching its season blow away in the treacherous weather conditions at Forest Akers golf course in East Lansing during the three-round, 54-hole NCAA Central Regional.

Needing an eighth-place or better finish to qualify for the NCAA Championships in Auburn, Wash. in two weeks, the Wolverines sat at 59-over par and in 10th place after Friday's second round.

"We have our work cut out for us," Michigan coach Kathy Teichert said after Friday's round about the team's chances of rallying to lock up a spot in the NCAA Championships. "There are a lot of good teams out here, we are a lot better than we have played."

Michigan proved Teichert's statement true on Saturday, storming back with a team score of 294 (+6) after rounds of 313 and 322 in the tournament's first two rounds. Saturday's performance was enough to propel the Wolverines into a sixth-place finish and, more importantly, the school's first-ever berth in the NCAA Championships.

"I don't even know how to describe this," Teichert said. "Like all year long, these girls keep amazing me with every tournament. They have really worked hard, and this is pure icing on the cake."

Said senior Bess Bowers: "I get chills when I think about it - when I think about how far we've come since I started here, I just think it is so great."

Bowers' performance stood out for Michigan competitors, as the veteran linkster finished the tournament in a logjam at 11th-place individually with a 15-over par score of 231. Bowers posted an impressive 73 (+1) on the tournament's final day when Michigan desperately needed low scores.

Senior Misia Lemanski and freshman Laura Olin were not far off the pace set by Bowers, finishing tied for 27th with 18-over par scores of 234.

"After the first hole, when I pushed it right, then chipped close for a tap-in par, I knew it was going to be a good day," Lemanski said. "I think all of us felt that way. We had not been able to get out of the gate well the last (two) days, but (Saturday) it was just different - the weather had a good deal to do with that."

While three of her teammates finished higher than her in the overall standings, no one put up a better score for the Wolverines Saturday than senior LeAnna Wicks. Wicks was the first Michigan player off the tee in the final round and found herself in trouble early, dropping to three-over par on the front nine after three consecutive bogeys. But Wicks played three-under par golf for the remainder of the round, closing out with an even-par 72 and an overall score of 236, tying her with teammate Kim Benedict for 39th place overall.

"All we asked of ourselves was to do the best that we could," Wicks said. "If we played well and didn't make it, we didn't make it. It was make it or break it."

Tulsa won the tournament with a team score of 914, paced by individual winner Stacy Prammanasudh's three-over mark of 219. Ohio State, Texas, Purdue, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and Michigan State are the six teams that will join Michigan and Tulsa at the NCAA Championships.