The week just got better and better for the Michigan women’s golf team. It finished tied for fourth overall with Tennessee in a very competitive field of 18 at the UNLV Spring Invitation in Las Vegas yesterday. As a team, Michigan shot 62-over-par, with a final score of 926 in the three-day tournament. The team improved its score after every round, but it was Southern Cal that led from day one and never relinquished its position at the top.

“Any time you can keep improving throughout a tournament is a good feeling,” Michigan coach Kathy Teichert said. “That is what we did all weekend. I am very proud of the way we came together and competed for 54 holes. To get better with each round, again, really shows how this team competes.”

Senior captain Laura Olin had another tremendous day yesterday, shooting a team-best 71 to help the Wolverines finish in fourth place. Olin’s 1-under round made her the only Wolverine to finish under par in any of the rounds.

After a shaky start on Monday, when she shot 9-over-par, Olin quickly bounced back. She shot eight and two strokes better on the following days. Olin’s solid outings earned her fifth place overall in Las Vegas.

Olin was poised to break 70 in the final round of the tournament when she was three-under going into the final hole. But her drive on the 18th hole took an unfortunate bounce after hitting the fairway and found its way into the sand. She ended up double bogeying the hole, costing her a chance for fourth place

“I striped it and just got a bad kick,” Olin said of her misfortune on the 18th. “I chucked it out of the bunker and had to take an unplayable lie, but I hit the green and then two putted. It kind of flustered me to finish that way because there is no way it should have been in the bunker. But I am over it now because we played well as a team, and I did have a solid tournament.”

Olin wasn’t the only Wolverine who showed signs of improvement over the week. Yesterday, every Michigan player equaled or improved on her day-two score. Freshman Isabelle Gendreau shot a 15-over-par 87, on Monday but cut her score down to plus-five on the following days. Junior Amy Schmucker and sophomore Brianna Broderick also contributed nicely, finishing 26th and tied for 27th. Broderick was also consistent yesterday. She bogeyed just five holes, while finishing 4-over-par.

The Wolverines have played well all season. In eight tournaments, the team has finished first three times, and has never finished worse than sixth out of nineteen teams back in October. Michigan doesn’t play until March 20, when it heads down to Texas for the Baylor Tapatio Springs Shootout.