With first place on the line on the final day of the East/West Rio Verde Invitational in Rio Verde, Ariz., Laura Olin was as solid as a rock, coming up with big shots to erase the few mistakes she made. Three times in the final round, the Michigan senior bogeyed a hole and all three times she responded with birdies shortly after to hold off Iowa’s Liz Bennett by two strokes, to keep her final round at even par (71) — her best round of the event — and take first place.

“It was really exciting to have the individual title along with the team title this week,” Olin said. “Our team has worked really hard this offseason, and we’re really putting in a lot of effort.”

Olin came out firing with an opening round 73, which had her tied for third — two strokes back of Marshall’s Amber Churchill for first place. On Friday, she shot a 74, keeping her two shots back of the lead. In the final round, Olin stayed strong as Churchill faded. Churchill had fallen out of contention after shooting an 82, but Olin still had to outduel Bennett — who entered the final round tied with Olin ­­— to win the event.

Olin’s individual win paced the No. 22 Michigan women’s golf team, which got off to a fast start Thursday and never looked back. What started as a tight battle for the top spot between Michigan and Minnesota quickly turned into a laugher when the Wolverines got hot in the final round as the Gophers stumbled.

“I’m extremely pleased with the performance of the team over the course of this week,” Michigan coach Kathy Teichert said. “This team has worked extremely hard. This whole week, we’ve really practiced a lot, and we’re excited and pleased with a win.”

After notching scores of 303 on Thursday and 301 on Friday, Michigan held the first-place lead by six strokes. The Wolverines saved their best for last as they posted a 296 on Saturday while the Gophers shot a disappointing 311. The 296 mark was the best round of the event, and it gave Michigan a more than comfortable 19-stroke win over fellow Big Ten challenger Iowa with Minnesota finishing third.

Great individual performances along with consistent team play were needed to come out on top, and that is exactly what the Wolverines got in Arizona.

To compliment Olin’s impressive play were four other Wolverines who finished in the top-25. Junior Amy Schmucker — winner of last week’s Central District Classic — and freshman Isabelle Gendreau recovered from poor play in the opening rounds to finish tied for 11th overall. Sophomores Brianna Broderick and Ali Stinson finished 16th and 25th, respectively.

Michigan’s overall team score of 900 was actually one stroke worse than the 899 mark that earned them fifth place in the Central District Classic, which suggests weaker competition in this event. Olin said she and her teammates were very aware of this, and therefore set the bar at nothing short of first place.

“We all knew that this was a tournament that we needed to win,” Olin said. “We didn’t have a ton to gain, but we had a ton to lose.”

Michigan will look to keep the momentum going and will try to extend its individual first-place streak to three events in a row as they travel to Las Vegas for the Spring Rebel Invitational on Mar. 14.