As far as Michigan women's golf newcomer Amy Schmucker is concerned, her first collegiate tournament finish was a good stepping stone for both herself and her team. For someone who has been swinging golf clubs since the age of three, that's certainly saying something.

Despite a shaky start with a double-bogey on the first hole of her first college tourney, Schmucker eventually regained her poise and finished strong. Before her first round was through, Schmucker sank two birdies and ended with a satisfactory 75 strokes.

Sophomore sensation Laura Olin began Saturday with phenomenal play, draining four birdies on her first nine holes. But the back nine was not nearly as kind, yielding eight bogeys and a single par.

At the close of the second round on Saturday the Michigan golfers were trailing Indiana by nine strokes. Despite strong performances by Olin, Schmucker and senior Kim Benedict, the Wolverines could not make up the deficit.

The loss was not entirely surprising for Michigan.

After losing all but two starters (Olin and Benedict) from last year's strong team, the time was perfect for someone new to come in and fill the void. After this past weekend, it appears that Schmucker is going to be the person to take on this task.

Teichert feels good about the potential of Schmucker and the rest of her team.

"I think we were very consistent in this tournament, and I'm very happy about that," Teichert said.

Although Teichert believes that some players are going to need to "step up" in the future, she was very happy with how her top golfers competed this weekend.

"I'm happy for the players that really came through for us today," Teichert added. "Amy Schmucker and Laura Olin really played well."

Next week the Wolverines will be travelling to Michigan State, looking for their first tournament win of the fall.

Before that happens though, the team will be working hard over the week to avoid some of the "mental errors" Teichert attributed to the significant gap between Michigan and Indiana.

When asked if next weekend's tournament will result in a Wolverine's victory Schmucker replied with guarded confidence.

"We are going to try our hardest to beat Michigan State," Schmucker said. "It'll be tough because we'll be on their home course, but we can do it."