Friday’s nightmarish second round proved to be too much for Michigan to recover from at the NCAA Women’s Golf Central Regional in Lubbock, Texas. After posting a score of 320 amidst gusting winds, Michigan dropped to 15th place — nearly 20 strokes behind the first place team.
“I am disappointed with the way we played (Friday),” Michigan coach Kathy Teichert said. “The winds were up, and we knew that was going to make scores go up. But we did not get off to a good start, and we did not finish well at all. All in all it was a bad day for the Wolverines.”
Michigan started the weekend well, shooting 301 in Thursday’s opening round, which put them 11 strokes out of first place. After thier shaky performance on Friday, the Wolverines regrouped to shoot a solid 305 in Saturday’s final round to finish in 15th place. Michigan missed qualifying for the NCAA Championships by 11 shots, which were lost in Friday’s challenging conditions.
Wolverine sophomore Brianna Broderick experienced bittersweet success of her own at the regional tournament. Broderick fired a 74 in Thursday’s opening round, putting her in a tie for 27th place. Her consistent play in Friday’s windy conditions propelled her toward the top of the leaderboard. Broderick shot a 75 on the second day to move into a tie for sixth place. Broderick followed her impressive second round with another 75 on Saturday to finish the weekend in sixth place, giving her an opportunity to qualify for an individual spot at the NCAA Championships later that day.
Facing LSU’s Brook Shelton in a playoff hole, Broderick hooked her opening shot into a bunker and had to scramble to make bogey. Shelton took advantage of her opportunity, hitting the green and two-putting for the win.
“It was a great experience,” Broderick said. “I had a few mental mistakes that cost me. It just wasn’t my time, so we’ll work on it next year.”
Despite coming up short in her bid to make the NCAA Championships, Broderick recorded the highest individual finish of any Wolverine in a postseason tournament.
“(Broderick) had a great regional,” Teichert said. “She is going to be a player to be reckoned with throughout her collegiate career.”
Auburn ran away with the title on the final day, beating Texas A&M by seven strokes. Auburn’s Diana Ramage finished in first place, seven strokes ahead of Arizona State’s Louise Stahle.
This season marked the third time in its history that Michigan qualified for the NCAA Regionals. In 2001, the Wolverines finished in 12th place, while in 2002 they finished sixth and qualified for the NCAA Championships, where they finished 17th. Even though the Wolverines didn’t perform as well at this year’s regional, Teichert is very excited for the future of women’s golf at Michigan.
“This is still a young program, and it’s great to be in this position,” Teichert said. “The more they are in it, the more comfortable you are going to be being out here in a tournament like this. For us to be here is just another good sign for this program.”