The Michigan women’s golf team responded nicely from a 10th-place finish last weekend to finish in a two-way tie for first place in the Wolverine Invitational on Sunday.
Playing on their home course, the Wolverines tied the defending-champions Florida International for first place out of the 14-team field. The familiarity with the course seemed to help all weekend long, a product of extra work put in earlier this week.
“We worked on our golf a lot,” said Michigan coach Cheryl Stacy. “We went out and hit a lot of shots that the players knew they would have to hit for this tournament.”
This additional practice also carried over to the individual part of the tournament, where junior Alicia Weber finished in a three-way tie for first place. Weber credits her success this weekend to staying in the moment.
“Taking it one shot at a time and making sure I enjoyed myself,” Weber said.
In addition to Weber, Michigan had two other top-10 finishers in sophomores Lauren Grogan and Linda Luo. The duo finished fifth and in a tie for sixth, respectively, for the Wolverines in the individual event.
Michigan was in good position for team play on Sunday thanks to a 308 during both matches on Saturday for a total score of 616, which gave the team a two-shot lead over Florida International. On Saturday, the Wolverines had to overcome both the weather and the fatigue of playing 36 holes, but still managed to take the lead going into the final day.
Michigan got off to a hot start on Sunday, taking an early lead. It appeared as though the Wolverines would have to settle for second place, but their late charge meant the match ended in a tie. Leading Michigan to the first-place tie in the team event were Grogan, Luo, junior Yugene Lee, junior Alyssa Shimel and freshman Catherine Peters.
The Wolverines will next be in action on Oct. 12 during the Tar Heel Invitational, which is expected to feature a very deep and competitive field. Stacy was optimistic that her team’s performance this weekend will carry over.
“Hopefully we keep improving and keep getting better,” Stacy said.