This Week in Michigan Women’s Golf: NCAA Finals

» After tying for third at the Ann Arbor Regional, 20th-ranked Michigan heads to its second straight NCAA Finals.

» Four of U-M’s five NCAA Finals appearances have come under head coach Jan Dowling.

» U-M posted its best finish at the NCAA Finals in 2017, finishing tied for 16th.

» Michigan won its first ever Big Ten Championship behind Big Ten Golfer of the Year Ashley Lau and conference champion Monet Chun.

THIS WEEK

• Fri-Wed., May 20-25 — at NCAA Finals (Scottsdale, Ariz.)
Live Scoring | Grayhawk Golf Club | NCAA Women’s Golf | NCAA Digital Program

Next on the Tee: NCAA Finals

After its best finish at the NCAA Ann Arbor Regional (tie for third), the 20th-ranked University of Michigan women’s golf team will compete at its second straight NCAA Finals, Friday through Wednesday (May 20-25) in Scottsdale, Ariz. The six-day championships will be held at Grayhawk Golf Club. The finals will be played in a five-count-four format, and the course is scheduled to be set up for a par of 72 at 6,384 yards.

The Format: NCAA Finals

The NCAA Finals consists of 24 teams and 12 individuals playing 54 holes of stroke play. The top 15 teams along with the top nine individuals not on an advancing team then play for one additional day of stroke play to determine the top eight teams for match-play competition and the 72-hole stroke play individual champion. The top eight teams then compete in two days of match play for the team national championship.

The Field: NCAA Finals

Teams

1. Stanford (No. 1)

2. Oregon (No. 2)

3. South Carolina (No. 3)

4. Wake Forest (No. 4)

5. San Jose State (No. 5)

6. Oklahoma State (No. 6)

7. Arizona State (No. 7)

8. Virginia (No. 8)

9. Alabama (No. 9)

10. Florida State (No. 10)

11. USC (No. 11)

12. Texas (No. 13)

13. LSU (No. 14)

14. UCLA (No. 15)

15. Baylor (No. 16)

16. Auburn (No. 17)

17. Arkansas (No. 18)

18. Texas A&M (No. 19)

19. Michigan (No. 20)

20. Georgia (No. 27)

21. TCU (No. 31)

22. Mississippi State (No. 32)

23. Vanderbilt (No. 33)

24. Purdue (No. 45)

Individuals

1. Chiara Tamburlini (Ole Miss)

2. Letizia Bagnoli (Florida Atlantic)

3. Anna Morgan (Furman)

4. Emily Mahar (Virginia Tech)

5. Taglao Jeeravivitaporn (Iowa State)

6. Jana Melichova (Old Dominion)

7. Marina Escobar (Florida)

8. Camryn Carreon (UTSA)

9. Leila Raines (Michigan State)

10. Natalia Yoko (Augusta)

11. Ruby Chou (Iowa State)

12. Viera Permata Rosada (Sam Houston State)

The NCAA Finals Schedule

Wednesday, May 18 — Travel Day and registration

Thursday, May 19 — Practice Round, 7:52 a.m. MST (10:52 a.m. EDT), No. 10 tee

Friday, May 20 — First Round (18), 7:25 a.m. MST (10:25 a.m. EDT), tee times off No. 10 with Georgia, TCU

Saturday, May 21 — Second Round (18), 12:36 p.m. MST (3:36 p.m. EDT), tee times off No. 1 with Georgia, TCU

Sunday, May 22 — Third Round (18), 6:30 a.m. MST (9:30 a.m. EDT), tee times off Nos. 1 and 10

Monday, May 23 — (top 15 advance), Fourth Round (18), 10a.m. MST (1 p.m. EDT), tee times off Nos. 1 and 10

Tuesday, May 24 — (top 8 advance) Match Play Quarterfinal, 6:20 a.m. MST (9:20 a.m. EDT)

Tuesday, May 24 — Match Play Semifinal, 12:45 p.m. MST (3:45 p.m. EDT)

Wednesday, May 25 — Match Play Championship, 1:35 p.m. MST (4:35 p.m. EDT)

Golf Channel Schedule: NCAA Finals

Monday, May 23 — Live Final Round Coverage, 2-6 p.m. MST (5-9 p.m. EDT)
Tuesday, May 24 — Live Quarterfinal Coverage, 9-11:30 a.m. MST (12-2:30 p.m. EDT)
Tuesday, May 24 — Live Semifinal Coverage, 2-6 p.m. MST (5-9 p.m. EDT)
Wednesday, May 25 — Live Championship Coverage, 2-6 p.m. MST (5-9 p.m. EDT)

Michigan’s NCAA Finals Lineup

Michigan will have five starters and one substitute for the NCAA Finals. The Wolverines’ lineup will include senior Ashley Lau, junior Hailey Borja, sophomore Monet Chun, junior Mikaela Schulz and graduate student Ashley Kim. Junior Anika Dy will travel as the Wolverines’ designated substitute.

Michigan in the NCAA Postseason

U-M has been represented in NCAA regional competition with a team or an individual bid 15 times. The Wolverines have 11 total team appearances (2001, ’02, ’05, ’07, ’09, ’11, ’12, ’16, ’17, ’21, ’22). Four Wolverines — Laura Olin (2004), Amy Schmucker (2006), Ashley Bauer (2010) and Ashley Lau (2019) — were invited as an individual to a regional.

Michigan at the NCAA Finals

The Maize and Blue has advanced to the NCAA Finals five times in program history. Michigan was 17th at the 2002 event held at Washington National in Auburn, Wash., and tied for 18th at the 2016 event held at Oregon Country Club in Eugene, Ore. In 2017, U-M tied for 16th at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill., before a 20th-place finish in 2021 at the Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. In 2021, Hailey Borja became the first Wolverine (team or individual) to advance to the final round of stroke play. She tied for fifth with a U-M 72-hole record 286 (-2).

The History of the NCAA Postseason

Regionals

• 2001, East Regional: 12th of 21 (308-308-309/925)

• 2002, Central Regional: 6th of 21 (313-322-294/929)

• 2002, NCAA Finals: 17th of 24 (301-299-299-300/1199)

• 2004, Central Regional: Laura Olin, individual, t-17th (75-76-78/2290

• 2005, Central Regional: 15th of 21 (301-320-305/926)

• 2006, Central Regional: Amy Schmucker, individual, t-71st (80-82-78/240)

• 2007, Central Regional: 13th of 21 (311-305-310/926) – at U-M Golf Course

• 2009, Central Regional: 17th of 21 (312-321-327/960)

• 2010, Central Regional: Ashley Bauer, individual, t-76th (78-87-80/245)

• 2011, Central Regional: 18th of 24 (316-307-315/938)

• 2012, Central Regional: 16th of 24 (315-316-306/937)

• 2016, Alabama Regional: 6th of 18 (311-304-300/916)

• 2016, NCAA Finals: t-18th of 24 (296-299-292/887)

• 2017, Columbus Regional: 6th of 18 (312-293-303/908)

• 2017, NCAA Finals: t-16th of 24 (315-315-299/929)

• 2019, East Lansing Regional: Ashley Lau, individual, t-47th (76-77-72/225)

• 2021, Columbus Regional: t-5th of 18 (288-296-301/885)

• 2021, NCAA Finals: 20th of 24 (304-296-303/903)

• 2021, NCAA Finals: Hailey Borja, individual, t-5th (75-71-72-68/286, -2)

• 2022, Ann Arbor Regional – t-3rd of 12 (880)

Review of NCAA Ann Arbor Regional

• Michigan hosted its second NCAA regional at the U-M Golf Course and first since 2007.

• U-M tied for third with Arkansas and posted an 880 total to advance to its second straight NCAA Finals

• The Wolverines also posted the best NCAA postseason and regional finish (t-3rd), set U-M’s NCAA Regional 54-hole record (880) and set U-M’s NCAA postseason and regional lowest team total (287, +3; third).

• Three Wolverines finished in the top 25 — Ashley Lau (t-5th), Hailey Borja (t-9th) and Mikaela Schulz (t-23rd)

• In addition to finishing in the top 25, Lau tied U-M’s NCAA Regional appearance mark (three; Ashley Bauer and Laura Olin) and tied U-M’s NCAA Individual 54-hole record (215, +2)

• Lau and Borja became the first Wolverines to record top 10 individual finishes in the same event

Review of the 2022 Big Ten Championships

• Michigan won the program’s first-ever conference championship after carding a three-round total of 857.

• The Wolverines also set U-M’s Big Ten Championships 54-hole record (857) and set U-M’s Big Ten Championships team single-round record (281, -3; second).

• Monet Chun was a medalist with her eight-under-par 205 (70-66-69). She became the second Wolverine to win a Big Ten title (Elodie Van Dievoet, 2017).

• With her 205 total (-8), Chun also set U-M’s Big Ten Championships 54-hole record by five shots and her own career-low 54-hole total by 10 shots. In addition, she set a career-low single-round tally (66, -5) in the second round and was among four Wolverines in the top 30 and two among the top 20 (Mikaela Schulz, t-17th).

Golf Channel Quick Hitters

• Michigan is 129-27-3 (82.1 percent) on the season, marking the seventh time in program history with 100+ wins.

• Michigan was 50-13-1 (78.9 percent) in the fall with one team and individual title.

• Michigan is 79-14-2 (84.2 percent) in the spring with three team and individual titles.

• Michigan is 45-1-1 (96.8 percent) against the Big Ten and won the program’s first-ever Big Ten title.

• Michigan has four team titles and three runner-up titles in 11 events.

• Michigan won its first Big Ten Championship by four shots over Michigan State.

• Monet Chun won her first collegiate event and U-M’s second Big Ten individual crown by four shots, and set a new career-low and U-M Big Ten 54-hole record — 205 (-8) total.

• Michigan shot 52 of 183 rounds at par or better — 32 sub-par rounds and 20 of par.

• Michigan has eight sub-par 54-hole totals: Ashley Lau (four), Mikaela Schulz (two), Hailey Borja (one) and Monet Chun (one). Lau tallied a U-M record 203 (-7) at the VyStar Gators Invitational.

• Ashley Lau (71.70) is on pace to set the single-season scoring record (73.09, Elodie Van Dievoet).

• Lau (73.18) is on pace to set the career scoring record (74.90, Grace Choi).

A Four-Peat (of sorts)

In U-M’s last four team NCAA regional appearances (2016, ’17, ’21, ’22) the Wolverines have advanced to the NCAA Finals — giving the Maize and Blue trips to nationals in four of the last six events. It should be noted U-M had an individual invitee (Ashley Lau) in 2019 as well as the 2020 postseason being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wolverines Haul in the Team Trophies

Michigan has won four team titles, tying for the second-most in a single season. The Wolverines closed the regular season winning three events — the Wolverine Invitational (Sept. 13-14), co-champions at the VyStar Invitational (March 5-6), and the Indiana Invitational (April 9-10). U-M also won the program’s first Big Ten Championship. The Maize and Blue added three runner-up finishes to post seven top-two finishes in 11 events.

Medalists, Medalists Everywhere

In addition to the four team titles, U-M has had five medalists with Ashley Lau winning three of those events — the Tulane Classic (Feb. 13-14), the VyStar Gators Invitational (March 5-6) and the Indiana Invitational (April 9-10). Those wins helped her set the U-M career record (four). Monet Chun won her first collegiate title at the Big Ten Championships (April 22-24), leading U-M to its first Big Ten title with her four-shot victory. Mikaela Schulz added her second career title, tying for medalist honors in the season-opening Wolverine Invitational. The five individual trophies are the most for Michigan in a single season, topping the previous record of three during the 1995-96 season.

Consistency is the Key

Over the last three seasons, Michigan has played in 26 events with two seasons dramatically affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, despite the altered schedules, Jan Dowling‘s Wolverines have managed to post 18 top-five finishes, four team titles, the first Big Ten title in program history and eight medalists over the stretch.

Together as a Team

Michigan is averaging 291.06 with 10 sub-par team rounds. That average is on pace to shatter the current program record (295.56, 2015-16). This season, U-M fired a team-low for par 279 (-9) at the Landfall Tradition and a team-low tally with a 276 (-4) at the VyStar Gators Invitational.

Going Low

With her team-best scoring average of 71.70, Ashley Lau is on pace to smash the U-M record of 73.09 set by Elodie Van Dievoet during the 2016-17 season. Lau leads with 13 sub-par rounds, including a career-low 66 (-6) carded in the final round of the VyStar Gators Invitational. Overall, she has nine sub-70 tallies. With those 13 sub-par rounds, Lau set the program record with 26 total in her career.

The Closer

Mikaela Schulz has the propensity to save her best for the last round. Over the last two seasons, she has been instrumental in helping the Wolverines achieve several successes. In 2021, she helped the Wolverines to a runner-up finish at the Big Ten Championships with a closing 71 (-1). She then shot a 72 (+1) at the Wolverine Invitational to not only help U-M to the team title, but she tied for medalist honors. In 2022, her 72 (E) at the Tulane Classic rallied U-M for a runner-up finish, while a 73 (+1) at Big Tens helped the Maize and Blue capture its first ever conference title. Finally, with a 72 (+1), Schulz helped the Wolverines advance to their second straight NCAA Finals after they tied for third. Starting seven of eight events, she is carrying a career-low 74.54 per-round average.