March 7, 2013
Site: Hilton Head, S.C.
Course: Colleton River Plantation Club (par 72, 7,365 yards)
Tournament: Colleton River Collegiate
U-M Team Standing: Tie-2nd Place of 4 Teams (325-301-301/927)
Top U-M Individual: Chris O'Neill, seventh (81-77-74/232)
Next U-M Event: Sun-Tue., March 24-26 -- at C&F Bank Intercollegiate (Williamsburg, Va.)
HILTON HEAD, S.C. -- With four starters finishing among the top eight individually, the University of Michigan men's golf team tied for second with a 927 54-hole total today (Thursday, March 7) at the 2013 Colleton River Collegiate played at the Colleton River Plantation Club.
After using four earlier days in the week to play and practice as part of their spring break trip, the Wolverines elected to close the week playing in Michigan State's four-team event. The Wolverines opened the event with a 325 team tally yesterday (Wednesday, March 6) as blustery winds, gusting up to 30 miles per hour, elevated scoring and caused the cancellation of the second round. As the weather cleared for the second day, the field elected to squeeze in the final 36 holes today. U-M recovered from its opening round, posting back-to-back 301s to close the event in a tie with the host Spartans. Penn State won with a 916.
After opening with an 81 on Wednesday, freshman Chris O'Neill (Glen Allen, Va./Deep Run HS) followed with rounds of 77 and two-over 74 to lead U-M for the third time this season with a 232 total (seventh). The Wolverines made it five players among the top 10 as freshman Andrew Yeager (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Central HS), senior Matt Alessi (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Birmingham Brother Rice), freshman Brett McIntosh (London, Ontario, Canada/Saunders Secondary School) and senior Miguel Echavarria (Medellin, Colombia/The Columbus School), who played as an individual, all tied for the eighth position at 233.
Rounding out the scoring was sophomore Noori Hyun (Seoul, Korea/Centreville HS [Va.]), who tied for 14th at 237, and sophomore Andrew Wong (Deerfield Beach, Fla./Pompano Beach HS) tied for 23rd at 248, playing as an individual.
The Wolverines will return to Ann Arbor to begin classes after their spring break trip and continue to work their games before heading back out to Williamsburg, Va., Sunday through Tuesday (March 24-26) for the C&F Bank Intercollegiate. The 54-hole event hosted by William & Mary will be played at the Kingsmill Resort.
Final Team Standings
1. Penn State 317-307-292 = 916
2. MICHIGAN 325-301-301 = 927
Michigan State 330-298-299 = 927
4. Detroit Mercy 337-307-320 = 964
Top Individuals
1. Matthew Moseley, MSU 78-71-79 = 228^
2. Chris Houston, Penn State 80-77-71 = 228
Gareth Blease, MSU 81-73-74 = 228
4. Jay Woodward, Penn State 78-77-74 = 229
5. Anthony DeGol, Penn State 81-75-75 = 231
X. McDonald-Smith, Penn State 78-81-72 = 231
7. CHRIS O'NEILL, U-M 81-77-74 = 232
8. BRETT MCINTOSH, U-M 82-75-76 = 233
MATT ALESSI, U-M 85-75-73 = 233
ANDREW YEAGER, U-M 81-74-78 = 233
MIGUEL ECHAVARRIA, U-M 78-79-76 = 233*
Other Michigan Individuals
T14. Noori Hyun 81-78-78 = 237*
T23. Andrew Wong 84-86-78 = 248*
^ playoff winner
* played as individual
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Chris Whitten
On the spring break trip and finishing tournament ... "I would say the theme of the week has been using the experiences to get ready for what is coming down the road. This was an important tournament, but when we got down here the weather was challenging and courses really reminded us of what we will face at the end of the year and especially during the Big Ten Championships.
"The golf course played just brutally hard with the winds, and the scores showed it yesterday. We survived okay. Today, we were a little behind after the start. We played a good round this morning, but in the second round we kind of came out flat. We didn't make a ton of birdies. The golf course played totally different than it did yesterday, and that took a little bit to adjust to. The holes where you had to play a little conservative yesterday, we could have been a little more aggressive today. However, we got through it and managed to match our totals today.
"On the whole, the guys are swinging better. We got a little better each day on this trip. We are really looking forward to the next two events coming up. Both are opportunities to get wins and really have nice finishes if we play well and do what we are supposed to do. As a group, we keep getting better, and this was a good experience playing courses we did in the conditions we got."
N O T E S
• Matt Alessi, Chris O'Neill and Brett McIntosh have started all eight events this season.
• Chris O'Neill led U-M for the third time this season. Overall, a freshman has led the Wolverines in five of eight events this season.
• With Miguel Echavarria playing as an individual, he snapped a string of 18 straight tournament starts.
• Andrew Yeager shot a career-best two-over 74 in the second round. With that round, he posted a career-best 233 54-hole total.
• Andrew Wong played in his third event of the season and recorded a season-best 78 in the final round.
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
