April 28, 2012
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Photo Gallery 
Site: French Lick, Ind.
Course: Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort (par 72, 7,152 yards)
Tournament: Big Ten Championships (Day 2 of 3)
U-M Team Standing: 10th Place of 12 Teams (312-309-306/927) after Day 2
Top U-M Individual: Matt Thompson, 2nd (74-73-70/217)
Final Round: Sunday, April 29 -- at Big Ten Championships (French Lick, Ind.), 8 a.m.
FRENCH LICK, Ind. -- With a two-under 70, senior Matt Thompson (Battle Creek, Mich./Lakeview HS) moved into second place on the individual leaderboard and paced the University of Michigan men's golf team to a 306 third-round tally today (Saturday, April 28), putting the Wolverines 10th after 54 of 72 holes with a 927 total at the Big Ten Championships at the French Lick Resort's Pete Dye Course.
Starting off the 10th tee for the second straight day, Thompson got off to a strong start, posting six pars and three birdies -- Nos. 14, 15 and 16 -- to make the turn to the front side three under. However, bogeys on Nos. 1 and 5 put him to one under with four holes remaining. With a closing birdie on the ninth hole, he finished the day tallying a two-under 70 to move up three spots and sit second at 217 (74-73-70) with 18 holes remaining. Thompson is seven shots back of leader Luke Guthrie (72-71-67/210) of Illinois for the conference crown.
Freshman Noori Hyun (Seoul, Korea/Centreville HS [Va.]) posted the Wolverines' second-best total of the day with his four-over 76, while junior Miguel Echavarria (Medellin, Colombia/The Columbus School) closed his third round posting a 77. Echavarria now stands tied for 39th at 234 (78-79-77), while Hyun is tied for 50th at 239 (84-79-76).
Other Wolverine positions include: freshman Andrew Wong (Deerfield Beach, Fla./Pompano Beach HS) is 57th at 242 (81-78-83) and junior Matt Alessi (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Birmingham Brother Rice) is 60th at 251 (79-88-84).
Michigan will conclude its Big Ten Championships at 8:40 a.m. on Sunday (April 29) off the No. 10 tee for the third straight round. The Wolverines will be paired with Ohio State.
Team Standings (after Day 2 of 3)
1. Illinois 301-291-292 = 884 (+20)
2. Indiana 293-304-294 = 891
Michigan State 292-303-296 = 891
4. Northwestern 311-296-288 = 895
5. Iowa 305-309-287 = 901
6. Penn State 308-301-299 = 908
7. Purdue 306-297-308 = 911
8. Minnesota 308-297-308 = 913
9. Ohio State 299-316-304 = 919
10. MICHIGAN 312-309-306 = 927
11. Nebraska 308-313-313 = 934
12. Wisconsin 317-326-300 = 943
Top Individuals
1. Luke Guthrie, Illinois 72-71-67 = 210 (-6)
2. MATT THOMPSON, U-M 74-73-70 = 217
3. Sam Chien, Northwestern 72-73-73 = 218
Dan Ellis, Michigan State 74-73-71 = 218
5. Barrett Kelpin, Iowa 76-77-67 = 220
6. David Mills, Indiana 76-73-72 = 221
Adam Schenk, Purdue 75-71-75 = 221
Chase Wright, Indiana 72-74-75 = 221
9. Thomas Pieters, Illinois 74-74-74 = 222
Erik Van Rooyen, Minnesota 75-73-74 = 222
Other Michigan Individuals
T39. Miguel Echavarria 78-79-77 = 234
T50. Noori Hyun 84-79-76 = 239
57. Andrew Wong 81-78-83 = 242
60. Matt Alessi 79-88-84 = 251
• Day 1 Results
N O T E S
• Michigan began the Big Ten Championships teeing off the back nine while paired with Wisconsin.
• Matt Thompson has played the back nine of the Pete Dye course at six under par, recording seven birdies, one bogey and 19 pars. Conversely, he has played the front nine seven over par.
• Miguel Echavarria, Noori Hyun, Andrew Wong, Matt Alessi are all competing in their first Big Ten Championships.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Chris Whitten
On Matt Thompson's play ... "The thing that has me excited for tomorrow is Matt's (Thompson) putting. He is really hitting it well and reading the greens better with each round. Honesty, every putt looks like it has a chance to go in. He has set himself up with solid iron shots coming in. He had two drives that got away from him today, but overall he is just playing really well and within himself. It looks like we are expecting a little rain tomorrow, so it looks like it (the course) might play a little tougher, which could be good for him. He just needs to go and play as good as he can and we will watch the scores come in. We won't be in Luke's (Guthrie) group, so it will just be Matt against the golf course. That is really all you can ask for sometimes."
On the team's play ... "Overall, we got off to a better start today. We played our first nine holes (back nine) well and really played 16, 17 and 18 better. We just didn't finish off our last nine holes (front side) like I was hoping we would. The guys just need to execute better. It is as simple as that. They know the course at this point, conditions were easier today and they know they need to hit better shots when it is time. We have a chance to move up tomorrow and every shot counts."
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
