The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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BIG TEN Championships: men's golf way individually on the 7,152-yard track. Thomas Peters paced the Illini and everyone else by carding a four-day total of 4-under 284, shooting 70-70-7074. Teammate Brian Campbell and Minnesota's Erik Van Rooyen each shot 289, with Campbell posting a pair of 70s to match the best 18-hole round of the tournament. Michigan opened with its best showing of the competition on day one, with O'Neill's even-par round leading U‑M to a team total of 301. The Wolverines shot 306 as a squad the following day, putting them in ninth place in the competition. A 312 team total on day three saw Michigan drop to last place in the competi‑ tion, with O'Neill and McIntosh each firing team-best 76s. But the Wolverines rallied on the final day, carding a 304 — paced by McIntosh's 74 — to climb back into 10th. "I felt like the third round was the one that got away from us," Whitten said. "We were expecting to move up and get back into the competitive part of the pack that day. The golf course just got the better of us." Michigan senior Matt Alessi, from Bloomfield Hills, Mich., wound up tied for 54th in the competition, shooting 78-79-79-78 for a total of 314. Sophomore Noori Hyun of Korea, who attended high school in Virginia, would up 57th, shooting a 316 with a breakdown of 80-79-81-76. Senior Miguel Echavarria of Medellin, Columbia, checked in 58th overall at 321, shooting 77-80-84-80. Michigan bids goodbye to Alessi and Echavarria from its lineup, after those two supplied plenty of guidance to the younger performers over the past months and years. "It will be sad to lose Matt and Miguel," Whitten acknowledged. "I know they didn't really have the last tournament that they wanted. They paced the team all year with their attitude, culture and just being good leaders. "They were really important members of the team and will be missed." Whitten's crew will need to move forward relying on some now-proven younger performers. O'Neill became the first freshman to lead the Wolverines at the Big Ten Championships since Kevin Dore paced U-M at the 2004 match played at the University of Michigan course. He's also the first freshman to ever lead U-M in scoring average, at 73.96 shots per round, the 14th-best season average ever by a Michigan player. Only two Wolverine rookies — Matt Thompson (73.54) and Jack Schultz (73.67) — ever posted lower scoring averages. "We have three guys coming in, and we expect all three to compete immedi‑ ately for starting spots," Whitten said. "Even for the players on the team that did not play this week, they really have a chance to step on the gas this summer, make some improvements and push this group." — John Borton