The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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APRIL 2022 THE WOLVERINE 15 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Ashley Lau, who came to Ann Arbor by way of Australia and Malaysia, has racked up no shortage of honors in her college career. The senior was named the Big Ten's Golfer of the Week March 10 after grabbing the individual title at the 50th VyStaff Florida Invitational. It was the third individual victory during her time at Michigan. Reflecting on the process that led her to U-M, Lau credited men's golfer Charlie Pilon for his help in the recruit- ing process. "He committed first, so I got a lot of information from him," she said. "My parents wanted me to go to a good academic school, and Michigan was obviously one of the top choices. "Another big par t of it was the weather. Malaysia back home is a very hot and humid country all year round. I wanted to experience something dif- ferent for college. And Michigan was a perfect choice." Lau's win in the Florida Invitational is one that is still sinking in. She was only ever focused on putting good rounds together. The pieces fell into place from there. "After winning that tournament, I was just shocked.," Lau said. "I am just still soaking in that I won the tourna- ment because there were a lot of good golfers there. "I really was just trying to go out there and play my game and not trying to think about winning. Winning was never on my mind. Playing well was the goal." Michigan provides the oppor tu- nity to shine in athletics, but it will always be a place where academics come first. Lau embraces that and has the student-athlete mentality locked down, having earned two-time Aca- demic All-Big Ten honors. "I would say like any other student- athletes, we've grown up playing sports and going to school at the same time," she said. "This routine is just something that I've done since I was a little girl. I just know what to prioritize at different times. "Especially when we travel, I try to finish my assignments or communi- cate with my professors. I have what I need to do when I'm missing classes. That's a really big thing that has helped me in college." Lau praises the women's golf pro- gram and its leadership for how it supports its athletes, especially when there is a conflict in scheduling and classwork needs to come first. "Coach Jan [Dowling] has been re- ally helpful," Lau said. "When we have school work or exams, she is definitely very accommodating. Our academic advisor has been really helpful, just in terms of keeping us on track of taking classes that we need to." Lau is a senior and one of the leaders of the program. "I definitely try to set an example to the team," she said. "We are all just so close with each other, and we all lead in our own ways. We don't have a cap- tain on our team. "I'm more of the quiet one on the team. But I'm sure my teammates no- tice when I say or do something. I'm pretty sure they take that into account." Lau is majoring in economics and minoring in entrepreneurship. She is not sure what she wants to do with her studies but is returning to Michi- gan next year to pursue her master's in management at the Ross School of Business. However, those fields are Plan B. "My plan is to turn professional and hopefully something good goes from there," she said. "If not, I might just find a line of work in economics and go from there. Hopefully, that plan doesn't come into play because I want to play golf." — Anthony Broome Lau earned medalist honors at the VyStaff Florida Invitational in early March, notching the third individual victory during her time at Michigan. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY Student-Athlete Of The Month Women's Golf Senior Ashley Lau