The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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OLYMPIC SPORTS year we knew that we had a good team. It was a matter of going out and doing what we're supposed to do. Overall it's been good so far." Sophomore Kyle Mueller has led the team in scoring average the last two seasons, has paced U‑M in five of its 10 events this season and was named first‑team All‑Big Ten. With his 71.54 shots per‑round av‑ erage through early May, he could become the first Wolverine in history to finish a season with an average below 72. The Georgia native has seen a welcomed change in the team's ap‑ proach and performance. "We have definitely improved from last year, and I think were only going to get better," he said. "We had actual expectations this year. Last year we were a bit of a struggling program, but now we have high ex‑ pectations and we're actually trying to win tournaments instead of just trying to finish towards the top. "We really felt like we could com‑ pete every week, and that's definitely good to see. It's good for our confi‑ dence heading into regionals." Even though Mueller is the second youngest player on the roster, he is leading by example and believes the Wolverines can advance to nationals. "We have the talent — we just have to put three good rounds together," Mueller said. "This year, we strug‑ gled with that sometimes. We might slip in the first round and then follow that up with two great rounds. If we can play well in the first round and then put together two solid rounds on top of that, we will be in great shape." None of Whitten's players have ever played the course they'll see in the NCAA Regional, which is just fine with him. When he and his team found out they'd be traveling to Ten‑ nessee, they immediately shifted into preparation mode. "We go where we go," he said. "We will do a lot of research in‑house be‑ fore we ever travel, and we will be ready to play. "The top five teams from each regional site qualify for nationals for a total of 30 teams. Based on what we've done this year, and just knowing what our players are ca‑ pable of, it's a very reasonable ex‑ pectation to qualify and go to the national championship. "We have a team that makes a lot of birdies, and we hit it longer than most college golf teams do. We play hard golf courses very well, too. So even though our ranking might not show that we would be a favorite to win a regional or do well at nationals, we're very capable and confident." With about three weeks between the Big Ten Championships and the NCAA Regional, Whitten has a lot of time to teach, motivate and coach up his players. "In the past, we had a younger team that had never been there yet so we definitely tried to build up the importance of taking the next step," he said. "I think this year the guys expect it themselves — it's just busi‑ ness as usual. "We are excited to prepare and go