The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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AUGUST 2017 THE WOLVERINE 15 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Getting To Know Men's Golf Sophomore Nick Carlson Golfer Nick Carlson made waves last year with a run to the U.S. Amateur semifinals, and he'll play it again in August. Here are a few things you didn't know about the native of Hamil- ton, Mich., who enters his junior year in 2017-18: Nickname: "My team calls me 'Bump,' like construction signs … a little bump in the road. I'm a 5-5 guy, so they call me Bump." Favorite restaurant in Ann Arbor: "Ann Arbor Brewing Company is a good one. Any burger they have there is good. Their homemade chips literally melt on your tongue." Sports he plays besides golf: "I consider myself an athlete even though I golf religiously. We work out at Crisler Center, so I'm always playing basketball in the winter with the team … turn workouts into fun. When I'm home, I'll play the occasional pick-up game of basketball with my friends." Hobbies: "Fishing and creating customized golf stuff. I just started a company through the guy that makes my putters … I make customized ball markers for people — stamp their names or different phrases, whatever they want, on it." Favorite course he's played: "My favorite is probably The Traditions Club at Texas A&M. I would play it 100 times a day if I could. It's one of those you don't get bored of." Role model: "My caddie, Chad Kamphuis, is like my mentor, best friend … five different things. I look up to my dad, but my caddie in a different way, like a mentor. He's like a big brother." Why he chose golf: "I really got serious about it when I was 5, 6 years old … at 6, I started tournaments. I grew up in Grandville, Mich., so I would play The Meadows at Grand Valley … my dad and I would go out there and make quarter bets. "'If you make this putt you get a quarter … make this one you get two.' I never saw a quarter, but I got lunch and ice cream afterward." What he hopes to do after golf: "Golf is the priority. As soon as I graduate, I plan on turning pro … hopefully the PGA Tour. I'll attack that wholeheartedly. "If not, I want to be in the golfing industry in some form. I've put a little thought into being a club rep for different companies … they go out into tournaments and watch those, that kind of thing. If not, I'll turn my attention to cus- tom golf … creating putters, maybe. "I'll definitely be in the golf- ing world for my sanity, basi- cally." His overall U-M experience: "It's been a blast. Two years have gone by in the blink of an eye, and I'm sure two more years will go just as fast. It's been a lot of fun, and I've met a lot of good people. "I'm traveling a lot, which is awesome, have played a lot of good courses and golf in general." — Chris Balas Student-Athlete Of The Month Cross Country Senior Erin Finn For Erin Finn, running al- ways seemed like a natural fit. "Whenever I tried to do any other sports, I was only good at them because I didn't get tired," Finn said. "So we kind of knew once I got old enough to run cross country, seventh grade in my school district, that I should give it a try. "I also used to do this little two-mile race up at my cot- tage in northern Michigan, and when I started beating my mom when I was like 5 — and my mom's no slouch as a runner — we were like, 'Huh, this girl should try running.'" The results have proven Finn and her family right. She is a three-time All-American in cross country and placed second at the 2016 NCAA Cham- pionships. On the track, she is a school record holder in the indoor 3,000- and 5,000-meter races and the outdoor 5,000- and 10,000-meter runs, is a three-time NCAA runner-up and six-time Big Ten champion — and she accomplished all of that despite missing the 2017 outdoor postseason. Just as running was natural for Finn, so was coming to U-M. "I've been a Michigan fan all my life," she said. "Along the way there were some enticing other schools, but when it came down to it I compared everything back to Michigan and nothing was as great as Michigan. We have the full package in terms of academics and athletics." Though Finn competes in three different sports seasons, she has excelled in the classroom as well. She is a three-time U-M Athletic Academic Achievement winner and a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection. Finn was also just named the track and cross country Academic All-American of the Year for 2016-17 by the College Sports Information Directors of America, her second straight first-team Academic All-America honor. Additionally, the West Bloomfield, Mich., native was named a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar for her 4.0 GPA over the last academic year. "Routine helps, and when you're always in season you're always trying to be smart with your time and be smart with your recovery," Finn said. "It also helps that I enjoy it. … I think the discipline it takes to be a good distance runner is very similar to the discipline it takes to be a good student. You have to realize that the time you put in studying, the time you put in training, is going to pay off in the long run. It's hard in the moment and you might not see day to day gains, but you just have to trust in the process." Though Finn just graduated with a biochemistry degree, she has one year of eligibility left in both track seasons, which she will use while pursuing her master's degree. After that, she plans to run professionally before going to medical school, following the footsteps of her parents, who are both physicians. — Leland Mitchinson At the 2017 USATF Outdoor Championships June 22, Finn set a Michigan and Big Ten record with a time of 32:00.46 in the 10,000 meters. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS During his sophomore cam- paign, Carlson won two tour- naments and posted two other top-10 finishes. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS