Spring Break
A&M Men's Golf Advances to National Championship
Aggies defeat No. six Michigan to face No. four Arkansas for Championship
By: Brett Sebastian
Issue date: 5/11/09 Section: Sports
The Texas A&M Men's Golf Team advanced to the national championship match at the NCAA Championship tournament at Inverness Golf Club in Toledo, Ohio. The national championship appearance is the furthest A&M golf has ever advanced in the tournament's history.
The Aggies defeated No. six Michigan 3-1-1 in match play semi finals Friday afternoon.
"It's so fantastic," said Head Coach JT Higgins. "Michigan was unbelievable and they wouldn't go away. We had a chance to close them out several times and they kept fighting and fighting. I was so impressed with their team and they were amazing. We kept trying to answer their punches by throwing a counterpunch. We kept coming at them. It was a great match all the way around."
In match play A&M's five players face off against the opposing schools five players in individual match ups. Senior Bronson Burgoon continued his tournament excellence by defeated Michigan's Lion Kim. Junior Andrea Pavan and Senior Matt Van Zandt downed Alexander Sitompul and Bill Rankin respectively. Sophomore John Hurley tied with Matt Thompson. Michigan's only victory came when Nick Pumford defeated Sophomore Conrad Shindler.
A&M started the Championship tournament ranked twelfth and climbed as high as third after a historic round on Wednesday where they shot eight under par, A&M's best round in the championship since 1982. Michigan was not ranked at the time of the last golf top 25 poll but made the national tournament and defeated No. three USC to face A&M.
"The guys played great," said Michigan Head Coach Andrew Sapp of his Wolverines. "Obviously it's disappointing to lose such a close match but I couldn't be more proud of the guys. We were the Cinderallas but I guess the clock struck midnight."
The Aggies will now face No. four Arkansas on Saturday morning for the national championship. The Razorbacks defeated No. eight Georgia 3-1-1.
"We feel great and the kids did a great job," said Arkansas Head Coach Brad McMakin. "We played a great team in Georgia and they're the best team in the country. We're just fortunate to come away with a win. Anything can happen in match play and we just caught fire the last couple of days and hopefully it can continue tomorrow."
The Aggies defeated No. six Michigan 3-1-1 in match play semi finals Friday afternoon.
"It's so fantastic," said Head Coach JT Higgins. "Michigan was unbelievable and they wouldn't go away. We had a chance to close them out several times and they kept fighting and fighting. I was so impressed with their team and they were amazing. We kept trying to answer their punches by throwing a counterpunch. We kept coming at them. It was a great match all the way around."
In match play A&M's five players face off against the opposing schools five players in individual match ups. Senior Bronson Burgoon continued his tournament excellence by defeated Michigan's Lion Kim. Junior Andrea Pavan and Senior Matt Van Zandt downed Alexander Sitompul and Bill Rankin respectively. Sophomore John Hurley tied with Matt Thompson. Michigan's only victory came when Nick Pumford defeated Sophomore Conrad Shindler.
A&M started the Championship tournament ranked twelfth and climbed as high as third after a historic round on Wednesday where they shot eight under par, A&M's best round in the championship since 1982. Michigan was not ranked at the time of the last golf top 25 poll but made the national tournament and defeated No. three USC to face A&M.
"The guys played great," said Michigan Head Coach Andrew Sapp of his Wolverines. "Obviously it's disappointing to lose such a close match but I couldn't be more proud of the guys. We were the Cinderallas but I guess the clock struck midnight."
The Aggies will now face No. four Arkansas on Saturday morning for the national championship. The Razorbacks defeated No. eight Georgia 3-1-1.
"We feel great and the kids did a great job," said Arkansas Head Coach Brad McMakin. "We played a great team in Georgia and they're the best team in the country. We're just fortunate to come away with a win. Anything can happen in match play and we just caught fire the last couple of days and hopefully it can continue tomorrow."
Be sure to include your name, major, and class year. Submissions without this information are subject to deletion.
By submitting a comment, you agree to thebatt.com's Terms of Use.
You may also send a Mail Call to The Battalion at mailcall@thebatt.com