Michigan State Captures Third Straight #B1GADGolf Challenge
7/30/2013 12:00:00 AM | General
July 30, 2013
LANSING, Mich. - Keyed by a dramatic comeback win in the first match of the day, Michigan State defeated Michigan, 6.5-2.5, to capture its third straight #B1GADGolf Challenge on Monday, July 29, at the Country Club of Lansing. The event featured nine head-to-head matches between athletic directors, men's and women's golf coaches, former men's and women's student-athletes, team radio announcers and university professors.
"I think it was another great event. I think the competition is the part that gets us here, but the camaraderie and enjoying each other's company was what the event was intended to do," said Michigan State Athletics Director Mark Hollis. "It's probably easier with the camaraderie when you come out on top and fortunately, the Spartans did once again. I think it was one where the match itself was pretty lopsided but most every match was one that came right down to the wire, including the one between Dave Brandon and I. It's, all-in-all, another successful gathering between the Spartans and Wolverines.
"It's fun when you're in this business, where you're pushing people to be competitive, to actually put yourself in that arena and have to perform. With all of our ages, aches and ailments, we still go out there, compete and have a good time doing it. Everybody from our staff came out and, I think, represented Michigan State in a positive way. That leaves people leaving here thinking positive things about Michigan State."
The first match of the day was a battle of athletic directors, as MSU's Mark Hollis squared off against Michigan's Dave Brandon. Brandon got off to a quick start, leading 3-up after six holes, but Hollis fought back and squared the match on the 13th hole. Brandon won the 15th and 16th holes with a pair of pars to take a 2-up lead with two holes to play. Hollis, however, won the 17th hole with a par, after Brandon found the water hazard on the long par 3. On the par-4 18th hole, both AD's were on the green in two, and after Brandon's birdie putt came up just short, Hollis drained his birdie attempt from over 20 feet, forcing extra holes. Playing the first hole for the second time on the day, Hollis won the team point with a par.
While the day's first match had plenty of momentum swings, some of the other matches weren't as tight. The day's second match featured former men's golf student-athletes as Michigan's Justin Hicks faced MSU's Nathan Clark. The match was moved up in the sequence to accommodate Hicks' travel schedule as he flew out to Reno, Nev., on Monday night to compete in this week's Reno Tahoe Open on the PGA Tour. Clark played well, but Hicks was 1-under par through 15 holes to win 4 & 3, and square the team competition at 1.
In a match of men's golf coaches, MSU's Casey Lubahn defeated Michigan's Chris Whitten 6 & 5, after needing 20 holes to decide last year's meeting. This season, Lubahn won four of the first five holes, and never led by less than three after that. In an equally impressive performance, MSU's Laura Kueny defeated UM's Ashley Bauer, 6 & 5, in a meeting of former women's golf student-athletes. Kueny took control of the contest by winning four straight holes from No. 8-11, with four consecutive birdies.
The next match to be decided was a battle of university professors. Trey Rogers, Professor of Turfgrass Management in MSU's Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, defeated Thad Polk, a professor in the Michigan Department of Psychology, 3 & 1. The match was back and forth early, with only one tied hole among the first six. Trailing 1-down after seven holes, Rogers rallied with three straight victories on holes 8-10 to go 2-up. Rogers held the lead through the rest of the match, and closed it out with a victory on the 17th hole, giving MSU a 4-1 advantage.
The deciding point came in a match between women's golf coaches as MSU's Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll defeated UM's Jan Dowling, 3 & 2. Slobodnik-Stoll won three of the first five holes, but Dowling won the next two holes, cutting the MSU lead to 1-up. Slobodnik-Stoll won the 14th and 15th holes to go 3-up, and captured the clinching point by halving the 16th hole.
With the team match already decided, the three remaining matches on the course decided to continue. In a match between former women's golf student-athletes, MSU's Caroline Powers, a 2013 graduate, defeated UM's Brianna Broderick, 2 & 1. Broderick won three of the first four holes, but Powers squared the match with three hole-winning pars on holes 6-8. Broderick won the 12th hole, but Powers won the 13th and 14th holes, and followed with a victory on the 16th hole to go 2-up. Powers closed the match by halving the 17th with a par.
In a battle of radio announcers, Michigan's Frank Beckmann defeated Michigan State's Matt Steigenga in 20 holes. Steigenga lead the entire match until Beckmann won the 16th hole to square things. Beckmann then won the second extra hole, giving UM its second team point.
The final match of the day featured MSU's Ryan Brehm against UM's Matt Thompson. Brehm held a slim lead for most of the day, and was 1-up through 15 holes. With the team match already decided, the match was abandoned on the 16th hole, and the team point was halved, providing the final margin of 6.5-2.5.