Dow Earns New Norm: Title Contender
September 15, 2015
By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half
MIDLAND — Alexie Flaminio has seen how the influence of a few highly motivated, hard-working teammates can transform a team and its expectations.
As a freshman in 2012, she was on a Midland Dow golf team that wasn't a factor on the state level. The Chargers finished eighth of 14 teams in their regional tournament, 31 shots out of the third and final qualifying berth for the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 2 Final.
This was the norm at Dow, which had qualified for the finals only four times and made the top 10 only once during the first 41 years of the MHSAA's sponsorship of a girls golf tournament.
"We didn't have a lot of depth on the team," Flaminio recalls. "We had a few good players. Our top three was pretty good. I know I wasn't playing as well as I am right now. We had two seniors and a sophomore who were the only people who scored on our team."
Things changed radically at Dow the following season.
That's when senior Kharissa Carras made the decision to play golf after three years on the volleyball team. She was joined on the team that year by her freshman sister, Stephanie. They led Dow to the first of its two straight regional championships and the best finish in an MHSAA finals tournament in school history, a third-place showing in Division 2. Kharissa was the regional medalist and both sisters made the top 10 in the final.
Dow followed that up by taking fifth in Division 2 last fall, with Stephanie Carras placing fourth individually. Kharissa moved on to play college golf, but freshman Alexis Carras joined the team as a solid No. 2 golfer.
"They set an example for us, because they're out there every day of the week practicing," Flaminio said. "I wasn't practicing as much my freshman year. Once I got to my sophomore year, I started practicing more. The three of us were practicing quite a few days a week. They have a work ethic that is ridiculous for high school. They live and breathe golf. They're doing really well for us."
Dow coach Doug Bradford also cited the influence of the Carras girls as a primary reason why Dow is suddenly a state power in girls golf.
"It kind of fed into some of the other kids where they're putting time into it," Bradford said. "Maybe they wouldn't go practice on weekends or do those things. They do it now because that's the example that's been set. It's been interesting to watch the change in mindset. Tennis has been been big for both boys and girls. Several years ago, we had Kim Dihn, who went to Wisconsin and was as an individual (MHSAA Finals qualifier in 2009). We've had some good individuals, but we haven't grouped them together like we have now."
The Carras sisters work hard at their craft, but it doesn't feel like work to them.
"I love golf," Alexis said. "I usually spend about three hours a day on average doing golf. It's just a lot of fun. I started about two or three years ago very competitively, but my whole life golf was there. It was always an option. For college, not many girls play golf. I was very intrigued by it, because my older sister Kharissa was playing it. I loved the sport. We could play with our parents; we could play with our grandparents. It seemed like a sport you could play for life."
Now that the Chargers have established themselves as an elite team in Division 2, they are working toward taking the final step and winning an MHSAA championship.
The state's coaches certainly think Dow has an excellent shot at the title, ranking the Chargers No. 1 in Division 2.
"We've been in the top five the last couple years," Bradford said. "In that situation, you're kind of used to being up there. It's not a bad thing. It's obviously nice recognition, but there are a lot of good teams in Division 2 throughout the state. When you're first moving up, you do like to sneak up on people, but now that we've been there people know about you and what to expect. Birmingham Seaholm could easily be ranked No. 1. Okemos is very good. We just saw them at a tournament at Holt. They shot 328 and beat us down there, so they're right there. South Lyon has a nice team."
If things work out the way she hopes, Stephanie Carras could win two MHSAA titles at the LP Division 2 tournament Oct. 16-17 at Bedford Valley in Battle Creek.
As a sophomore, Carras was fourth in Division 2 last year behind two seniors and a junior with a score of 87-75–162 at Forest Akers West in East Lansing. As a freshman, she was third in Division 2, four strokes off the lead after shooting 79-80–159 at Forest Akers East.
"I hope to win states this year," Stephanie said. "I think I'm ready. Before, I wasn't mentally prepared. After seeing I really can shoot these scores to win the tournament, I think I'm better prepared this year."
Stephanie Carras leads Dow with an 18-hole average of 76. Alexis Carras averages 80, Flaminio 85 and sophomore Mina Fabiano 95.
"It makes golf so much more fun when you have your teammates come in with a great score," Alexis Carras said. "It makes everything so much more exciting."
Dow has sought out tough competition in its quest to be prepared for the postseason, which will begin with the regional tournament on Oct. 7 at The Emerald in St. Johns. That regional includes sixth-ranked Flushing and ninth-ranked St. Johns.
The Chargers placed second on a tie-breaker to Novi, the sixth-ranked team in Division 1, in the two-day Bob Lober Invitational in Traverse City. Dow beat defending Division 2 champion Seaholm in the highly competitive Troy Invitational, placing fourth behind Rochester (No. 1 in Division 1), Troy (No. 2 in Division 1) and Lake Orion (No. 4 in Division 1).
Dow won the Flint Powers Catholic Invitational, which also served as the first Saginaw Valley League jamboree. The Chargers finished ahead of Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood (No. 3 in Division 3) and Powers (No. 6 in Division 3) in that tournament. The Chargers also won their own tournament.
"As the competition gets better, it gets harder," Stephanie Carras said. "But the more you do it, the easier it gets."
Bradford hopes that playing a tough schedule, combined with the experience of two MHSAA Finals, serves the Chargers well come mid-October.
"I think it will," he said. "Any time you get to regionals and get to state, there are still a little bit of nerves. They've been through it and know what to expect, so hopefully we can play well at regionals and get a chance to go there again."
Bill Khan served as a sportswriter at The Flint Journal from 1981-2011 and currently contributes to the State Champs! Sports Network. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Midland Dow's Stephanie Carras fires a shot out of a bunker during last season's Lower Peninsula Division 2 Final at Forest Akers West. (Middle) From left, coach Doug Bradford, Alexis Carras, Mina Fabiano, Tatum Matthews, Morgan Deiters, Caroline Szabo, Alexie Flaminio and Stephanie Carras. (Below) Alexie Flaminio lines up a putt; she scored third for the Chargers as they finished fifth overall.
TC West Ace Finishing Dy-namite Finals Run
October 19, 2018
By Chris Dobrowolski
Special for Second Half
TRAVERSE CITY — Anika Dy already has cemented her legacy as one of the greatest female high school golfers in state history.
Still, she continues to add to that decorated career as she winds down her senior season at Traverse City West.
Dy, the winner of the state coaches association’s Miss Golf Award the last two years, is the two-time reigning MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 medalist and has been the Titans’ top performer on two team state title runs. She caps off her last season for West this weekend at Bedford Valley Golf Course in Battle Creek when she and the Titans look to sweep the team and individual championships for the second straight year.
“I don’t think it’s quite hit me yet. It doesn’t feel like it’s ending, that’s for sure,” said Dy. ““I think I’ll be on a high of emotions. I’m going to come home and probably realize that it’s all over and start reflecting on these four years.”
What a four years it’s been, too.
Dy announced her arrival on a statewide level her freshman year when she was one of only three golfers to break 80 on the first day of action at the 2015 Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final at The Meadows at Grand Valley State. But her chance to finish first was dashed when she three-putted the last hole and closed with a two-day total of 156 — one shot behind Brighton’s Julia Dean, who came from five strokes back over the last 18 holes.
“That really, really stung,” said Dy. “I came back that next year wanting it really bad.”
Since then she’s been unbeatable on the state’s biggest stage, shooting a 143 (72-71) to redeem herself and card the low score by two strokes over Clarkston’s Meghan Deardorff at the 2016 Final at Forest Akers East. She repeated in resounding fashion last year at The Meadows course when her 141 (69-72) put her eight shots in front of Rochester’s Savannah Haque.
As satisfying as those individual victories have been, Dy has been more fulfilled by the team success the Titans have enjoyed. She calls West’s championship her freshman year her most vivid memory from the past four.
“Just because it was so unexpected,” she said of a title the Titans won over Rochester that came down to a fifth counter tiebreaker. “There is a difference for me (between individual and team success). It’s so much more fun when it’s with the team.”
Dy started playing golf at age 6 and surged to an elite level as a model of consistency and with an unequivocal work ethic.
“She has a love for the game and works very hard,” said Scott Wilson, the club pro at Bay Meadows Golf Course in Traverse City who has coached Dy for the past eight years. “She’s always been very consistent. She’s been consistent in her ball striking, and she has a great short game.”
Dy honed her game through Wilson’s junior elite program, first at Crystal Mountain and then at Bay Meadows. She’s maintained a challenging summer tournament schedule as well, taking part in a number of high-caliber events, including the Michigan Women’s Amateur, the Michigan Women’s Open and several USGA qualifiers.
“We’ve always tried to set her up in tournaments that would be challenging to her, almost a little over her head even,” said Wilson. “She’s excelled at every level.”
Dy also has helped spur increased interest in the sport within her school as the Titans’ roster ballooned to 17 players this year on the heels of last year’s Division 1 title.
“She’s put Traverse City West on the map,” said West head coach Karl Gagnon. “She’s helped influence a lot of kids to take up golf. Success breeds success. Kids want to be around programs that are successful.”
Dy has emerged as one of the leaders of that squad, along with fellow seniors Jillian Ellul, Hope Aspenleiter and Evelyn Krueger.
“This year it’s definitely been a challenge to be that leader,” she said. “I’ve had great seniors to look up to my past three years. It was a little tricky at first because we doubled the size of our team from last year. There were a lot more new girls who needed a lot of direction, but it’s been fun getting to know them and watching them grow into better players.”
Those new responsibilities haven’t had a negative affect on Dy’s game. She’s been regularly shooting in the upper 60s and near 70 and has finished as the medalist at every meet this season except one — when her younger sister Anci, a sophomore, beat her at an invitational in Alpena. Anci Dy, a tremendous golfer in her own right, was the Regional runner-up last week after finishing seven strokes behind her sister.
Anci admits it’s bittersweet to see her sister finishing out her high school career.
“It’s going to be our last high school tournament together, and I really want all of us to succeed,” Anci said. “I’m really excited to play on the team with her one last time.”
Next year Anika Dy will head to the University of Michigan for the next stage of her playing career.
“She’s going to a great school,” said Gagnon. “The coaches at Michigan are excited to have her. She’s going to be an asset for them from the very beginning. It’s a progression. She’s accomplished everything she’s going to accomplish in high school. It’s time to see what she can do at a different level.”
As for where golf could take Dy into the future, Wilson said the sky is the limit for his star pupil.
“She’s going to continue to try and put her skills to the test and see where it goes from there,” said Wilson. “It’s all up to her how far she wants to take it.”
Chris Dobrowolski has covered northern Lower Peninsula sports since 1999 at the Ogemaw County Herald, Alpena News, Traverse City Record-Eagle and currently as sports editor at the Antrim Kalkaska Review since 2016. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Traverse City West’s Anika Dy watches a drive during last season’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals. (Middle) Dy leaves the green after finishing a hole during her 2016 championship run. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)