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East Kentwood Ace Ready to Build on Dazzling Debut
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
August 26, 2021
KENTWOOD – Elise Fennell wished that there were the traditional two days of play at last year’s MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final.
The East Kentwood sophomore golfer shot a 74 to tie for fourth in the event that was reduced to only one day of competition due to COVID-19 protocols.
“It was a little disappointing because I always play better the second round,” Fennell said. “I really wish there was another day.”
Fennel finished four strokes behind individual champion Katie Brody of Grand Blanc. However, her performance capped off a stellar freshman season and shared a glimpse of her potential.
Fennell was the top golfer in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red, sporting a nine-hole average of 35 while winning the midseason and postseason tournaments. She also received all-region and all-state honors.
So what will she do for an encore?
East Kentwood head coach Mike Ketelaar thinks the sky’s the limit for his No. 1 player.
“It will be tough to top what she did last year because she’s already built those accolades, and she had some really great rounds,” Ketelaar said. “I’m excited to see all aspects of her game click together.”
Fennell didn’t come out of nowhere.
She picked up her first club when she was 6, and started competing competitively three years later.
Fennell won the Golf Association of Michigan (GAM) Junior Stroke Play Championship when she was 13, and repeated the feat earlier this month at Forest Akers East Golf Course.
“It was nice to win after a long time because I’ve struggled the last couple years with my game,” she said. “I’ve been all over the place, so I was happy to play well.”
Playing against the best has helped shape Fennell’s game, and fuel her competitive drive.
“I just like competing and playing against the best in the state and the country, and winning is fun, too,” Fennell said. “It was a little rough when I started competing, but then it got easier.”
Ketelaar knew of Fennell’s golf prowess for a while and was anticipating her arrival to high school.
“I knew about her in my first year coaching,” he said. “She lives on our home course, and she was literally on the range for all of my practices the last few years. I knew about her pedigree when she was in sixth grade.”
Fennell admittingly doesn’t enjoy the grind of practice, but understands the benefits that come with it.
“I hate practicing, but I know I have to if I want to get better and improve,” she said. “I try to come out every day and work on something.”
While Fennell is shy off the course, she has a steely demeanor on it. It’s a part of her game that sets her apart, according to Ketelaar.
“She is such a focused competitor who plays a lot of summer tournaments and has had an array of competitive experiences,” he said. “She’s very stoic, composed and a brilliant student of the game. She is mature beyond her years in terms of her course management and her understanding of effective practice techniques, and just how she approaches the game is kind of baffling to me.”
Fennell has the unique ability of visualizing each shot.
“I just see where I want to hit the ball in my mind and hit it there,” Fennell said. “And then I go from there to my next shot. I focus on what I can do.”
Ketelaar said she shows little fear, no matter the difficulty of the course.
“She doesn’t see trouble when she plays,” he said. “She’s very confident in her visualization and lines and she doesn’t fear out-of-bounds or water. She doesn't see them, and all she sees is what she’s trying to execute. She’s very good at putting on blinders and focusing on what she needs to do. Negative outcomes don’t come into her mind.”
Fennell, who tied for second at last week’s Jenison Invitational carding a 70, has also stepped into a leadership role.
The Falcons are an inexperienced group, and Fennell shares her vast knowledge of the game with her teammates.
“I've tried to make them feel more confident being on the course and around the greens,” Fennell said. “I help them with their swings so they feel more comfortable, and I love to help people because golf is my favorite sport and what I enjoy.”
Despite her young age, Ketelaar has appreciated Fennell’s willingness to help.
“She’s really been hands-on with the other girls, which is cool as only a sophomore,” he said. “She’s taken on a leadership role and realizes being a part of a team means helping the other players improve. She’s been giving back a lot more this year.”
Fennell continues to have high aspirations for this season.
“I want to win Regionals and win state while going as low as I can,” she said.
Dean Holzwarth has covered primarily high school sports for Grand Rapids-based WOOD-TV for four years after serving at the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years along with shorter stints at the Ionia Sentinel and WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) East Kentwood’s Elise Fennell follows a drive. (Middle) Fennell, hitting out of the sand, is looking to build on last season’s fourth-place finish in LP Division 1. (Photos by Josh Fennell and Jim Swoboda, respectively.)
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Cougars' Third Title 'A Lot More Special'
October 20, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Every championship effort is not created equal.
The last two seasons, Lansing Catholic cruised to MHSAA Finals wins of 38 and 63 strokes, respectively. In 2010, the Cougars placed all five players among the top eight individuals, and last year they put four among the top 10.
But only three of those high placers remained this season. And that made Saturday’s third-straight Division 4 title special for additional reasons.
Lansing Catholic shot a two-day 658 at Michigan State’s Forest Akers West to finish 64 strokes ahead of runner-up Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Central. Those three players again placed among the top 10 – junior Jacqueline Setas second, senior Janie Fineis third and senior Dani Crilley tied for fourth. Lansing Catholic also got a score each from fourth player Mary Beth Maddalena and fifth player Lauren Burnett, both juniors.
“Last year, we had four players who could all shoot in the 70s. This year, we had to have a (number) four that really needed to work hard and count her score,” Setas said. “That made (winning) a lot more special.
“We just had to make sure they worked hard day in and day out. I just like to have fun at practice, (so) it was just easy.”
After dominating the last two regular seasons as well, Lansing Catholic loaded its schedule this fall with tough opponents from every division – and nearly dominated in the same fashion.
Only Division 1 champion Plymouth and 2011 Division 1 champion Grosse Pointe South finished ahead of the Cougars in events this season.
Lansing Catholic led by 37 strokes after Friday's round, but that didn't allow coach Mary Schafer any relief. Only at the end did it come pouring out.
“I’m not a crier, believe it or not, but something just took over,” a tearful Schafer said. “It’s very tough to be the target of everybody.
“I think I was pacing out there at 17. I think I wore a line into the mud. And then with the playoff, I thought it was one of the longest 18 holes I’ve ever had.”
Before the Cougars could claim that third MHSAA team trophy, their best had to play one more hole.
Setas and Muskegon Catholic Central senior Aya Johnson both shot 153 over the two rounds, Johnson with a 73 after firing an 80 on Friday. The two close friends and frequent summer opponents had to face off once more in a sudden-death tie-breaker.
Both hit their drives off West’s No. 1 into a group of trees on the right. But Johnson’s shot found a friendlier tree, and she ended up with a clean approach that she finished for par. Setas ended with a bogey and finished second.
“I was really nervous because I had a playoff hole sophomore year too, and I totally blew it,” said Johnson, who fell in a playoff to Caro’s Bailey Cockerill at the 2010 Final. “I hit my tee shot right and I was thinking, ‘Oh no, now I have to punch out.’ But I guess I hit a tree and it ended up in the middle of the fairway, so that was kinda good.
"I was excited because I had a tough day (Friday) and I needed to come back, and I did.”
Frankenmuth senior Kaitlyn Watkins, first individually after Friday’s round, finished tied with Crilley for fourth. Hackett junior Abby Jasiak shot a 180 to miss the top 10 by four strokes, and senior Abby Radomsky missed by six. But all five of the Fighting Irish shot 198 or lower for the tournament, and that balance allowed them to edge third-place Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian by three strokes.
All three top finishers graduate top players and significant chunks of their line-ups. But Setas didn’t take more than a few minutes to start thinking ahead to 2013.
“Three straight, it’s great, but I want to win one more if possible,” Setas said. “It’ll be hard because we’ll have a ton of new people from the junior varsity. But we’ll overcome it, hopefully.”
Also of note, Imlay City's Hannah Campbell scored a hole-in-one on No. 7. An individual qualifier, she finished the tournament with a two-day 216.
PHOTO: (Top) Lansing Catholic's Jacqueline Setas (left) and Kalamazoo Hackett's Abby Radomsky line up a putt during Saturday's final round. The Cougars finished first and the Fighting Irish runner-up. (Middle) Muskegon Catholic Central's Aya Johnson finished as the individual champion after defeating Setas in a one-hole tie-breaker. (Below) Hannah Campbell views her scorecard, which includes a notation for her hole-in-one. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)