Glen Lake's Champ Sets Sights Higher

September 9, 2015

By Dennis Chase
Special for Second Half

TRAVERSE CITY – The ball landed on the green a few feet past and left of the hole.

One hundred and eleven yards away, at the tee box on the 11th hole at the Katke Golf Course in Big Rapids, Glen Lake's Nichole Cox squinted through the bright sunshine on this late August day to see where she would putt for birdie.

Turns out, there would be no birdie putt. The backspin Cox put on the ball with her pitching wedge, coupled with the slope of the green, drew the ball right to the cup. Just like that, the defending Lower Peninsula Division 4 champion had her first career hole-in-one en route to a personal-best 3-under 69 in winning the Cardinal Invitational.

That shot typifies Cox's torrid pre-Labor Day start to the 2015 season. Four matches, four impressive victories, including the two-day, 36-hole Lober Classic at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa. Cox shot rounds of 71 and 76 on the Spruce Run and Wolverine courses to take the title by two strokes over Brighton's Annie Pietila, who had led by three shots after opening with a 68.

"It was crazy," Cox said. "I was proud of myself. That was my goal (to win the tournament)."

Glen Lake was the smallest school in the 26-team field.

"I think that might be the best competition we'll see until the state tournament," Lakers coach Paul Christiansen said.

The 17-year-old Cox also won two matches at Mistwood. She fired an even-par 71 to claim the Traverse City West Titan Invitational by nine strokes and then came back a few days later with a 1-under 70 to capture a triangular match by 13 strokes.

Of her five 18-hole rounds, she's played four at par or under par.

"She's pretty motivated," Christiansen said. "She is her own toughest critic. She has high expectations. She'll say her goal is to win every match this year."

To do that, Cox said she's had to sharpen her focus. She said she no longer worries about her score during a match. Instead, she is more intent on the "simple things," like making sure she hits the fairways and greens. The rest, she said, will take care of itself.

"I've been making a lot more up and downs," the junior said. "I feel good about it right now."

Always known as a long ball hitter off the tee, Cox has steadily improved as a putter.

"I can basically two-putt from anywhere (on the green)," she said. "I don't three-putt much. That's a big step from last year."

She's also had her share of one-putts, knocking down a number of long birdie attempts.

Her putting has been aided by a stronger approach game, thanks to a new set of Callaway Apex irons she put in her bag before the season.

"(The switch) was mostly to control her iron play, trajectory and distance," Scott Wilson, her swing coach in the Junior Elite program at Crystal Mountain, said. "She dialed in almost immediately. Certainly that's a concern when you make an equipment change like that (before the season), but it was the right fit for her. I wish we would have done it sooner."

Cox, who was third in LP Division 4 as a freshman, enjoyed a solid summer on the links, competing in the Michigan Women's Open and Michigan Amateur, where she reached the Sweet 16.

"Every year she just gets better," her father, Duane, said. "She's playing with more confidence. It's not just one thing that's getting better, everything is getting better. Her numbers this year are so much better – and they were good last year."

Christiansen said it's fun to watch her play.

"Really good players have their own swing coaches, and I don't want to mess that up," he said. "I think you can have too many voices. My job is to keep her relaxed, keep her in the moment, keep her level-headed so she's not too hard on herself. You have to be able to let a bad shot go."

Christiansen maneuvers around the course to watch all of his golfers during a match, so he's not with Cox constantly.

"That's one cool thing about golf, unlike some other sports where the coach is with you 100 percent of the time," he said. "You've got to adjust to situations yourself and learn course management. She's played so much golf, she's really good at figuring out what she's doing right and wrong."

Cox has been around the game for years. When she and her twin brother Brandon were in kindergarten, their parents bought a home with a driving range. The family has operated the Dune Valley Driving Range the last 10 years. It's across the road from the Dunes Golf Club, which the family plays regularly.

"I thought it would be a great place for kids to grow up," Duane said.

Cox edged Farwell's Bria Colosky by one stroke to win last season’s MHSAA Final with a 36-hole score of 159. They and two others entered the second round tied for first at 83, but Cox shot a 76, to Colosky’s 77, to finish the competition.

"I thought I lost it because I double-bogeyed my last hole," Cox said. "I was pretty convinced I blew it for myself. I was surprised that I won."

Cox would like to take that surprise element out of the equation this year.

"The goal is to get better every match so that next month she's ready to roll (in the MHSAA tournament)," Christiansen said.

Dennis Chase worked 32 years as a sportswriter at the Traverse City Record-Eagle, including as sports editor from 2000-14. 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) Maple City Glen Lake's Nichole Cox watches a shot during last season's Lower Peninsula Division 4 Final. (Middle) Cox unloads a tee shot during another 2014 event. (Middle photo courtesy of Glen Lake High School.)

Wind, Hail Can't Stop Repeat Champs

October 20, 2018

By Steve Vedder
Special for Second Half
 

ALLENDALE – Ignoring the worst actually brought out the best in Alissa Fish.

The Brooklyn Columbia Central senior thumbed her nose at woeful conditions to successfully defend her Lower Peninsula Division 4 girls golf championship Saturday at The Meadows on the Grand Valley State campus. Fish finished with a two-day total of 162 to outdistance runner-up Hillary Ziemba of Jackson Lumen Christi, who finished with a 167.

The brutal weather conditions featured frigid temperatures in the mid-40s, a bone-chilling high wind warning, bouts of thunder and lightning which caused a long delay and even sideways hail.

Not a problem, said Fish, who admitted she's never played in worse conditions after shooting a 5-over par 77 on Friday and an 85 on Saturday.

"It was pretty tough," she said. "You just have to get lost in your shot. If the wind is blowing in your face, you've still got to make the shot. You have to hit the ball like the conditions were normal.

"(Friday) I was satisfied with how I played. The weather was worse today, but I still expected to do better. I won but I left (some shots) out there."

While Fish successfully retained the individual title, Harbor Springs also won back-to-back team championships by shooting a two-day 362-368-730. Shepherd was runner-up with a 369-381-750. North Muskegon was third with a 381-373-754 and Kalamazoo Hackett, the tournament leader after the first day, was fourth at 359-398-757.

Harbor Springs coach Pete Kelbel agreed with Fish that the conditions were miserable. But his players, including four veterans from last year's club, were able to overcome the wind and rain. They also faced a tough field as North Muskegon returned all five players from last year's fourth-place finisher and was ranked No. 1 in the state. In addition, six of last year's top 10 individual placers returned.

"It was the worst two days weather-wise I've seen," he said. “My hats off to Grand Valley for their work. The course was wonderful, but you couldn't pay people to play today."

Kelbel said the goal of repeating actually began after winning the 2017 tournament. Four of the leading scorers returned this fall, including four-year varsity seniors Callie O'Neill and Madi Bezilla, who tied for eighth this weekend with 175s.

The Rams won seven of 10 tournaments they entered this season, losing only to reigning Division 1 champ Traverse City West and Shepherd.

"It's very hard to repeat, especially when the weather gets like this," Kelbel said. "We knew we had four girls back, so we knew we could be good. We were fortunate to have them back."

Kelbel said battling the conditions was as much mental as physical.

"It was a mental toughness thing," he said. "We have a shorter season, so we're playing when the courses open in the spring."

Fish said she didn't necessarily feel pressure in her bid to win back-to-back titles. Battling the weather was no help, but she said players have to overcome whatever conditions are presented. In addition to the two Division 4 titles, Fish was a three-time conference and Regional champ. Of the team's seven tournaments this season, she won six.

"It's not always about winning; it's about wanting to play well,"' she said. "You have to get lost in the moment. Pressure makes it more fun – I like pressure, that's what I play for. I thrive on pressure."

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PHOTOS: (Top) Harbor Springs senior Madi Bezilla follows her shot during Saturday’s second round of the Lower Peninsula Division 4 Final at The Meadows. (Middle) Brooklyn Columbia Central’s Alissa Fish lines up a putt. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)