Northville, West's Dy Cap Remarkable Runs
October 20, 2018
By Matt Schoch
Special for Second Half
BATTLE CREEK – Mother Nature kept extending the illustrious high school golf career of Traverse City West’s Anika Dy on Saturday.
But all good things must come to an end.
More than eight hours after teeing up at Bedford Valley Golf Course, Dy sank the final putt of her even-par 72 round to earn her third straight MHSAA Lower Peninsula Girls Golf Finals Division 1 title by six strokes.
It came on a blustery and rainy fall Michigan day that tested the resolve of golfers across the state and caused more than two hours of delays in Battle Creek.
“You can’t complain about it or whine about it. You just take it for what it is and be positive,” Dy said. “It was hard, not going to lie. It was a mental grind more than anything.
“Yeah, it was rainy, cold, windy, snowy, whatever, but It’s up (in your head) where it’s the hardest.”
Dy finished at 4-under 140 for the two-day event, which was weather delayed twice Saturday.
Northville dominated the team competition, closing an undefeated season by topping Kensington Lakes Activities Association rival Plymouth by 31 strokes.
Northville shot 312 on Saturday, combining with a 318 from Friday for 630.
In the week leading up to the tournament, Northville coach Chris Cronin asked the Mustangs to share a reason for why they were playing in the Finals.
“Every girl that’s playing on the state team sent back the note that they’re playing for their teammates,” Cronin said. “That was huge. I knew at that point we couldn’t lose because that’s what you shoot for as a high school coach.
“They’ve been close like that all year. That’s what made it really just extraordinarily special.”
Northville was led by sophomore Nicole Whatley, who took fourth as an individual after shooting even-par 72 despite the conditions, tying Dy for the day while playing alongside her in the final group.
“We’re definitely really close,” Whatley said about her team after carding four birdies on Saturday. “We’ve been so close together, non-stop, every single day. We just fell in love with the game and each other.”
The title was the Mustangs' first. But Northville will be the team to beat next year, as Mariella Simoncini is the lone graduating senior.
Simoncini, who said she will sign next month with Oakland University, took 13th with 163. Junior Sufna Gill tied for fifth at 155, sophomore Katelyn Tokarz tied for 20th at 168, and junior Sedona Shipka tied for 25th at 170.
Led by Dy, TC West, the reigning champion and winner of two of the previous three championships, took third at 664, three shots behind Plymouth.
Meanwhile, Dy joins four other Michigan high school golfers to win three individual Finals championships since the MHSAA began sponsoring the sport in 1973. The others are Maple City Glen Lake’s Nichole Cox (2014-16), Okemos’ Elle Nichols (2011-13) and Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Kate Loy (1993-95) – and Pontiac Notre Dame Prep’s Danielle Staskowski won her third Division 3 championship Saturday.
The final round for the University of Michigan commit, who plans to sign with the Wolverines next month, was not without its tough moments.
On hole seven, Dy aggressively went for the par-5 green on her second shot, ending in a greenside bunker.
Dy then went up and down from there, nailing a 15-foot putt for her second of two birdies on the day and seventh for the tournament.
“I hit that clutch putt,” Dy said. “It was not a day for birdies, so I really treasured that one.
“I think that was one of those moments to keep the momentum going.”
Then, after the second weather delay, Dy had trouble finding her ball among the leaves on the 16th hole, although she eventually tracked it down – on the fairway, of course.
She managed to par, then did the same on 17 and 18 to close her career and a season where she won every event but one, a tournament in Alpena where she was nudged by her younger sister, Anci Dy.
“The one on 18 I’m going to remember for a while, because I knew it was my last hole as a high schooler,” Anika Dy said. “It was like 8 feet, it wasn’t an easy putt, and I made it and it just felt really good.”
Dy, the two-time reigning Miss Golf recipient by the Michigan Interscholastic Golf Coaches Association, could become the first player to win the honor three times.
After missing out on a Finals title as a freshman by one shot, Dy won by two shots in 2016, eight shots last season and topped second-place Mikaela Schulz, a senior from Bloomfield Hills, by six shots Saturday.
Utica Eisenhower sophomore Ariel Chang, who shot 1-under 71 on Friday, took third at 148. Whatley was fourth at 149, and her teammate Gill, a junior, tied Anci Dy – Anika’s sophomore sister from TC West – for fifth at 155.
“It’s been so much fun,” Anci Dy said of playing with her sister. “I’m going to miss her.
“I don’t think she has a bad bone against anybody here, ever. She’s just so supportive. She’s very humble, which is something a lot of us just admire her for.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Northville’s Nicole Whatley watches an approach during Saturday’s second round of the Division 1 Final at Bedford Valley. (Middle) Anika Dy follows through on a shot on the way to claiming her third individual Finals title. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Manistique Celebrates 2nd-Straight Finals Medalist, 1st Team Title Since 2015
By
Jason Juno
Special for MHSAA.com
May 31, 2023
NORWAY – After finishing runner-up to her teammate by one stroke last year, it was Nora Cunningham’s turn to be an Upper Peninsula Finals champion.
But more important to her was the fact that she and Macy Green, last year’s UP Division 2 medalist, led Manistique to a team championship Wednesday at Oak Crest.
“It feels really good,” Cunningham said of her individual achievement. “Above all, though, I think the team win definitely feels the best. Last year we ended up good individually, but the team win was our ultimate goal, so it was nice to get that this year.”
Manistique finished with a score of 455 for its first UP Finals title since 2015, and after the Emeralds finished fifth last spring. Bark River-Harris was runner-up with a 501.
Cunningham – who tied for second individually in 2022 – shot a 101 this time to finish three strokes ahead of Bark River-Harris’ Ava McDonough. Green and Manistique teammate Maddy Maline both carded 107s.
Oak Crest played tougher than it looked, Cunningham said. There’s a lot of trees, and she lost balls in the rough. She had a couple of rough holes, carding an 8 and a 9, but kept them to a minimum.
“I think I had really consistent drives, and then I just tried to take it hole by hole and not get too frustrated,” she said. “I had some rough holes, but I just bounced back from them.”
Her game is even better than it was last year.
“Nora has added an extreme amount of distance off the tee,” Manistique coach Tim Noble said. “She’s really hitting drives past most everyone else. And it’s allowed her short game to flourish because she doesn't have to hit those mid irons like she used to.”
It had to be a happy ride back to Manistique after a hot day on the golf course. The boys team also won the UPD2 title, and the Emeralds’ Ryan McEvers was medalist.
Pretty much all the hardware went to Manistique.
“It is excellent that we both have the U.P. title, really good for the town of Manistique,” Noble said. “One of our better sports; we usually do pretty well in golf.”
He said he knew a team sweep was possible, but he had more confidence in the girls thanks to Cunningham and Green, who had great days both last year and this year.
“It’s nice to see Nora and Macy really have some success,” Noble said. “Macy picked it up as a sophomore, she learned to golf (after being a really good softball player). Nora’s going for college golf. It’s nice to see her go out on top.”
Cunningham signed to golf at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio.
Bark River-Harris’ Ella Boney and West Iron County’s Kya Dallavalle both finished with 115s to round out the top five.
PHOTOS (Top) Manistique’s Nora Cunningham tees off during her round Wednesday at Oak Crest. (Middle) Bark River-Harris’ Ella Boney hits out of the sand during her UPD2 Final round. (Below) Macy Green tees off for the Emeralds. (Photos by Jason Juno.)