Performance: TC West's Anika Dy
October 25, 2017
Anika Dy
Traverse City West junior – Golf
The now two-time reigning Lower Peninsula Division 1 champion claimed her second straight MHSAA individual title and led West to its second team championship in three seasons Friday and Saturday to earn the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
Dy shot a two-day 141 to best the field at The Meadows at Grand Valley State University by eight strokes, leading off with a first-round 69. Her 141 tied the fourth-lowest 36-hole score in MHSAA Girls Golf Finals history, and she became only the 11th golfer to break 70 for an 18-hole Finals round. West’s team score of 626 was 22 strokes lower than the field and ranked third all-time in Lower Peninsula/Class A Finals history. Next season Dy will play to become only the fourth in MHSAA history to win three Lower Peninsula girls golf individual titles – and she also finished runner-up as a freshman by only a stroke.
Her numbers this entire season were similarly incredible. Dy averaged 69.6 strokes for 18 holes and shot no worse than par in any of her rounds with only two double bogies the entire fall. Outside the high school season, she made the Michigan Women’s Amateur Championship semifinals this summer and played in the United States Golf Association Women’s State Team Championship in New Mexico alongside her sister Anci, a freshman on West’s team this fall who tied for sixth at last weekend’s MHSAA Final. Anika Dy already has committed to continue her golf career at University of Michigan, and she carries a 4.0 grade-point average.
Coach Karl Gagnon said: “She works harder than any golfer I have been around. She will practice at 7 a.m. before school just to make sure she gets her practice time in. And as good a golfer as she is, she is a better person. She is humble and never fails to tell the kids she plays with she enjoyed playing with them. She encourages everyone she plays with. At the same time, she has that competitive fire in her. The first day of state finals, she came off the course so upset with her round. She felt anger she didn’t play better. I asked her what she shot. She gave me her card … 69. I said, ‘Are you kidding?’ But that’s Anika. Always wanting to do better.”
Performance Point: “It’s still kind of a shock. Honestly it was a goal to go there and win, but I still can’t wrap my head around it – especially since it’s our second win as a team in the last three years,” Dy said. “I was on a roll (during the first round). I didn’t really know what I was doing. I just kept going with it. The second day was a different story. I struggled a little more. But that first day was really, really, really fun. (Putting) definitely lowered my score a little bit because my long game wasn’t there to back it up. … (The championships) were all special in their own ways, but this year was maybe a little more special because my sister was on the team, so it was fun to share that experience with her. And doing it a second time around just really lets me know what I’m doing is working. It’s really helped my confidence going through this year and for next season too.”
Ready to represent: “One of our seniors really, really stepped up, Megan Jenkinson. I’m so proud of how she played; those were probably her best two rounds this whole season (Jenkinson tied for ninth). We prepared really well, and we just came together as a team. We were in such a good mindset, and it just worked out in the end. We always like to joke about representing the northern Michigan side of things because we’re so far away, and not many other teams know that we’re up here sometimes. So when we come down, we like to show them what we’ve got and make a run for it.”
Sister act: “Just growing up together (with Anci) playing golf and everything is really fun, and we never got to actually play on a team before in a competitive setting. So just to be able to do that and experience it for the first time was fun and exciting and new. Neither of (our parents) play golf. I got into it because of my dad, but he only stuck with it for a year and quit, but I kept going with it. It’s funny because people are always like, ‘Neither of your parents golf?’ and I’m like, ‘No, it’s just us two.’ To be honest, I was more interested in the golf carts before I was interested in golf, but eventually my dad got me clubs and I just kept with it because I loved it so much, just competing.”
See a different game: “I just love watching golf, whoever is playing, just because those are the best people, on the TV. And obviously there’s a reason why they’re the best. So you can always learn something from their long game, short game, mental game, whatever it is; those are the best players and you can definitely learn something from any of them. I think I watch to see their strategy and what they do so I can kinda imitate them and see what works for me, because obviously it works for them – so maybe it will help get my game to the next level as well.”
Golf and grades: “My parents are always school first and then golf, so in order for me to do what I love I have to do well in school as well. They’re pretty strict with my grades and school and all of that. They understand though that I’m really busy with golf and school, so they kinda cut me some slack sometimes. I think (golf and academics) go hand in hand. They both teach you discipline and time management, which is important for college because you do also miss a lot of school when you go to tournaments, so I think it’s preparing me well for that college experience.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2017-18 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2017-18 honorees:
October 19: Andrew Zhang, Bloomfield Hills tennis - Read
October 12: Nolan Fugate, Grand Rapids Catholic Central football - Read
October 5: Marissa Ackerman, Munising tennis - Read
September 28: Minh Le, Portage Central soccer - Read
September 21: Olivia Theis, Lansing Catholic cross country - Read
September 14: Maddy Chinn, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep volleyball - Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Traverse City West's Anika Dy watches one of her drives during last weekend's LP Division 1 Final at The Meadows. (Middle) Dy tests the strength of the wind before an approach shot. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Medalist Scott Leads Escanaba Charge Back to Top of UPD1 Leaderboard
By
Jack Hall
Special for MHSAA.com
May 29, 2024
CHAMPION – Escanaba is back on top in high school girls golf after winning the MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 1 championship Wednesday at the Wawonowin Country Club.
The Eskymos won their fifth Finals title since 2016 by defeating last year's champion, Kingsford, by 22 strokes (399-421). Negaunee was third, 23 strokes back (422).
“It's been an up-and-down season,” Escanaba coach Jake Berlinski said. “It's a short season. The girls have worked so hard and in the end of it, we came through. The girls played great when it mattered the most. That's all you can ask for.”
Escanaba was led by sophomore Kamrie Scott, who won the medalist honor by shooting an 83. She was eight shots clear of runners-up Grace Maki (Kingsford) and Abby Dart (Houghton), who both carded 91s.
“This course, there are some holes that are tough, but I think I played it pretty well,” Scott said. “I was hitting them straight, and my putting was good, so things were going well. I was just going for the pin today. I was making putts, so it was working.”
Maki battled over the final four holes to earn a share of the runner-up honor for the Flivvers, and for herself, personally.
“I love this course,” Maki said. “I had some struggles. I had some 6s out there, but I did my best. My best hole was actually No. 2, which I birdied.”
Negaunee's Kennidy Glasheen and Marquette's Abby Luke finished tied for fourth, both with 96s. It was the last U.P. Finals for Luke, who made an impression with a hole-in-one at the 2023 championship tournament held on the ultra-tough Sage Run Golf Course.
The only other sub-100 score this time around was turned in by Escanaba senior Maddie Wilson, who carded a 97 to finish in the sixth spot. It was her fourth UP Finals, and by far her highest finish on the leaderboard.
“It feels good, but it's a little bit sad,” Wilson said. “I'm glad we were able to pull away for our last year. Personally, for me, I just tried to stay really positive, and not get myself down during a bad shot. And especially tried not to get tired toward the end, because walking 18 holes is a lot. And I really focused on my putting today, which I feel helped me in the long run.”
Kingsford came out of nowhere in 2023 to win its first girls golf U.P. title in school history, and this year the Flivvers rallied down the stretch to take second place ahead of Negaunee. The Miners occupied second spot for most of the round before the Flivvers ended up with the runner-up trophy by one stroke.
“We saw the course was playing tough, across the board; top to bottom, scores were a little higher than normal,” Kingsford coach Ryan Pepin said. “The girls battled right to the end. We weren't sure how it was going to finish up. We're really proud of them. Great season.”
Pepin had just four golfers this year (three seniors and one sophomore), but they still managed to win the majority of their matches in the Great Northern Conference during the regular season.
“Our girls performed well,” Pepin said. “We went to battle every time with only four. Our seniors had great careers, the last two years, especially.”
Negaunee coach Dustin Hongisto said it was a great day for his group of Miners.
“I felt they played awesome,” Hongisto said. “They were just kind of a step back from these (top) teams all year, but all five of them played awesome today. I was really proud of my No. 1 girl, Kennidy. She shot her low round of the year. The fact that they lost by one at the end was a bummer, but I'm proud of them.”
Scott says it felt great to win the individual medalist honor, but she was even happier that the whole Escanaba team pulled through.
“I'm really proud of us,” she said. “We worked really hard this year, and it paid off. Just staying positive, and I think that helped us.”
Fellow Eskymos senior Sophia Derkos, playing in her fourth U.P. Final, summed it up.
“We work really good as a team,” she said. “We're very positive toward each other. There's a lot of hazards on this course, like waters and trees. I was just trying not to hit 'em in it, and it was hard, but we made it!
PHOTOS (Top) Escanaba’s Lilly VanDamme lines up a putt during the Upper Peninsula Division 1 Final at Wawonowin Country Club. (Middle) Kingsford’s Ela Rizzo sends an approach shot during her round Wednesday. (Photos by Jack Hall.)