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.)
Cass Tech Makes History, Hopes to Inspire Future City Teams with Finals Trip
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
October 26, 2023
EAST LANSING – Players and coaches on the Detroit Cass Tech girls golf team did all they could to soak it in, but this had nothing to do with all the rain that plagued Forest Akers West during the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Girls Golf Final over the weekend.
Instead, everyone associated with the Technicians was doing all they could to soak in the experience and finish off a journey that not only illustrated how far the team had come, but also how far they want to go in the future.
It’s believed that Cass Tech sent the first high school girls golf team from the city of Detroit to qualify for an MHSAA Finals in the sport.
“It was very meaningful to make it as a team,” said Cass Tech senior Kennedy Watts. “It showed we can succeed, we are making progress and growing.”
The achievement was remarkable for a program that started just three years ago and still faces some obstacles.
The team doesn’t have a home course and has had to rely on alumni donations to purchase necessary equipment.
“It’s pretty hard for the girls to practice a bunker shot if they’ve never practiced a bunker shot before because we have no home course,” Cass Tech head coach Martin Siml said. “It’s like playing basketball without a basketball court. It’s like playing in somebody’s backyard and then showing up to compete on the basketball court.”
Cass Tech conducts practice sessions at the Royal Oak Golf Center, but was able to compete in various dual matches and tournaments throughout the year, including invitationals in Brighton, Rochester and Traverse City.
“Just not having the basic resources, but still being able to come and perform and be able to be here at states, is one of the best things,” said junior Sydney Evans.
The most memorable tournament obviously was the Regional at West Shore Golf & Country Club in Grosse Ile. The Technicians made history that day, punching their ticket to the Finals by finishing second with a score of 398. The top three teams at Regional events qualify.
From there, it was a whirlwind of preparation leading up to last weekend’s trip to East Lansing.
When word of the team’s accomplishment got out, the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press were among media to feature the team.
Retired Detroit Lions wide receiver and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Calvin Johnson even showed up at a practice to offer congratulations and support.
At the Final, Cass Tech finished 17th behind Watts, Evans, sophomore Sienna Hawkins, senior Kalista Bennett and junior Nyla Joseph.
More important than competing at the Final was the bar the team set going forward by simply being there.
Not only does the program hope future teams qualifying becomes the norm, but that other programs in the city and Detroit Public School League will be inspired.
“I think the girls coming after us, they are going to have that legacy to go behind,” Evans said. “It’s something to strive for as well.”
Siml for one doesn’t shy away from having lofty ambitions for the future.
“I told them I want to start a dynasty,” Siml said. “That’s my goal. At Cass Tech, we have dynasties. We have basketball, we have football. We try to make dynasties.”
Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties
PHOTO The Detroit Cass Tech girls golf team celebrates qualifying for the MHSAA Final from its LPD1 Regional. (Middle) The Technicians' Nyla Joseph putts during the Final. (Top photo courtesy of Faye Watts. Middle photo by High School Sports Scene.)