Plymouth Emerges as Repeat D1 Champ
October 19, 2013
By Gary Kalahar
Special to Second Half
EAST LANSING – If it’s possible for a defending MHSAA champion to lay in the weeds, the Plymouth High School girls golf team pulled it off this weekend.
Some early-season struggles might have kept the Wildcats out of the discussion of title contenders. But when the time came, Plymouth was ready to repeat. Plymouth captured its second consecutive Lower Peninsula Division 1 championship, emerging from a knot of teams at the top on a cold and soggy Saturday at Forest Akers West.
Plymouth finished two rounds at 706, four strokes in front of Rochester Hills Stoney Creek and five ahead of Troy. Those three teams were among five bunched within four strokes – and nine within 15 strokes – after the first round.
“Everybody had a chance to win,” Plymouth senior Kayla Whatley said. “We knew every stroke was going to count, because there are some good teams here and they were going to improve (from the first day).”
Plymouth led by two strokes after the first round, played in decidedly better conditions than the high-40 temperatures, cool breeze and intermittent rain of the second round. The Wildcats turned the worst day of the fall into the best.
“This one is better,” Plymouth junior Sydney Murphy said. “No one was expecting us to come out on top, and we did. We weren’t doing so well at the beginning, but we kept working at it, and here we are. We succeeded.”
Murphy, Whatley and sophomore Katie Chipman all helped Plymouth win the title last year. But that success didn’t carry over to 2013, at least early on as Plymouth had to replace two all-state players, including MHSAA medalist Kelsey Murphy. Even heading into the Regional, Plymouth was ranked just 10th in Division 1 by the coaches association.
“We started playing well the first of October and rode it through,” Plymouth coach Dan Young said. “We kept improving. It’s hard to explain. They’ve always practiced hard, done what they’re supposed to do. For whatever reason, they started playing better. They’ve gotten better, and it’s been together as a team.”
Whatley, the only senior of the five Wildcats who played in the MHSAA Final, said the title was somewhat of a surprise.
“We really wanted to get it last year,” she said of Plymouth’s first championship. “We played much better all year long (last year).But after we won the conference, then we got excited, and we knew we had the potential to compete and win this.”
Even in the poor conditions, four of the five Plymouth golfers improved their scores from the first day. Murphy’s 77 was nine better, and Whatley’s 89 was a seven-stroke improvement.
“I needed to contribute to the team,” Murphy said about rebounding from her uncharacteristic first round. “It’s a team sport, and you all have to contribute what you can.”
“To her credit, she didn’t get down,” Young said. “Her attitude was tremendous. That’s what it’s all about. They all knew they had to come back and play better, and they did.”
Murphy’s ninth-place individual finish was Plymouth’s best, but the Wildcats’ depth was the difference. Katie Chipman totaled 166 and Alaina Strzalka 192 for Plymouth, which could have used its fifth-best score Saturday – Ariana Strzalka’s 103 – and still come out a winner.
For individual champion Lily Pendy, the single word on the back of her shirt – “Fight” – said it all.
Pendy, a senior at Grosse Pointe South playing in her fourth MHSAA Finals, fought through the conditions and won medalist honors with a 74-76—150. The pink shirts Pendy and her teammates sported bore inspirational words in honor of breast cancer awareness month and had special meaning for Pendy, whose mother, Megan, just finished cancer treatment.
“It shows what we’re playing for,” Pendy said. “This is really exciting. I did it for my team and my coach and my parents. Without them, I wouldn’t be here.”
After posting a sixth-place Finals finish last year and helping her team win the team championship in 2011, Pendy figured the top individual spot was attainable.
“I hadn’t thought about it too much, but I had it in the back of my head,” she said.
Pendy’s 74 in the first round put her three strokes in front, and she finished six clear of the field.
“I felt pressure,” Pendy said about carrying the lead into the second round. “I was nervous. I’m not going to lie. But I tried to turn the nerves into excitement.”
Elayna Bowser of Dearborn took second with a pair of 78s for 156. Emily White of Saline matched Pendy for the second day’s best round of 76 and finished third overall at 157.
“I convinced myself that I like playing in the rain,” Pendy said. “You have to have a good attitude about it. I played steady golf, par golf most of the way.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Plymouth players hoist the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 championship trophy for the second straight season. (Middle) A player launches an approach shot toward the green during Saturday's second round. (Click to see more from High School Sports Scene.)
Consistency Reigns as Northville, Okemos' Li Top Division 1 Finals Fields
By
Scott DeCamp
Special for MHSAA.com
October 19, 2024
BIG RAPIDS – Twenty-two years ago, Northville’s Kate (MacDonald) Schultz earned the medalist honor at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Girls Golf Final with Trish Murray as her head coach.
Schultz and Murray were side-by-side again Saturday, both as coaches, for another historic feat by the Northville program. Their Mustangs exhibited uncanny consistency in cruising to the Division 1 championship at Ferris State University’s Katke Golf Course.
“Truly special. (Murray) was my mentor, she was my high school coach 20-some years ago. It’s nice to be back here winning a state championship with her,” Schultz said.
All of Northville’s top four scorers posted two-day totals of 162 to tie for eighth individually and finish with a team score of 648 to clear runner-up Caledonia (692) by 44 shots. It was the Mustangs’ first Finals championship since 2021, when they capped a run of four straight.
Okemos senior Alena Li also displayed incredible consistency over the weekend with a pair of 73s en route to the medalist honor.
“I have no words right now …,” Schultz said with an incredulous laugh when asked to describe winning her first title as a head coach. “Kind of speechless.”
Murray interjected: “Ecstatic, ecstatic.”
“Excited,” Schultz continued. “We knew they could do it, but now that it’s happened, it’s real.”
Senior Sanya Singhal, sophomore Naaz Gill, and freshmen McKenzie Stevens and Cam Baker were in virtual lockstep for Northville. On Friday and Saturday, respectively, Singhal, Stevens, and Baker shot 80-82, respectively, while Gill went 82-80 in that order over the two days.
Romeo freshman Tula Puzzuoli finished second individually (150) and Caledonia senior Copelin O’Krangley took third (152). Rochester senior Madison Yang and junior Ananya Kumar were fourth (157) and fifth (160), respectively. Grand Ledge senior Isabel Kelly and Grand Blanc senior Sadie Kondel tied for sixth (161).
“I’m super excited to win the state championship. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, and I’m so proud of myself for being able to get it done,” said the left-handed Li, who in June won the Michigan Junior Girls’ State Amateur Championship.
Li’s fired three birdies during Friday’s round and two more Saturday on the way to her 2-over-par 146 overall score for the weekend.
Like Northville, it was all about consistency for Li.
“I think I was just trying to stay consistent and focused throughout my rounds since it’s a long round as well,” Li said. “Just focusing on each shot and what I wanted to do on each hole, and I was able to stay focused and consistent with my play. Trying to keep everything in the fairway and then just trying to hit the green and trying to set myself up for some birdie opportunities.
“I think winning some tournaments in the summer gave me a lot of confidence coming into the high school season. I was really confident with my game, and I was feeling good and it’s super exciting to win states for my senior season.”
As one of two senior captains on the Northville team, Singhal was “overjoyed” to finish her high school career in grand fashion. Singhal stressed the fact that every shot matters, and that’s how the Mustangs played throughout their special season.
It was all about the mindset, according to Murray.
“That was the one thing we really said, going in, we really wanted to think about, ‘Hey, let’s play like we’re down five. Never let up. Just grind it out, battle, keep it going, and just try to finish strong, and widen that margin,’” said Murray, who was Northville’s first girls golf coach when the program launched in 1991. She stepped down from coaching in 2004 after retiring from the school district.
Speaking of history and the 2002 season, that was the year Caledonia claimed its Division 2 title. This weekend marked the highest finish for the Fighting Scots since that season.
“There is a little bit of unbelievability just because we knew that we could play this way, but the fact that they showed up and actually did it is just total excitement – sadness that it’s over, but I’m just so proud of these girls,” Caledonia coach Veronica Van Wagoner said. “I’m really, really proud of them.”
Macomb Dakota finished third (703) as a team, 2022 and 2023 champ Rochester Adams was fourth (704), and Okemos fifth (711) to round out the top five squads.
Singhal believes the Northville program’s success comes down to coaching. She said the Mustangs’ practices are very good, and the coaches have a knack for delivering effective pep talks.
Those things instill confidence in the team, said Singhal, who could not have drawn up a better finish to her high school career.
“I’m so excited,” she said. “For the last four years, I’ve always wanted to be a part of this, so I’m so glad that we ended it off like this.”
In Schultz’s opinion, it’s all about the Mustangs’ players, who never let the coaches down.
In Schultz’s words, they showed grit and determination. They took what they wanted and by large margins throughout the season.
“Our two captains, seniors, really led the team well. One of them was in the top (eight). Two freshmen and a sophomore being in the top (eight) is unheard of,” said Schultz, in her third year as head coach. “I look forward to continue building that tradition, and hopefully we can get four more in a row. That would be great.”
PHOTOS (Top) Northville’s Sanya Singhal lines up a putt during Friday’s first round at Katke at Ferris State. (Middle) Okemos' Alena Li. (Below) A competitor chips out of the Katke sand. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)