Potential Unleashed, Adams Pursues Title
By
Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
September 30, 2020
Time will tell how the Rochester Adams girls golf team will be judged this season.
But oh, what a ride it’s been so far.
Remarkably, Adams placed first in all seven of its tournaments heading into Wednesday’s Oakland County Invitational. In two of Adams’ tournament wins (at Hartland and Midland invitationals), the Highlanders bested then top-ranked and reigning LP Division 1 champion Northville. Adams has since moved to No. 1 In Division 1 with Plymouth No. 2 and Northville No. 3 according to the Michigan Interscholastic Golf Coaches Association.
To suggest that this was a fluke is bunk. It’s possible for a team, or an individual, to complete that once-in-a-lifetime 18-hole round and finish on top. But seven times? Consecutively! Remarkable indeed.
Adams coach Jeff Kutschman knew this team had potential. So did his golfers. Last season Adams won its first three tournaments and finished a more-than-respectable seventh at the MHSAA Division 1 Final. That represented Adams’ first appearance in a Final since 2011, when it placed 14th. The Highlanders also placed second in the county meet and at Regionals in 2019. And they won the Oakland Activities Association White, the program’s first league title in 20 years.
Adams graduated two of its top five in the spring, but the two freshmen who replaced them are rising stars.
“We’ve got a bunch of trophies on the kitchen counter,” Kutschman said. “I told the girls, last year when we won those first three (that) this was amazing. (After the seven tournaments) I tempered them. They’re pretty grounded. I don’t have to tell them not to have a big head.
“The girls continue to impress me. I’m amazed at what they’ve done. And they’ve worked hard. (During) practice they’re constantly working on different parts of their game. After practice I’ll leave and they’ll text me and say things like I just made 250 putts from four feet because I wasn’t happy with my putts from that range.
“They know the game. They’re students of the game.”
Kutschman, an Adams graduate and teacher at Hart Middle School in Rochester, is in his fourth season as head coach. Five of his 10 golfers are seniors, but just one – Carly Ortwine, a captain – is among the top five. The other top players are junior Alyssa Fodale, sophomore Grace Wang and the two freshmen, Laura Liu and Fodale’s sister, Katie.
Liu leads the team in scoring average; Wang is second. Each was medalist twice during those first seven tournaments, and each placed second twice.
As fierce as the competition has been in the tournaments, the rivalry, though friendly, among Liu, Wang, Ortwine, et al, has only added to this season’s theatre.
“The girls have had an internal competition, which has been good,” Kutschman said. “The girls are constantly saying I want my teammates to do better and, at the same time, they want to be the one with the best score.”
Ortwine agreed, adding, “We all want to be the best. When one of the girls will come in with a low score, we all get excited. Then another will come in with a better score, and we get even more excited.”
An example took place at the Jackson Area Invitational where Liu was medalist with a 76, Wang placed second with an 80, Ortwine was third with an 81 and Katie Fodale was next with an 83.
The competition within this group is pretty intense.
Adams has racked up the miles this season travelling to Frankenmuth (Patriot Cup at The Fortress), Hartland (Hartland Glenn Golf Course), Jackson (Cascades Golf Course) and Midland (Dow Invitational at Midland Country Club). These rather long trips give the teammates more chances to interact, bond, and opportunities to play different courses thus providing new challenges.
For her part, Ortwine has made significant strides since her freshman season. She shot 89 at the Regional as a junior, which placed her in a tie for 13th. At the Division 1 Final at Forest Akers West in East Lansing, arguably the most demanding of the four courses to host a Finals last season, Ortwine carded a two-day total of 179 (87-92) helping her team to that fine finish.
This season she opened with a 78, 78 and a 77 before slipping to an 89 at the Patriot Cup. Ortwine rebounded with an 81 at Cascades and an 84 at the challenging Katke-Cousins Golf Course at Oakland University, then came in with a disappointing 90 in Midland.
“I’ve had some downfalls in my career,” Ortwine said. “Sometimes when you play (poorly) you get frustrated. Our coach does a good job of keeping us positive. We all support each other.
“We’re definitely close. Last year we had a pool party together. It’s important to step away and talk about other things, away from golf.”
With the MHSAA Tournament fast approaching – Adams’ Regional is scheduled to be played Oct. 7 with the Final on Oct. 16 at Forest Akers East – there’s pressure to play your best when so much is at stake.
For many years Adams has played in the shadow of city rival Rochester High. The Falcons have won four MHSAA titles, the most recent in 2016. Adams is seeking its first Finals championship, with the Highlanders’ most recent run at the top spot a runner-up finish in 1999.
Adams' 2020 tournament streak ended Wednesday, as the Highlanders finished third at Fieldstone Golf Club in Auburn Hills to Bloomfield Hills Marian and South Lyon, the top-ranked team in Lower Peninsula Division 3 and No. 2 team in LP Division 2, respectively.
Adams can start another tournament streak at Monday's league finale, and the Highlanders plan to take this season's final steps one at a time. Ortwine is optimistic with regards to her team’s chances in October, but isn’t looking past the tasks at hand.
“”I’m definitely motivated to win a state championship,” she said. “But we’re not thinking about that right now. We’re concentrating on winning a league title, then moving on to the Regionals.”
Tom Markowski is a correspondent for the State Champs! Sports Network and previously directed its web coverage. He also covered primarily high school sports for the The Detroit News from 1984-2014, focusing on the Detroit area and contributing to statewide coverage of football and basketball. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Grace Wang watches a drive sail during Wednesday’s Oakland County Invitational. (Middle) Rochester’s Adams’ top five golfers, from left: Alyssa Fodale, Carly Ortwine, Wang, Katie Fodale and Laura Liu. (Photos courtesy of the Adams girls golf program.)
No Heartbreak This Time as Rochester Rises
October 15, 2016
By Tom Kendra
Special for Second Half
EAST LANSING – Every high school golf coach reminds his or her team that “every stroke counts.”
The exception is Rochester girls golf coach Jeff Haney, because his team has learned that lesson first-hand over the past three seasons.
Rochester missed out on making it to the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Girls Golf Division 1 Final by four strokes in 2013, then by two strokes in 2014 and, last year, the Falcons lost out to Traverse City West for the championship on a fifth-player score tie-breaker.
That cumulative heartbreak fueled plenty of extra desire this fall for Rochester, which certainly made every stroke count in a 21-shot victory over Novi for the Division 1 title Saturday at windswept Forest Akers East in East Lansing.
“Oh yes, because of what’s happened the past few years, it’s very easy for me to get their attention on the importance of every single shot,” said Haney, who guided the Falcons to their third Finals championship in the past nine years, and fourth overall. “These girls have all shaved strokes off their average from the start of the year, which is why we were able to win it.”
Rochester registered the lowest team scores in the 18-team field on both Friday (310) and Saturday (308), for a 618 total. Novi was second at 639, followed by Bloomfield Hills (648), 2015 champion Traverse City West (652) and Saline (661).
The Falcons were paced by senior standout and fifth-place individual Brooke Busse (73-75-148), but the real secret to their success was depth. Exhibit A was the Falcons’ fifth golfer, junior Keri Yang (83-83-166), whose total was 15 shots better than any other team’s No. 5 player.
Senior Veronica Haque (75-75-150) placed eighth overall and was followed closely by her freshman sister, Savannah Haque (79-79-158), and senior Erica Yang (84-79-163).
“I’m just very relieved that it’s over and that we did it,” said Busse, who was part of all three years of Finals-related heartbreak for the Falcons. “We knew we could do it, and we were really focused on staying positive. A big key is that we putted better (Saturday), and that’s why we shaved a few strokes off our total from the first day.”
Rochester actually extended its lead in Saturday’s final round, just the opposite of last year when unranked Traverse City West charged from five strokes back to tie for the top spot, eventually winning on the tie-breaker. Since neither Rochester nor Traverse City West had a senior in their lineup last fall, the stage was set for a rematch.
While the lower half of the West lineup struggled, sophomore Anika Dy certainly did her part for the Titans.
Dy, who placed second last year as a freshman, finished 1-under par with rounds of 72 and 71 for a 143 total, two shots better than Clarkston senior Meghan Deardorff (74-71-145) and Bloomfield Hills sophomore Mikaela Schulz (72-73-145).
Novi senior Alexa Hatz (147) shot a sizzling 3-under par 69 on Saturday – the best round of the tournament – which moved her up to fourth overall and powered her team to a surprising second-place overall finish. Also placing in the top 10 for the Wildcats was junior Abby Livingston, who shot 151 and tied for ninth.
Other individuals in the top 10 were Grand Blanc senior Cammi Lucia (149) and Ann Arbor Skyline senior Jami Laude (149), who tied for sixth, and Lake Orion senior Moyea Russell (151) and Rochester Hills Stoney Creek senior Lauren Ingle (151), who tied for ninth.
But the story of the weekend was the continued surge by Rochester, which just one week ago set the state girls golf record for postseason scoring with a 289 total at Twin Lakes Golf Course in Oakland Township.
That Regional performance was an incredible achievement for a Rochester program that has had plenty of highlights in recent years. The Falcons have finished in the top 10 at the Finals 16 times over the past 21 years, with four MHSAA titles (the others coming in 2002, 2008 and 2009) and three runner-up finishes (2005, 2007 and 2015).
Haney said it was huge to validate that Regional performance by staying hot and winning the program’s first Finals title in seven years.
“It’s a big relief to tell you the truth,” said Haney, whose team was able to handle the increasing winds on Saturday, which were more of a factor on the more open East course than Forest Akers West. “There are some great teams and great individuals in Division 1 that we battle with all the time. This team definitely earned it.”
PHOTO: (Top) Rochester's Veronica Haque putts during Saturday's second round at the Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final. (Middle) Traverse City West's Anika Dy watches a drive during her round; she finished as individual medalist. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)