Preview: Finals Filled with Opportunity
October 19, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Five of 12 teams occupying top-three spots in this week’s Michigan Interscholastic Golf Coaches Association state polls have never won an MHSAA championship.
That fact alone sets this up to be a weekend of change. But there are other factors to consider heading into the Lower Peninsula Girls Golf Finals.
We’re guaranteed at least one new champion, with reigning Division 4 winner Macomb Lutheran North moving into Division 3 this fall. We’ve also had the same Division 3 winner for three straight seasons – Spring Lake – and a number of contenders will join Lutheran North in trying to put an end to that streak.
Divisions 1 and 2 feature four of the five teams noted above that have never won at this highest level. But in Division 2 at least, a returning champ is expected to reign again – Midland Dow is back as the favorite after claiming its first title just a year ago.
See below for golfers to watch at all four MHSAA Finals this weekend, and come back Saturday evening for coverage of all four championship tournaments on Second Half. Click for a list of all Finals qualifiers and Regional scores from last week.
LP Division 1 at The Meadows at Grand Valley State University
Top-ranked: 1. Saline, 2. Brighton, 3. Northville.
Arguably the best golf in the state this fall has been played in the pocket of Livingston, Oakland and Washtenaw counties home to these contenders. Now, history could follow. Saline’s last championship came in 2010, while Brighton and Northville are seeking a first MHSAA title. Saline did finish fifth a year ago, when Brighton tied for seventh at Forest Akers East, and those two have been the top-ranked teams in Division 1 for the last month.
Saline: The Hornets were third after the first round of last year’s Final and have carried that strong play through this fall. They won their Regional last week at Lake Forest in Ann Arbor by 15 strokes ahead of Northville and third-place, No. 4-ranked Plymouth. Saline’s lineup of five seniors included four who finished among the top 13, led by medalist Catherine Loftus (76), fifth-place Molly Pribble and sixth-place Sydney Page. Those three and 13th-place Stephanie Schick were the top four during last season’s Finals weekend as well.
Brighton: The Bulldogs cleared the Regional field at Oak Pointe in Brighton by 30 strokes, shooting a 309. All five players finished among the top 17 individuals, with junior Annie Pietila first at 72, senior Heather Fortushniak second at 76, junior Autumn Blaney fourth and freshman Maggie Pietila tied for fifth. Fortushniak, Pietila, Blaney and Sophie Lowe all were part of last season’s lineup as well.
Northville: As mentioned above, Northville finished second at Lake Forest last week and with two freshmen scoring after the team missed last season’s Final by only two strokes. All five Mustangs finished among the top 28 individuals this time, and only the fifth scorer is a senior. Junior Mariella Simoncini led the way in third place and freshman Nicole Whatley came in fourth against another strong field.
Other individuals of note: Traverse City West junior Anika Dy is the reigning individual champion and also finished runner-up as a freshman, and she leads a team that also could push back into contention after winning the title in 2015. Bloomfield Hills junior Mikaela Schulz was third individually last season, only two stroke back, while Novi senior Abby Livingston is back as an individual qualifier after tying for ninth in 2016. In addition to some of the other likely contenders mentioned above, a pair of freshmen broke 80 at Regionals and could be ones to watch. Utica Eisenhower’s Ariel Chang shot a 73 to win at Twin Lakes in Oakland Township, and Dy’s sister Anci followed Anika shooting a 76 to finish second at their Regional at Sunnybrook in Grandville. Schulz and Farmington Hills Mercy junior Sophie VanderWeele also were Regional medalists last week.
LP Division 2 at Battle Creek’s Bedford Valley
Top-ranked: 1. Midland Dow, 2. Muskegon Reeths-Puffer, 3. St. Joseph.
Midland Dow won last season’s Division 2 Final by 48 strokes – to claim the Chargers’ first MHSAA championship in this sport – and they’ve been ranked No. 1 in every poll this fall. Muskegon Reeths-Puffer steadily has climbed over the course of the season and is seeking its first championship, as is St. Joseph – they finished eighth and fourth, respectively, in 2016.
Midland Dow: Only two of last season’s five golfers are back this fall, but they have plenty of help. Senior Alexis Carras was the Finals runner-up to her older sister Stephanie last fall and finished seventh at Dow’s Regional last week at Midland’s Currie West, and senior Giacomina Fabiano also is back after shooting the team’s third-lowest score during the 2016 title run. Junior teammate Rose Hami came in sixth at this year’s Regional, senior Tatum Matthews also tied for seventh and junior Meghan Killmaster tied for 14th as all five Chargers finished among the top 23.
Muskegon Reeths-Puffer: The Rockets have blasted into the title conversation over the last month and shot the division’s lowest Regional score, 328, in winning last week at Lincoln Golf Club in Muskegon. Reeths-Puffer edged No. 5 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern by four strokes with four players finishing among the top seven – junior Karina VanDuinen was runner-up with a 79, with senior Karlee Hallberg third, junior Avery Howard tied for fourth and sophomore Abby Fansler tied for seventh. VanDuinen was the Finals champion in 2015 as an individual qualifier. Howard was eighth individually at last year’s Final as she, VanDuinen, Hallberg and junior Emma Veihl all were part of the lineup.
St. Joseph: The Bears also were Regional champions, by 15 strokes at Stonehedge North in Augusta, with all five players finishing among the top 19 individuals. Regional medalist Cailey Rooker (76) placed fourth at last season’s Final, while seniors Maddie Wright and Katie Schmidt also were part of the lineup in 2016. Wright was seventh at this year’s Regional.
Other individuals of note: Port Huron senior Megan Randolph and Grosse Pointe North junior Meghan Gallagher tied for sixth at last season’s Final, and Birmingham Seaholm junior Hailey Roovers was ninth. Gallagher and Roovers both won Regional championships last week, as did DeWitt senior Elaina DeRose, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern freshman Lilia Henkel and Alpena senior Courtney Nunneley. South Lyon senior Elizabeth Harding was 10th at the 2015 Final and missed the top 10 last season by a stroke in leading her team to a third-place finish. Bloomfield Hills Marian freshman Shannon Kennedy shot a 78 to finish second to Roovers at their Regional last week at Huron Meadows in Brighton.
LP Division 3 at Michigan State’s Forest Akers West
Top-ranked: 1. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 2. Macomb Lutheran North, 3. Detroit Country Day.
Spring Lake has won the last three LPD3 championships but enters this weekend ranked only No. 8. Cranbrook Kingswood and Country Day were fifth and fourth, respectively, at last year’s Final, and this division got even stronger with reigning LPD4 champion Lutheran North joining the group this fall coming off a 36-stroke title win. Cranbrook Kingswood beat Lutheran North by a stroke in a September match.
Cranbrook Kingswood: The Cranes will bring back the entire lineup this weekend that finished only five strokes out of third place a year ago, including seniors Kate Cao and Carmen Chan, who placed sixth and tied for 10th individually in 2016. They tied for third and finished second, respectively, as the team won its Regional last week at West Shore in Grosse Ile. In addition, junior Katheryn Cohen tied for fifth as all five Cranbrook golfers placed among the top 14.
Lutheran North: The team’s top three Regional shooters – seniors Serena Nguyen and Grace Farquhar and junior Kaity Rittner – all were part of last season’s LPD4 championship lineup, Nguyen finishing fourth and Rittner tying for eighth individually. They’ll return to Forest Akers West, which hosted LPD4 a year ago, and after winning the Regional at Heather Hills in Romeo by four strokes ahead of No. 4 Flint Powers Catholic. Nguyen was the Regional medalist shooting a 70, and Rittner was third.
Country Day: The Yellowjackets were six strokes back of Cranbrook at West Shore with three players among the top nine and four among the top 12. Senior Lucy Liu tied for third at the Regional and junior Kristina Roberts was fifth after both competed at last season’s Final, and Liu is the only senior among the team’s top five. Liu and Roberts also were part of the lineup that finished fourth at the 2015 Final.
Other individuals of note: This is the most loaded individual field this weekend. Including returning LPD4 champion Nguyen and placer Rittner, this Final will feature eight players who were top-10 finishers in 2016. In addition to the Lutheran North pair and Cranbrook’s Cao and Chan, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep junior Danielle Staskowski won the LPD3 individual championship last season after a one-hole playoff. Grand Rapids South Christian junior Natalie Samdal was third, while Spring Lake senior Madelyn Nelson tied for eighth and junior teammate Hannah Klein tied for 10th. Klein and Nelson were first and second at their Regional last week at Katke in Big Rapids, while Samdal, Staskowski (ahead of Chan, Cao and Liu), Marshall sophomore Karlee Malone and Three Rivers senior Erin Taylor also won Regional titles.
LP Division 4 at Michigan State’s Forest Akers East
Top-ranked: 1. Kalamazoo Hackett, 2. Jackson Lumen Christi, 3. Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian.
With Lutheran North moving into Division 3, there’s sure to be a new champion – and 2014-15 back-to-back winner Hackett enters as the favorite. Last season’s runner-up Livonia Ladywood also didn’t qualify as a full team, so Hackett is the highest returning placer as well after coming in third in 2016. Lumen Christi came in sixth and NorthPointe Christian was 10th; the Titans are playing for their first girls golf title since 2004, and NorthPointe is seeking its first championship in the sport having fallen two strokes shy in 2013.
Kalamazoo Hackett: Although the Irish graduated last season’s individual co-runner-up, they return the other four golfers who played on that third-place team. Hackett won its Regional at Milham Park in Kalamazoo by 14 strokes ahead of NorthPointe Christian and 17 ahead of No. 4-ranked North Muskegon, with those four returning golfers all placing among the top nine. Junior Emily Stull led the way in second, while junior Jessie Wenzel was fourth and lone senior Molly Clark tied for fifth.
Lumen Christi: Similar to Hackett, five of six players from last season’s Finals lineup (including both who split the fifth spot) are back for this weekend. Senior Geraldine Berkemeier missed the individual top 10 last year by two strokes, but she finished second to junior teammate Hillary Ziemba at last week’s Regional at The Medalist in Marshall. The Titans won by 23 strokes ahead of a field that also advanced No. 8 East Jackson and No. 10 Napoleon.
NorthPointe Christian: The Mustangs also bring back an experienced group, with four starters from last year’s Final in the lineup and joined by a standout freshman. Four NorthPointe golfers placed between fifth and ninth at the Regional at Milham Park, with junior Annelies Kraayeveld coming in fifth and freshman Sabrina Langerak next on the team in seventh.
Other individuals of note: This could be a wide-open race. With Macomb Lutheran North moving to LPD3, Livonia Ladywood senior Gabriella Scopone is the only returning top-10 finisher from last season after she tied for eighth. In addition to Lumen Christi’s Ziemba, Scopone also won a Regional last week as did Brooklyn Columbia Central junior Alissa Fish, North Muskegon junior Abby Grevel, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart senior Ayesha Mohan and Manistee senior Alice Fink-Jensen. Stull’s 82 to follow up Grevel’s 79 at Milham Park was among the five lowest Regional scores in all of LPD4, as was Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest junior Grace VanDellen’s 82 to finish second to Scopone’s 81 at Eagle Crest in Ypsilanti. Fish shot an 80 to win at Concord Hills.
PHOTO: Macomb Lutheran North's Serena Nguyen lines up a putt during last season's LPD4 Final; her team finished first and will try to win again this season in LPD3. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Powers Rises, NDP Star Claims 3rd Title
October 20, 2018
By Jason Schmitt
Special for Second Half
EAST LANSING – Jack Snow was a longtime fixture with the Flint Powers Catholic golf program – a mainstay who helped build the girls program into one of the best in the state of Michigan.
He wasn’t at Forest Akers East in East Lansing on Saturday as the Chargers captured the Lower Peninsula Division 3 championship. But somewhere from up above he was smiling down as his younger brother, Jim, was leading his team to another MHSAA Finals title.
Jack passed away two summers ago. He started the girls golf program at the school and won three championships during his nearly-20 year tenure. The Chargers’ championship on Saturday was Jim Snow’s third with the program – matching his oldest brother’s total.
“He was the one who got me into the program to begin with, when the boys needed a JV coach,” said Jim, who took over the program from his wife, Michelle, back in 2006. “I’ve always had it in the back of my mind that I wanted to match (his three championships). He always joked with me, saying, ‘When you get three, come talk to me.’”
Jim won the first two of his titles in back-to-back years (2007-08). Jack won his in 1989 and again in 1993-94. Jack is in the Michigan Coaches’ Hall of Fame.
Snow’s team finished fifth at last year’s Finals, but returned four of five starters this season – so expectations were high for the top-ranked Chargers. Over the weekend that experience overwhelmed the rest of the field. Powers shot a 328 on Friday and followed it up with a 331 on Saturday, good for a two-day total of 659. Those scores were the two best the Chargers have shot this season.
Sophomore Jolie Brochu led the way with her 152, which landed her atop the leaderboard at the end of the tournament, along with Pontiac Notre Dame Prep’s Danielle Staskowski. The Irish senior bested Brochu in the first hole of the playoff.
Junior Maggie Knight’s 156 was fourth best, while senior Gina Canavesio (176), junior Olivia Canaday and freshman Allie Sexton all contributed to their team’s season-best performances. Canavesio’s 80 on Day 1 was a career-best, while Canaday’s 86 on Saturday was her best round of the year.
“This was a fantastic team effort,” Snow said. “I’ve never been happier for Gina. She played the round of her life on Friday. It really helped us build a solid lead. I’m going to miss her because she was my sidekick out there on the golf course.
“Everybody kind of gelled this week as a team, and it was fantastic.”
The Chargers had a 21-shot lead over Freeland after Friday’s first round. The two teams tied at last week’s Regional tournament, where Powers won the tie-breaker with the fifth golfer’s score. Freeland, led by senior Olivia Pumford’s 163, finished third this weekend. Grand Rapids South Christian shot a 333 on Saturday to slide into second place. Junior Maddie Wieringa (161) and senior Natalie Samdal (166) finished fifth and eighth, respectively, to lead the Sailors.
Detroit Country Day finished fourth (714), and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood and Pontiac Notre Dame Prep tied for fifth (725).
Staskowski won her third consecutive individual title, beating out Brochu in the playoff. Staskowski, who also won in 2016 in a playoff, came from two strokes down after Day 1 to force the playoff with Brochu.
In the playoff, the two golfers returned to the first hole, where Staskowski hit the back of the green with her approach and parred the hole to win it.
By winning her third straight individual title, Staskowski joined some rare company. She became the fifth Lower Peninsula girl to win three Finals championships, joining Traverse City West’s Anika Dy, who won her third straight Division 1 title earlier Saturday, along with Maple City Glen Lake’s Nichole Cox (2014-16), Okemos’ Elle Nichols (2011-13) and Ann Arbor Pioneer’s Kate Loy (1993-95).
Country Day senior Kristina Roberts was third overall with a 154. Marshall’s Karlee Malone was fifth (161), while Wieringa, Pumford, Samdal, Spring Lake’s Hannah Klein (166), Carleton Airport’s Kristen Reed (168), Marysville’s Madeline Blum (168) and Big Rapids’ Hope Thebo (168) rounded out the top 10.
All golfers battled extreme weather conditions over the weekend, particularly on Saturday.
“We’ve probably had worse weather, but it’s been a long time since we’ve seen what we did on Saturday,” said Snow, speaking of the below-40 temperatures and periods of sleet, which halted play on two occasions. “In that weather, to hang in there. The scores that we had were absolutely phenomenal in those conditions.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Flint Powers Catholic freshman Alexandra Sexton tees off during the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals. (Middle) Pontiac Notre Dame Prep’s Danielle Staskowski sends a drive during Saturday’s second round. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)