Reigning Champions Raise the Bar
May 29, 2013
By Stephen Anderson
Special to Second Half
HOUGHTON — The Houghton girls golf team won its third straight MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 1 title Wednesday, and Marquette’s Avery Rochester won her second straight medalist honor.
But both raised the bar to new heights, including a U.P. Finals record for Rochester.
The Gremlins compiled a 347 team score, compared to Marquette’s second-place 365. Houghton’s title-winning score in 2012 was 365, and in 2011 it was 374.
“Three straight years where we haven’t lost a meet – that’s real impressive,” Houghton girls coach Corey Markham said. “That just shows the quality of golfers these girls are. … They’ve been so consistent. You couldn’t ask for more than that.”
Megan Kelly paced the Gremlins with an 82, while No. 3 golfer Noelle Polakowski tallied an 84 (the next lowest score by a No. 3 golfer was 103), and Bailey Raffaelli, Houghton’s only senior, shot an 88. Even No. 4 golfer Kenna Farrey shot a 93, good for eighth place overall of the 42 counted scores.
“Going three years and not losing a meet, not losing U.P.’s, it’s a huge honor,” Kelly said. “… It gave us a huge advantage this year having it on our home course.”
But, even playing at Portage Lake Golf Course, the final result was momentarily in doubt as results slowly trickled in. With all Marquette and Houghton scores posted on the board outside the clubhouse except for Polakowski’s, the Redmen held a slight edge – until her 84 clinched the Gremlins’ win.
“I think we all had a goal to break 90,” Polakowski said. “For the most part we did that. … It was our course, and we were ready to go.”
But nobody dominated the par-72 course like Rochester, who set a girls’ U.P. Finals record with a 3-under 69 — two strokes better than the top boys’ score, and just one stroke off the girls MHSAA all-Finals record round (68 by Grandville’s Stacy Snider in 1998).
“It was the best round of my life,” said Rochester, whose previous best round was a 76. The previous U.P. Finals record was 79, set in 2011 by Marquette standout and four-time U.P. Finals medalist Carly Saint-Onge. Rochester was medalist in 2012 with an 82.
“My drives were really good, and my approach shots were right on,” said Rochester, who tallied her first career eagle on the par-5 second hole, her fourth hole of the day. “My drive was about 220 yards. Then my second shot I used a 5-hybrid, hit that to about 30 yards from the green, then a soft sand wedge. It hit once and went straight in the cup,” she said. “… That really pumped me up and got me playing better.”
She shot an even-par 36 over her first nine holes with a pair of bogeys being the worst scores of her round.
“When my coach told me she shot a 36, I thought I wouldn’t be able to touch that,” said Kelly, who entered the day as a medalist contender for the host Gremlins. “Then when she got a 33 (on the last nine), that’s amazing. She’s an awesome golfer.”
Rochester nearly tallied a hole in one on the par-3 14th hole, but the golf ball lipped out.
She was the youngest champion in the 86-year history of the Upper Peninsula Ladies Golf Association tournament last July, and she plans to play golf at Columbia College in Missouri this fall.
“It would have been a great way to end my last year winning as a team too, but I couldn’t have asked for more from the girls on my team,” Rochester said.
Marquette coach Ben Smith said his team’s best previous score was about 400, and the team has failed to record a team score in several meets due to having fewer than four golfers.
“The team result, obviously you want to win whenever you go out. But Houghton shot a great score to take home the title,” Smith said. “We did a good job to hang right in there.”
Sophomore Katie Pryor and freshman Sydney Higgins both shot 95s for Marquette, while Hannah Compton rounded out the top four Redmen scores with a 103.
Just as Marquette came together as a team at just the right time, the weather in Houghton shaped up when it mattered. PLGC opened May 14, its latest opening on record, and for Copper Country teams the golf season was shorter than three weeks due to the long winter.
Wednesday temperatures were about 70 degrees with a light breeze under partly
cloudy skies.
Escanaba finished in third place with a 389, led by Kelsey Motto and Jalyn Dagenais’ 92s. Gladstone was fourth with 410 strokes with Callie Jensen tying with Polakowski for third place individually with an 84.
Menominee (436), Calumet (443), Kingsford (514), Ishpeming-Westwood (587) and Negaunee (652) rounded out the team rankings.
PHOTOS: (Top) Marquette's Avery Rochester watches her drive on the 16th hole at Portage Lake Golf Course. She birdied the par-4 hole to cap her 3-under 69 round, an Upper Peninsula Girls Finals record. (Middle) Houghton's Megan Kelly watches her drive off the 10th tee. She finished second individually with an 82, leading the Gremlins' run to a third straight team title. (Photos by Stephen Anderson.)
Forest Hills Northern Reigns Again in D2
October 20, 2018
By Jason Schmitt
Special for Second Half
EAST LANSING – Tough weather conditions are a golfer’s worst enemy. That’s particularly the case when the pressure is at its peak – like at the MHSAA Finals.
But thanks to a great first day of golf Friday, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern didn’t have to worry about the conditions, as the Huskies relied on their 1-2-3 punch of Kay Zubkus, Lilia Henkel and Anna Fay to cruise to their second consecutive Lower Peninsula Division 2 championship Saturday afternoon on the Forest Akers West course at Michigan State University.
Coach Kent Graves’ Huskies shot a two-day total of 656, beating out regional rival Muskegon Reeths-Puffer (680) by 24 strokes. Zubkus topped Northern with a score of 151. The senior beat out Okemos freshman Allison Cui on the first playoff hole to win the individual title. Both players overcame a four-stroke deficit after the first day, with each shooting a 73 to force their playoff.
“Obviously you want everyone chasing you; it takes a lot of the pressure off, maybe allows us to not press as much as maybe we would be coming from behind,” said Graves, whose team beat out Birmingham Marian for the title a year ago. “So to have that big lead after the first day, it’s tough to beat that.”
Northern fired a team score of 332 Friday afternoon, building a 17-shot advantage over Reeths-Puffer. A week earlier, the Rockets defeated Northern in Regional play, firing a state-best score of 310. But this weekend, the Huskies were just too good.
“Northern played really well (Friday). They came to play,” Reeths-Puffer assistant coach Brennan Hallberg said. “It was windy, not quite like it was today, but their top four girls all had good rounds and unfortunately our top four girls had their worst rounds of the season. We had high hopes for this weekend, but (overcoming) a 17-shot deficit is a tall order.”
Reeths-Puffer entered the tournament ranked No. 1 and was on a roll after winning the Regional title. Despite falling a little short, the Rockets by no means had a bad tournament. Senior Karina VanDuinen shot a 161, good for eighth place for the weekend. Her younger sister, Karlie, had a 168, with senior Avery Howard (172) and junior Abby Fansler (179) also scoring for the team.
Still, it was not enough to prevent the Huskies from winning their second straight – and third overall – Finals title. Henkel fired a 153, which tied for third overall with reigning individual champion Shannon Kennedy of Marian. Fay’s 162 was good for a top-10 finish.
“We won last year, and we graduated five seniors,” Graves said. “Kay, Lilia and Anna were my returners. Those three were the heart and soul of our team this year. We had five girls off the JV team come up, and they taught them how to play. They taught them how to win.”
For Zubkus, the day was extra special. The senior, who finished tied for 10th a year ago, rallied on Saturday to force the playoff with Cui. It was the third time Zubkus had played in a playoff. The first two times did not go so well. The third time was the charm.
“Last year, my good friend (Kennedy) was four shots back going into the second day, and she text me last night and said, ‘Four back’s the number. It’s a good place to be.’
“Today I was just out there trying to put up a score that I was proud of because in past state championships I haven’t really done that. It was pretty miserable out there, but I made the best of it.”
Like all the golfers, Zubkus was able to overcome the weather elements, which at times included sub-40 degree weather, hail and sleet. Twice the golfers were called off the course due to lightning and unplayable course conditions.
Finishing behind Zubkus, Cui, Kennedy and Henkel was Fenton senior Charlotte Cunaud, who shot a 156 to finish fifth overall. Rounding out the top 10 were Cailey Rooker of St. Joseph (158), Mia Sooch of Farmington Hills Mercy (159), VanDuinen, Fay and Hailey Roovers of Birmingham Seaholm (166).
Cui’s runner-up finish helped her Chiefs place third overall at 697. Mercy was fourth (724) and Marian fifth (730). Rounding out the top 10 were Fenton (731), Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central (733), South Lyon (743), St. Joseph (765) and Petoskey (767).
PHOTOS: (Top) Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern holds up its championship trophy after a long Saturday in Division 2. (Middle) Okemos’ Allison Cui hits an approach during Friday’s first round. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)