Work Paves Way for Stellar Northville Start
September 14, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Stick with it. Work hard. Have faith in yourself, and good things will happen.
The Northville girls golf team has been making good on those promises – and putting it lightly, lots of good things have come their way over the first month of this fall season.
The first MHSAA/Applebee’s Team of the Month for 2018-19 has won all six tournaments it’s played this season, including five in August, while posting incredible scores against elite competition.
That the Mustangs are succeeding isn’t shocking – they did finish fourth at last year’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final, and return five of their top six players from that team. But with a quarter century of coaching cross country and now golf, Chris Cronin knows it takes more for a high school team to reach its potential – and why it’s not just by chance that his golfers have tapped into theirs during a blistering start.
“We had 11 girls return from last year’s team. Every one of those girls took it upon themselves to really work,” Cronin said. “They worked on their swing, a lot of them have additional coaches, they played a lot of summer tournaments. They just got themselves in a position to be playing their best golf.”
Northville opened the season shooting a 304 to win the Orangetheory Fitness Invitational at Hudson Mills in Dexter – with sophomore Nicole Whatley shooting a 1-under 71 to tie for individual medalist.
Next up was the Aug. 20 Sentech Services Tournament at Kensington Metropark, and a performance Cronin called “awe-inspiring.” The Mustangs shot a 291, breaking the previous team record of 313 shot last fall, with Whatley leading the way with a 5-under 67.
“I think it was one of those days where as a team they played as good as they could possibly play,” Cronin said. “The reaction from the other players at that tournament, they didn’t have to say much. It was jaw-dropping.”
Northville went on win the Kensington Lakes Activities Association Preseason Invitational (318), Brighton’s Coach Miller Invitational (307), Saline’s Invitational (333) and last weekend added the Farmington Invitational in 305 strokes, the second-lowest team score in program history. The Mustangs also won the Mason Invitational with a 308 using a mix of players from their “A” and “B” lineups.
Cronin believes he has the deepest team in the state, and it’s a strong argument. Senior Mariella Simoncini is the lone senior among the "A" lineup, and she missed the individual top 10 at last year’s Final by a stroke. Whatley and sophomore Katelyn Tokarz and juniors Sufna Gill and Sedona Shipka all contributed to last season’s fourth-place finish at The Meadows at Grand Valley State, and freshman Megha Vallabhaneni has played her way into the top group this fall.
The Mustangs took their seventh player to the Saline Invitational, and she finished 24th overall. All of that talent makes for a competitive atmosphere – and raises the level of play for the entire team.
In addition to the team’s 291 round, the latest individual achievement by Simoncini struck Cronin as particularly special so far. She shot a career-best 3-under 67 to lead the Farmington effort last weekend and place first individually, “and as a coach, you always want to see when the hard work pays off. She does so much for us on so many different levels with leadership and setting the tone for the girls, talking them through everything from rules … she’s awesome.”
Surely more highlights are on the way. Northville shot a 306 on Saturday to win the Top 50 Invitational at Battle Creek's Bedford Valley ahead of many of the state's best teams. The Mustangs play in arguably the toughest golf league in the state, and have one more invite at Bloomfield Hills Marian.
Regionals are in a month – kicking off an opportunity to play again for the program’s first MHSAA Finals championship.
“We talk a lot in the program about expectations, but opportunities. And we knew we’d have an opportunity to be good this year,” Cronin said. “If you wanted to be part of that opportunity, it was going to require you to do some work. And they did the work.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Northville’s Mariella Simoncini follows through on a wedge shot during play this fall. (Middle) The Mustangs’ winning lineup from one of its August events, from left: Nicole Whatley, Sedona Shipka, Megha Vallabhaneni, Katelyn Tokarz and Sufna Gill. (Photos by Debbie Stein.)
Westwood's Aces Finish with Four
June 21, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Neither Megan Manninen nor Berkley LaFreniere had seen their complete body of work all in one place before coach Jared Koski laid it out on a table at Ishpeming Westwood’s girls golf team banquet earlier this month.
Standing tall among a number of accolades were four MHSAA Finals championship trophies.
“It was exciting. It was the first time I really saw them all together,” LaFreniere said. “It’s a great accomplishment. Coming into high school, I didn’t think anything of (being able to do) it.”
Only a few have achieved that feat. It’s the fourth such streak in 35 years of the Upper Peninsula Girls Finals.
But what makes this one stand out is that the championships came across two divisions – the Upper Peninsula is split into three – with Westwood, a school of roughly 350 students, winning three in Division 2 and the fourth in Division 1 against schools with two and three times more students.
The first three titles were won by nearly the same group of players. Three new ones filled in this spring. And the constants on all four were Manninen and LaFreniere, the recipients of Second Half's final High 5s of 2011-12.
Three times – in 2009, 2011 and this season – Manninen was medalist. This spring, she won with an 87, while LaFreniere finished second with a 90.
They’ve been good friends since first grade and grew closer still when both started playing more basketball together during sixth. Manninen was the Patriots’ 5-foot-4 point guard during the winter, and LaFreniere, at 5-9, was one of her post players.
LaFreniere also played No. 1 doubles in the fall as Westwood's tennis team won its third-straight MHSAA Finals in that sport. And Manninen has signed to play hoops next season at Lake Superior State University.
“Golf is a game where you’re out there alone. You either get it or you don’t … and they’re used to that pressure,” said Koski, who also is Manninen’s uncle. “They’re competitive, and academically also, fighting for grades and standing in their class and in (National) Honors Society. They are a little more seasoned.”
Despite a season often affected by weather – Koski said his players usually don’t get outside until April, and the Finals this spring were May 31 and June 1 – Manninen and LaFreniere both averaged 45.3 strokes for nine holes.
And Manninen continued her strong play despite missing nearly three weeks of practice while traveling to the University of Michigan hospital to visit another uncle and huge sports supporter, Jamie Reichardt, before he died May 14.
Those hospital trips helped Manninen decide to pursue a degree in pre-med. And that sad event led to one of the most touching stories of this spring’s tournaments. At the Final at Newberry Country Club, Manninen carried in her bag a sleeve of balls that had belonged to her uncle and were labeled with his nickname “Colonel.”
She played the entire 18 holes using just one ball.
“That was some extra motivation,” Manninen said. “I told myself I couldn’t lose that ball.”
Both girls got their golfing starts at Wawonowin Country Club in Champion, about three miles west of Ishpeming – Manninen’s father Kevin manages the course and LaFreniere’s father Paul is a longtime member. The girls grew up playing Marquette County Junior Golf Association events together. Both got their toughest individual competition from each other most of the last few seasons, but neither thought about it that way.
Their performances at the top made a difference throughout the line-up. Koski said the pair would build a 20-stroke lead against the opposing top-two players, which allowed the Patriots’ 3-5 players to work on holding their own instead of facing pressure to put up a low number.
“They drive themselves the best they can,” Koski said. “They’re both good students, and they know how to make good decisions on the course. (And) they don’t like to lose.”
Click to read more about their favorite players and future plans.
PHOTOS: (Top) Ishpeming Westwood's Berkley LaFreniere and Megan Manninen pose after all four of the Patriots' Finals wins in 2009, 2010, 2011 and this spring. (Middle above) LaFreniere finished runner-up at this season's Final at Newberry Country Club. (Middle below) Manninen won her third individual championship this spring, this time shooting an 87. (Bottom) LaFreniere (left) and Manninen pose with their four trophies and various other accolades during the team banquet earlier this month.
