Lutheran North advances to state golf finals
Cranbrook Kingswood and Lutheran North are both headed to the state Division 3 girls golf finals at Michigan State’s Forest Akers East course, but the Cranes were the ones doing most of the celebrating after Tuesday’s regional round at HeatherHills Golf Club.
Cranbrook took first place with a teamscore of 355. Goodrich took second at 365 and North, which qualified for the state meet for the 10th year in a row, shot 369 to grab the final qualifying spot.
Lutheran North’s Lauren Timpf and Regina’s Charlotte Thibault tied for medalist honors with 78.
“Our last couple events were in the rain and cold,” said Cranbrook coach JohnMinnich. “These were good conditions for us so we were ready to play. We knew that if we played our game and didn’t get too wrapped up with what was going on, we’d do well.”
Minnich had some words of advice for his team.
“We knew we were going to hit some good shots and there would be some three putts out there because of the severity of the greens,” he said. “Don’t get too excited about anything. If you three-putt, that’s OK because a lot of people are three-putting today. Just stay focused, try to hit good shots and we’ll count them up at the end.”
The Mustangs’ performance wasn’t quite as sharp as it was last week when North won theMacomb County Invitational.
“If we had shot our average for the season, we would have won the region,” said North coach John Bergmann. “Sometimes it’s not the worst thing to not put forth our best effort and still get by.
“It would have been nice to see the girls play better today. They felt confident coming in. Our putting and our short game was off. I don’t know if it was because it was cold in themorning and they just didn’t adjust or if the greens were a little faster.”
Natasha Samsonov led Cranbrook with an 82. Julia Frykman (89), Ashley Cong (90) and Katherine Li (94) were the Cranes’ other scorers.
“Natasha has been very consistent all year,” Minnich said. “She can put a 74 or 75 on the board at any time.”
Following Timpf in the North scoring were Julia Zauel (91), Sarah Doletzky (99) and Aileen Cosentino (101).
Madeline Swett was the top scorer for Goodrich with 86.
Thibault will be an individual qualifier in the state meet because the Saddelites finished fourth with a 377 total.
“I got a little stressed out at the end fromthe pressure of being able to see my score on line,” said the Regina junior. “I was plus two going into the last five holes, but it was still good. It was a fun round. No sand traps, which is nice. I just tried to stay calmand stay focused.
“It was one of my better rounds, for sure. My entry shots, getting on the greens in regulation was a big difference. My putting was pretty good. It’s a lot better this year. It’s just a lot of going to the practice green every day and doing little drills.”
Timpf, a freshman, said that she had to do a lot of grinding for her score.
“I left a lot of strokes out there,” she said. “Putting was one of my weaker parts today. I three-putted three greens in a row. That was pretty sad to see. Chipping saved me. I definitely did a lot of up and down.”
The co-medalists are both looking forward to the state finals on Oct. 17.
“Going to state my first year is a huge privilege and honor,” Timpf said. “I think it would be amazing to go out there and shoot the lights out. My ultimate goal is to win states. It would be great to do it as a freshman.
“I’ve played Forest Akers East many times in GAMtournaments. I know I have to play well to beat Shannon Kennedy (of Marian). She’ll be my No. 1 competition.”
Thibault finished eighth in the state last season.
“It means a lot to go,” she said. “I wish I could have my team with me, but it’s still fun to go as an individual. At states, the pressure is off. I’mjust going to have a good time.”
Minnich knows that defending champion Marian will be the team to beat, however, he thinks the Cranes have a chance.
“We need everything to come together,” he said. “If all our players play their best games, we have a chance to win states. That’s our goal. We have two weeks to practice. We’ll try to get everythingfinetuned and see what we can do.”
Bergmann said that some of his players have donewell at Forest Akers.
“A couple of our girls have won events there,” he said. “Maybe states will be a bounce back for us.”
Volleyball FRASER 25-25-25, MARYSVILLE 20-22-17
Ashlyn Baker served eight consecutive points as Fraser rallied from a 7-2 deficit in the third set, and the Ramblers went on to the victory that raised their MAC White record to 5-0. Jenna Kopick’s ace gave host Fraser a 16-10 lead.
Baker was 17-of-17 serving for 11 points. Erica Gregory was 17-of-17 for 12 points, including two aces.
Madison Grace had 13 kills on her birthday, and Cassidy Victor and Heather McMenamin had six kills and five, respectively.
UTICA 22-23-25-25-15, PORT HURON NORTHERN 25-25-16-24-13
Kayla Jacob made 15 kills and 31 digs to spark Utica, which rallied after losing the first two sets. Alyssa Jacob made 23 serve receptions and Jacob had 17. Alaina Mancini made five kills; Abby Kochanowski 13 digs and seven points; Alyssa Pulizzi 13 digs and eight kills; Lexi Maxwell seven kills; Bri Rowoldt 25 assists, and Shelby Skrzypczak 17 digs. Utica is 4-2 in the MAC White and 8-2 overall.
LAKE SHORE 25-25-26, STERLING HEIGHTS 11-23-24
Setter Samaia Cotton served 15 points, including seven aces, and she had 10 assists and a kill in Lake Shore’s sweep. Rachell Stepanenko had four aces among seven points, and freshman Riley Lane seven digs with four points. The Shorians are 2-2 in the MAC Gold and 3-4 overall.
PORT HURON25-25-25, LAKEVIEW21-23-19
Lakeview freshman Ella Jensen was 11-of-12 serving with four aces and 13 digs in her varsity debut. Ally Prasnjak had seven kills; Morgan Kimm six kills, and Allison hill 19 digs plus 24 serve receptions. Lakeview is 0-2 and 3-5.
“My hitters struggled early and late in the games,” Lakeview coach Tom Pfeifer said. “We had 24 unforced hitting errors tonight and that’s just not going to put us in a position to win close games. This team has lost so many close games In our shortened season, I hope we canbouncebackbefore it’s toolate.”
Tennis
ARMADA4, YALE 4
• SINGLES: Kyle Wofford, Y, def. Jadon Hill, 6-2, 6-3; Dylan McCormick, Y, def. Zach Schember, 6-2, 6- 4; Nolan Hill, A, def. Tommy Culhane, 6-1, 6-2; Garret Donnellon, Y, def. Jim Burns, 6-2, 6-3.
• DOUBLES: Josh Prall-Stankewitz-Parker Westfall, A, def. Easton Moran-Drew Arnold,
6-1, 6-3; Jack Davis- Colton Smith, A, def. Noah Cook- Caleb French, 6- 4, 7-5; Aidan KoroldenNathan Winchester, Y, def. John BommaritoJosh Dobson, 7-5, 6-1; Ty Vanlerberghe-Jacob Meerschaert, A, def. Derek Stefanides-Tyler Cook, 6- 0, 6-1.