Lutheran North among state golf qualifiers
By Chuck Klonke
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 Heather Hills Golf Club.
Cranbrook took first place with a team score 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 John Minnich. “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 the Macomb 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 the morning 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 from the 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 calm and 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 GAM tournaments. 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’m just 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 everything fine-tuned and see what we can do.”
Bergmann said that some of his players have done well at Forest Akers.
“A couple of our girls have won events there,” he said. “Maybe states will be a bounce back for us.”
“Going to state my first year is a huge privilege and honor. 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.”
Go MUSTANGS!
Article originally posted by The Macomb Daily