By: Jonathan Szczepaniak | Metro | Published October 25, 2024
METRO DETROIT — Coaches across the state couldn’t ask for better weather as the Michigan High School Athletic Association hosted the girls golf state finals Oct. 18.
It was a nice change of pace from the heavy obstacle mother nature threw in the faces of teams in 2023, but as more things seemed to change, more stayed the same for some schools.
Below is a recap of the top teams and individuals in the C & G Newspapers coverage area at the MHSAA girls golf state finals.
Farmington Hills Mercy (D2)
With a potential three-peat on the horizon, head coach Vicky Kowalski and her Marlins were locked in.
Senior Maeve Casey was well on her way to a top-five finish at last year’s state finals before missing day two for a hockey tournament, but she returned with authority.
Shooting a 73 and 79 for a two-day score of 152, Casey placed fourth overall as Mercy finished five strokes ahead of second place Dexter, capturing its third straight state finals and fifth in school history Oct. 19 at The Meadows Golf Course in Allendale.
“I don’t know if there’s a favorite, but this one was the closest one,” Kowalski said. “It was a nailbiter.”
Casey, a Yale University commit for hockey, helped the Marlins jump out to a 14-stroke lead after the first day, but the final round saw a back-and-forth match between Mercy and Dexter for first place, which Dexter at one point held.
Sophomore Megan Guerrera, who shot a two-day score of 186 (96 & 90) and placed 43rd, birdied the ninth hole while a Dexter player turned in a triple bogey, causing a four-stroke swing in favor of Mercy.
Instances such as that were taking place all day, but Mercy ended up on the right side of it when it was all said and done.
“That particular course (The Meadows) has a lot of the higher weedy stuff and some areas where fairways are narrow,” Kowalski said. “One of the biggest complaints from everybody about playing that course is it takes the driver out of your hand on a lot of holes. You have to target golf, but we did it better the first day and Dexter did it better the second day. Luckily, our second day score was five strokes better than their first day score.”
Seniors Macy Morphew and Lila Polakowski, a Piedmont University commit, continued to be steady as they had been all year, finishing 33rd and 20th, respectively, out of 108 golfers, but it was the ace Kowalski had up her sleeve that made all the difference.
After junior Ainsley Henderson turned in a 107 in her first round, Kowalski made the switch to senior Emily Walker.
“I just kept calling her my secret weapon,” Kowalski said. “I said, ‘Emily, you’re my secret weapon. You’re going to go in there on that second day and I know you’re going to be very good.’”
Walker, who will likely play basketball at the college level, returned the favor to Kowalski by shooting the best round of her career, posting an 83, which was the second-best score for Mercy in the final round behind Casey.
Henderson became the ultimate teammate for her squad, making her way around the entire course to make sure her team was motivated and in great spirits.
“She was all over the golf course cheering on shots,” Kowalski said. “She’s a great teammate.”
When you look at the sustainability of Mercy’s success, sure, you can point to some standout golfers they’ve had over the course of the team’s history.
What really stands out for the Marlins is their leadership, and Morphew, Casey, Polakowski and Walker were just that for the team’s younger golfers.
“They’re very good mentors to our younger players,” Kowalski said. “During the season, we would plug in a freshman or sophomore here and there, and they’d take these kids under their wings and teach them the ropes. That’s how we can continue to build winning teams.”
Macomb Dakota (D1)
It’s always an unforgettable year when you make history, and the Cougars did just that.
Finishing in third place Oct. 19 at Katke Golf Course in Big Rapids, Dakota earned its highest state finals placement in school history. Dakota finished 16th overall in 2023.
“They were all excited,” Dakota head coach David Prestininzi said. “It was a great accomplishment for them and the team. It was very rewarding for all the work they put in.”
Like they’ve done all season, the sophomore duo of Marissa Monteith and Angelina Accuso paced Dakota on the leaderboard as Monteith finished 14th with a 165 and Accuso 35th with a 177.
It was a massive leap for both golfers, who placed outside the top 50 in their first state finals experience last year.
“Marissa just really stepped it up tremendously,” Prestininzi said. “She was our No. 1 last year, but you’re talking about probably averaging high 80s. She came right out of the gate and broke 80 and then medaled in the first two. She just stayed very consistent all year. Same thing with Angelina, where she averaged around 85 all year. Her first day was a little tough, but she bounded right back with an 85 the second day.”
Freshman and southpaw golfer Dakota Cooper capped off an incredible freshman campaign with a 172, finishing 24th and showcasing to the rest of Division 1 golf what they have to deal with for three more years.
Cooper exploded onto the scene for Dakota and will undoubtedly be primed for a sensational sophomore season in 2025.
As far as consistency goes, junior Sophia Martin, who finished 54th, continued to improve as the year came to a close, posting the third-lowest score for Dakota on day one and keeping both rounds under 100 to help the team stay within top-three contention.
“We figured if she could shoot around 95, we could be very competitive,” Prestininzi said. “She basically averaged a 94.5. She had a 91 and a 98. If someone would’ve told me that they’d give me Sophia at 190 right now, I would’ve said, ‘Absolutely.’”
Graduating senior Meredith Martin, who Prestininzi referred to as the “glue of the team,” will be a tough loss for the Cougars, but returning the core four of Cooper, Accuso, Monteith and Sophia Martin has Prestininzi’s squad looking at a step or two up the leaderboard.
Rochester Adams (D1)
It’s not often you can graduate two top-10 state placers and still be in the thick of things, but the Highlanders stayed resilient all season.
The mindset stayed true Oct. 19 at Katke Golf Course in Big Rapids as Adams, the reigning state champion two years straight, placed fourth overall behind consistent play from all five of its golfers.
Junior Hannah Wang, who finished 29th last season and has been a vital part of Adams’ dominance, continued her sensational high school career with a two-day score of 163, finishing 12th. Wang was also the regional champion this season.
Wang will be a force to be reckoned with in her senior year and should be viewed as one of the top golfers in Division 1.
Nobody was more excited to be a part of the state finals stage than senior Alexa Camargo, a Kalamazoo College commit, who missed out in 2023 due to injury.
She has embodied the role of being a senior leader, which is a title that comes with a ton of pressure at Adams, and she flourished to end her final season.
Camargo posted the second-best score on the team with a 175, finishing 29th out of 107 golfers.
“She really played well, especially the second day, dropping five or six off her score,” Adams head coach Jeff Kutschman said. “She really performed well for the team. That was awesome.”
While Camargo was taking in the moment one last time, junior Brianna Park and freshman Saisha Dhawan made names for themselves as first timers, finishing 48th and 71st, respectively.
Park and Dhawan consistently improved as the season progressed, and Kutschman said he was impressed by their state finals performances.
“I was really proud of them,” Kutschman said. “It’s a big stage and Ferris (State University’s) Katke is no joke, and I think they handled it very well. I think the experience was awesome for them. They got to be a part of it and fight for places at the end of it, and they performed very well. It’s great for them and our team this year and going forward as well.”
Senior Peyton Sage, who had been steady all season for the Highlanders, finished 37th with a 180 and will continue her golf career at Albion College.
The importance Sage, Camargo and senior Eryn Yang had in where the Adams golf program currently stands can’t be underestimated.
“Where I’ve been really lucky is that all the seniors I’ve had, going back to Carly Ortwine, who was a freshman nine years ago, they’ve been really good at not only learning from the seniors before them but improving on it next year and passing it along,” Kutschman said. “Our seniors this year, they had great role models with Alexa, Eryn and Peyton. They saw how the team works and how all the big meets go. Those girls are going to be ready to step up.”
With Wang headlining the returners and Park and Dhawan both expected to improve, Adams should be right back in the top-five conversation. Expect junior Lydia Mercado and sophomore Aubrey Koenig to also be impact pieces next season.
Rochester (D1)
Some could view it as a down year for a Rochester team that finished fifth overall at states in 2023 and was expected to have a shot at the top three, but the only things that should be discussed are the incredible seasons from senior Madison Yang and junior Ananya Kumar.
Yang, a Central Michigan University commit, and Kumar both won three tournaments each this season with Kumar taking home the Oakland County Championship and Yang capturing the regional championship, which Rochester won as a team as well.
The dynamic duo put on a show-stopping performance over the two-day tournament as Yang placed fourth with a 157 and Kumar was right behind her in fifth with a 160.
Kumar will be tasked with the No. 1 role, but Rochester head coach Jeff Haney said Kumar is up for the challenge.
“She worked a lot in the offseason with her strength, so she was hitting the ball further this year,” Haney said. “I thought that made a big difference for her. Before, she always had a great short game and putting the last couple years. This year, she was hitting the ball further. She’s just such a good ball striker.”
Other scorers for Rochester were junior Ella Harrison (77th), sophomore Isha Chauhan (75th), and the duo of sophomore Kendall Markham and senior Natalie Dolezel, who combined for 89th.
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood (D2)
The Cranes, who won regionals, finished fourth at the state finals courtesy of impressive performances from freshman Sixtine Charnelet (13th) and junior Sydney Behnke (14th).
Other scorers for Cranbrook Kingswood were junior Alina Yuan (T-52nd), senior Sophia Kouza (T-52nd), and sophomores Josie Vandenhaute and sophomore Brianna Giudici, who combined their scores to finish 43rd.
Detroit Country Day (D3)
They’re young and they were on fire this season, winning regionals and jumping from sixth in 2023 to state runner-up Oct. 19 at Bedford Valley Golf Course in Battle Creek.
Freshman Bella Papsin introduced herself to the Division 3 golf scene, shooting a 166 to finish 11th.
It’s been a whirlwind of a season for the first-year varsity golfer, who joined the varsity team three weeks into the season after starting on junior varsity.
Papsin is no stranger to the competitive tournament scene as she’s competed in juniors tournaments, so it didn’t take long for her to make a name for herself on JV.
“She gets over to the JV crew and I get out and watch her, and I’m like, ‘You gotta be kidding me, right?’” Country Day head coach Dan Luft said. “She’s legit.”
Papsin’s fifth-place finish at regionals helped the Yellowjackets win a regional championship.
Country Day also had its sophomore duo of Halle Heineman and Isha Ummadi complete their impressive second-year campaigns as Heineman took 29th and Ummadi 54th.
Heineman, who held the No. 1 role all year for Country Day and played at an all-state level, had an illness over the weekend but battled through it. Luft said Heineman, who finished 29th at states in 2023, knows a potential top-10 finish would’ve been in the cards had she been healthy, but said it will only be motivation for her next season.
Country Day’s lone senior starter, Rebekah Maibach, stayed consistent with a 180, finishing 30th.
Maibach has been a staple for Country Day golf over the course of her four years and was known to be one of the more reliable golfers on the squad in terms of her scoring.
“She’s just been a steady leader for us,” Luft said. “She’s always been in the 90 range for an average, but I can always count on her for a stroke or two above or a stroke or two below. She was just that consistent.”
It won’t get talked about enough, but junior Ashley Diovardi’s final round was a game changer for Luft and company.
Posting a 103 on day one, Diovardi, who was fresh off the best round of her career at regionals with an 86, knew she wasn’t playing up to her standards.
“We worked a little bit in the morning with her on the range, and I can just tell — because I know her — that she was back in and feeling it,” Luft said. “She hit some really good drives and had a good swing thought going. It was just about getting back in the morning and shaking that off.”
Individuals to note:
• Emanuella Micakovic, Utica Eisenhower (D1/17th)
• Madison Malenfant, Troy (D1/30th)
• Aanya Bansal, Troy Athens (D1/30th)
• Hailey Ward, Orchard Lake St Mary’s (D2/15th)
• Lyla Hampton, Grosse Pointe South (D2/17th)
• Saige Rothey, Macomb Lutheran North (D3/9th)