Dakota underclassmen help carry the program on the golf course

MACOMB TOWNSHIP — Three months before their freshman season at Macomb Dakota, sophomores Angelina Accuso and Marissa Monteith competed in the Syron Junior Challenge at Pontiac Country Club on May 20.

The two underclassmen were likely aware of each other and how they were going to be teammates on the links in just a few short months, right?

Aside from being back-to-back on the leaderboards later that day with Monteith getting the seven-stroke advantage over Accuso, the two future varsity golfers didn’t have the slightest clue who the other was until the match concluded.

“After we had finished the round, my dad recognized someone in the parking lot, who ended up being Angelina’s father, but at the time we didn’t know that,” Monteith said. “Our dads began talking and they had actually gone to school together and also lived right down the street from each other when they were growing up. So that is how we actually met for the first time, and we have only grown closer and closer ever since”

In 2023, Dakota, currently ranked No. 5 in Division 1, reintroduced itself to the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 1 golf scene, finishing as co-champions in the Macomb Area Conference Red and qualifying for states as a team with Monteith (ninth) and Accuso (17th) both posting top 20 finishes at regionals.

“When they came in, we started them out as the third or fourth girl on the squad,” Dakota head coach David Prestininzi said. “They soon took over the one and two spots pretty quickly. They kind of carried us through the year, but they were still young.”

With a year of state finals experience under their belts and returning veterans — senior Meredith Martin and junior Sophia Martin — who were both key contributors for the Cougars in 2023, the 2024 season had all the makings already to be a breakout season for Dakota.

But the youth movement felt like it needed one more golfer as a part of its pack. Enter freshman Dakota Cooper, who is already fit for the Cougars lineup with a name like that.

Like Accuso and Monteith’s friendship, Cooper’s emergence onto Dakota’s radar all came back to a conversation between herself and other varsity players at the CJ Barrymore’s driving range. Prestininzi said the southpaw is explosive off the tee, and it sure caught the attention of Dakota varsity golf early.

“We knew of her, and we knew she was a Dakota student, so we saw her hitting balls as much as two or three years ago,” Prestininzi said. “You could tell she was going to be quite the player. She probably has the most experience we’ve ever had come in as a freshman, being tournament savvy and having tournament experience. She plays all the time in the summer. Her dad has her going everywhere.”

It wasn’t long before the group was clicking on the course as Dakota took second out of 16 teams Aug. 19 at the Lady Falcon Invitational at Stony Creek Metropark Golf Course, where Monteith tied for first place and Cooper tied for eighth. Monteith also had a hole-in-one.

Days later, Dakota captured its first tournament win at the Adams Invitational at Twin Lakes, setting the tone for the rest of the season.

“We go to Stoney Creek in the first tournament and Marissa medals, and we come in second, so we’re like, ‘Whoa, that’s something we haven’t done before,’” Prestininzi said. “Then we ran to the Adams tournament out in Twin Lakes, and we ended up winning that and she medaled again. All of a sudden, we’re thinking we’re a little bit better than we thought we’d be.”

Twin Lakes was also a turning point for Cooper, who had a taste of adversity early on in the tournament. Starting out the front nine with a 47, Cooper quickly turned around and shot closer to her average on the season with a 37.

“The first nine holes I was really struggling, but at the turn I made a few adjustments,” Cooper said.

The flame never seemed to burn out for a Dakota team that ran through the MAC Red, finishing 10-0 and completing the conference sweep by winning the MAC Red tournament in the process.

If the MAC Red wasn’t enough, the Cougars defeated the entire Macomb County field by winning the Macomb County championship for the first time ever in school history.

“It feels really amazing actually that all of our hard work that we put into golf this season is finally paying off,” Monteith said.” It’s not only pushed me to keep getting better, but I also think it is pushing the rest on my teammates to do better as well.”

The second-to-last item on the checklist was regionals, and top 10 finishes from Monteith (fifth), Accuso (eighth), and Cooper (third) ensured that Dakota would punch its ticket for the state finals Oct. 18 at Ferris State University’s Katke Golf Course. Sophia Martin chipped in an efficient round as well, finishing 11th.

While the focus may get lost on the underclassmen’s performance, the Martins, who are not related, play a vital role for Prestininzi’s squad. Prestininzi said Meredith Martin is the glue of the team, someone who “holds everything together,” while Sophia Martin has been key in a lot of tournaments this season for the Cougars, posting quality scores as the team’s fourth scorer.

“She (Sophia Martin) has just kept her nose to the grindstone,” Prestininzi said. “She went through some real growing pains as a sophomore because she was just starting out in golf. She had some good days, and she had some bad days. In the beginning of the year, she was really struggling. She’s one of these girls that is at the range all the time. She’s just striving to be better all the time. She’s really worked through her beginning of the year to where she’s at now.”

Dakota is playing its best golf right now and will be a contender every team will keep an eye on headed into the state finals.

As excited as the team is, Accuso said the best part is the pride her teammates take in being a part of the team.

“We just love being out on the course and hearing, ‘Hey, are you guys from Dakota?’” Accuso said. “We just want to make the name a little bit more known.”

Monteith said the goal is top 10 at states, but we’re talking about a Dakota team that is all about defying the odds.

Either way, the Cougars will return a ton of firepower next season to make another run at states.

“I am fully confident in myself and my team that we can achieve all of these goals this year because we have all put in so much hard work and dedication this year that it would be the perfect way to cap off this amazing season,” Monteith said.