Friday, September 20, 2013

Avondale wins D-II Tourny at Pontiac Municipal

GIRLS GOLF: Avondale wins first D-II Oakland County tourney

Dan Stickradt | September 19, 2013 | Comments (0)

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BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans

PONTIAC — Taking over the girls golf program at Auburn Hills Avondale, Andrea Martin didn’t really know what to expect just a month ago.
The Yellowjackets played in several tournaments during the first couple weeks of the season and shot a season-best 378 with four juniors and one senior on the course at the recent OAA White Division Jamboree.
Perhaps Wednesday’s effort at the Oakland County Division II Tournament was a sneak peak that Avondale might at the start of its best season to date.
The Yellowjackets put together a play-five, count-four team score of 328, which was not only a school record, but good enough to earn the championship trophy at the tournament and earn a berth in the Oakland County Division I County Tournament next season.
“I knew we had some talent, but we haven’t all been on the same page at the same time this season,” admitted Martin, a first-year school teacher in the Avondale District. “I guess we might have to rethink about how good we can be. We blew away our school record and we played our best team golf of the season. Now, if we can be consistent, who knows what might happen.”

CHIP SHOTS: Auburn Hills Avondale junior Courtney Mortonwatches her shot fly towards the green at the Oakland County Division II Tournament.Photo | Larry McKee, lmckeephotography.com, lmckeephotography@comcast.net.

Avondale won the tournament by 24 strokes, as Holly came in second in the 13-school field with a 364 team score — the Bronchos’ best all-time finish at the county tournament. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep claimed third at 376, followed by White Lake Lakeland (376), Ortonville Brnaodn (379), Waterford Kettering (383), Bloomfield Hills Sacred Heart (390), Birmingham Groves (399), WaterfordMott (403), Berkley (405), Walled Lake Western (433), Walled Lake Central (433) and Walled Lake Northern (457) rounded out the team scores.
The Division I teams will square of this Wednesday at Pontiac Country Club.
“We talked about goals at the beginning of the season, and we decided to shoot for 360. Well, we beat that by more than 30 strokes,” continued Martin. “I think if we can play at this level for the rest of the season, then we might have a shot come regionals to qualify (for the state tournament.”
Avondale had the top three finishers in the field of 65 competitors, led by medalist Mackenzie Blomberg, who carded a 76. Courtney Morton and Caroline Riley both tied for second with rounds of 80 and Angelina Belotti tied for 14^th at 92.
“We had several girls shoot their season lows,” added Martin. “I knew if we all had a good day, that we could be in the top five, maybe top three. But winning it means a lot. I know it will give the girls some confidence that they are a good team.”
Kelsey Edwards of Ortonville Brandon finished fourth with and 84, while Groves’ Katie Quasarano was fifth with an 87.
Holly’s Jenna Pepper, Walled Lake Western’s Jessica Goshorn and Berkley’s Corinne Moses all tied for sixth at 88, while Holly’s Paige Johnson was ninth (89) and Notre Dame Prep’s Maddie McClune placed 10^th with a 90.
Landrea Hill shot 92 and Madi McEachern a 95 to aid Holly’s runner-up cause. Emily Daenzer added 94, Samantha Raggio a 96 and Bella Hanna a 96 to help Notre Dame Prep finish third.
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Have photos or video of this event that you wish to share? E-mail pertinent information to www.northoaklandsports.com Senior Editor Dan Stickradt at dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com or e-mail results@northoaklandsports.com.

OAKLAND COUNTY DIVISION II TOURNAMENT

(at Pontiac Municipal, par 72)

TEAM SCORES — 1. Auburn Hills Avondale, 328; 2. Holly, 364; 3. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, 376; 4. White Lake Lakeland, 378; 5. Ortonville Brandon, 379; 6. Waterford Kettering, 383; 7. Bloomfield Hills Sacred Heart, 390; 8. Birmingham Groves, 399; 9. Waterford Mott, 403; 10. Berkley, 405; 11. Walled Lake Western, 433; 12. Walled Lake Central, 433; 13. Walled Lake Northern, 457.
TOP 15 INDIVIDUALS — 1. Mackenzie Blomberg (Auburn Hills Avondale) 76; 2. (tie) Courtney Morton (Auburn Hills Avondale) 80; Caroline Riley (Auburn Hills Avondale) 80; 4. Kelsey Edwards (Ortonville Brandon) 84; 5. Katie Quasarano (Birmingham Groves) 87; 6. (tie) Jenna Pepper (Holly) 88; Jessica Goshorn (Walled Lake Western) 88; Corinne Moses (Berkley) 88; 9. Paige Johnson (Holly) 89; 10. Maddie McClune (Pontiac Notre Dame Prep) 90; 11. (tie) Samantha House (White Lake Lakeland) 91; Danielle Frank (Walled Lake Northern) 91; Amy Lynn Komsicks (Bloomfield Hills Sacred Heart) 91; 14. (tie) Angelina Belotti (Auburn Hills Avondale) 92; Landrea Hill (Holly) 92.

TEAM RESULTS

AUBURN HILLS AVONDALE (328) — Mackenzie Blomberg, 76; Courtney Morton, 80; Caroline Riley, 80; Angelina Belotti, 92; Jill Carnacchi, 111.
HOLLY (364) — Jenna Pepper, 88; Paige Johnson, 89; Landrea Hill, 92; Madi McEachern, 95; Amanda Pucher, 96.
PONTIAC NOTRE DAME PREP (376) — Maddie McClune, 90; Emily Daenzer, 94; Samantha Raggio, 96; Bella Hanna, 96; Reagan Kerr, 98.
WHITE LAKE LAKELAND (378) — Samantha House, 91; Megan DeHetre, 94; Jo Jo Creviston, 96; Meaddy Brooks, 91; Erika Dudley, 102.
ORTONVILLE BRANDON (379) — Kelsey Edwards, 84; Emily Yeaker, 95; Danni Hart, 99; Sly Kochen, 101; Amanda Roberts, 122.
WATERFORD KETTERING (383) — Katie Boyd, 95; Bianca Jerome, 95; Shaya Master, 95; Katie Root, 98; Sidney Spurloch, 117.
BLOOMFIELD HILLS SACRED HEART (390) — Amy Lynn Komsicks, 91; Sarah Spangler, 94; Abby Hildebrand, 99; Megan Carroll, 106; Shannon Milner, 130.
BIRMINGHAM GROVES (399) — Katie Quasarano, 87; Meredith Hawkins, 93; Julia Trombley, 102; Lily Doolin, 117; JoJo Sandercock, 137.
WATERFORD MOTT (403) — Macey Ronquillo, 96; Lexi Upson, 100; Jenna Ciennik, 100; Lauren Ulrich, 107; Kate Blomquist, 120.
BERKLEY (405) — Corinne Moses, 88; Danielle Muench, 103; Emily Hessenthaler, 105; Riley Collins, 109; Tayler Jones, 121.
WALLED LAKE WESTERN (433) — Jessica Goshorn, 88; Alexis Segal, 105; Shana Murphy, 114; Caitlin Gerwig, 126; Emily Neag, 126.
WALLED LAKE CENTRAL (433) — Lexi O’Dette, 95; Abby Claybaugh, 110; Aylssa Wiseman, 111; Abbys Sachs, 117.
WALLED LAKE NORTHERN (457) — Danielle Frank, 91; Haley Brown, 114; Hayley Wing, 123; Megan Stoughton, 129; Elyse Bayle, 130.

Girls Statewide Golf Rankings all Divisions

Here they are. Please comment on them.

9/18 girls high school golf rankings in Michigan

By MLive.com staff
on September 18, 2013 10:18 p.m.

Michigan Interscholastic Golf Coaches Association rarnkings:

DIVISION 1
1. Rochester Hills Stoney Creek
2. Saline
3. Troy
4. Plymouth
5. Novi
6. Holt
7. Davision
8. Rockford
9. Ann Arbor Pioneer
10. Farmington Hills Mercy

DIVISION 2
1. Birmingham Seaholm
2. Okemos
3. Battle Creek Lakeview
4. St. Joesph
5. Midland Dow
6. South Lyon
7. Fenton
8. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central
9. Caldonia
10. Auburn Hills Avondale

DIVISION 3
1. Detroit Country Day
2. Hastings
3. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood
4. Marshall
5. Grand Rapids South Christian
6. Lake Odessa-Lakewood
7. Dewitt
8. Tecumseh
9. Marysville
10. Warren Regina

DIVISION 4
1. Kalamazoo Hackett
2. Lansing Catholic
3. Grand Rapids Northpointe Christian
4. Harbor Springs
5. Grosse Ile
6. Freeland
7. Grayling
8. Flint Powers
9. Hillsdale Academy
10. Maple City-Glen Lake

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Good from the Girls 2014 Oakland County Golf Championships

The good from the 2013 Girls Tournament

Something must be in the magic scoreboard pen for those that lead the Oakland County Tournaments. Last May, Coach Monty Gallaher of Lake Orion was marking down the scores for the players and his team ended up winning the boys crown. On Wednesday, the same thing happened as Birmingham Seaholm Coach Leon Braisted's team won the team championship at Pontiac Country Club.
A congratulations is in order for Birmingham Seaholm Coach Leon Braisted who won Coach of the Year Honors for the girls in 2013.

+The weather- Wow! 75 and sunny was the operative word and I spent all day glad to be watching the girls play but wishing I could be out playing a round myself.

+ Seaholm overcoming being overlooked. They were missing their best player due to a shoulder injury and there were several teams licking their chops to be the County Champion. Seaholm is ranked first in Division Two (according to the coaches) Seaholm pulled off a victory against a field of 15 teams and three others were within 3 shots of them.

The Top 50 Junior Tour used their scoring system to power the tournament. They did a great job of putting the information out there. Jackie and founder Dan Thomas were on top of it. This is a great way to promote junior golf. I truly hope some parents and coaches (players as well) are paying attention. I spoke to a couple of parents whose children play on the Tour and said they have played them all and like Dan and how his tournaments are run. The stats they put out help writers with their stories and videos and give in depth recaps such as the hole-by-hole summary which is at the bottom of this entry.

A few things could be better.

A lot of bald spots at PCC and many are due to the mature trees on the course. One was not marked and a player took relief playing a provisional and declaring it and playing a second ball. This created several discussions between rules officials, the player and the parent who called the MHSAA.

Number one seeds listed in the fourth and fifth spots. When players are not listed on the paring sheet, I rely on this information to shoot the top seeds for all the teams and get the lower seeds or interesting story lines when time permits.

Scoring- A log jam came up on several areas of the course. For instance, (see the total score stats for each hole). The girls played a par five of 397 yards with an average score of almost seven. Some players said it was backed up to as many as six groups playing this hole or waiting to play this hole. The problem is that many players go for the green in two and either end up in the two front and very deep sand bunkers or behind the green behind trees or the cart path. I love Pontiac Country Club but this was a problem on this day anyway.

Scores on some holes played to nearly 1.5 strokes higher than par. This included holes 1,5,7,9,10 and 14. Many more were a bogey higher.

-

Top 50 Junior Tour - High School Events

Oakland County Girls Championships

9/18/2013 - 9/18/2013 | High School Girls Division

Pontiac Country Club | Red Tees

Par: 72 / Yardage: 5334 | Slope: 123 / Rating: 69.3

Pontiac Country Club
Red
Slope: 123, Rating: 69.3
Round Date: 9/18/2013

Hole Statistics
Hole	Par	Yards	Rank	Avg	Avg To Par	Eagles	Birdies	Pars	Bogeys	Doubles	Others
1	5	397	3	6.43	+1.43	0	2	23	27	20	17
2	3	130	11	4.01	+1.01	0	3	26	35	20	5
3	5	396	14	5.88	+0.88	0	6	32	31	14	6
4	4	261	10	5.02	+1.02	0	3	32	30	15	9
5	4	317	5	5.35	+1.35	0	1	18	38	21	11
6	4	275	16	4.73	+0.73	0	6	37	29	12	5
7	4	300	4	5.36	+1.36	0	0	15	40	28	6
8	3	145	12	3.92	+0.92	0	0	29	42	14	4
9	4	353	1	5.49	+1.49	0	0	13	42	20	14
10	5	473	6	6.33	+1.33	0	5	19	29	21	15
11	4	345	17	4.67	+0.67	0	7	34	34	10	4
12	4	296	8	5.18	+1.18	0	2	28	31	20	8
13	4	296	15	4.85	+0.85	0	1	35	33	16	4
14	4	344	2	5.47	+1.47	0	1	17	27	32	12
15	4	320	9	5.17	+1.17	0	3	26	31	21	8
16	3	159	13	3.92	+0.92	0	2	25	43	16	3
17	3	130	18	3.56	+0.56	0	1	52	26	6	4
18	5	397	7	6.22	+1.22	0	3	21	39	12	14
Totals:	72	5334		91.57	19.57	0	46	482	607	318	149

2013 Oakland County Girls Championships at Pontiac Country Club- Surprise Champion

Video Story (Individual),
picture album- www.michigangolfscene.co and at
the Oakland Press.com

Video Story - Team Highlights> http://www.michigangolfscene.co/mhsaa-jr.-golf.html

GIRLS GOLF: Seaholm wins first ever county tournament by the slimmest of margins

By KEITH DUNLAP
@kd2578

Ellie Miller, of Detroit Country Day, watches her tee shot during the Oakland County golf tournament at Pontiac Country Club, Wednesday September 18, 2013 (Oakland Press Photo:Vaughn Gurganian)

Veronica Haque, of Rochester High School, watches her tee shot during the Oakland County golf tournament at Pontiac Country Club, Wednesday September 18, 2013 (Oakland Press Photo:Vaughn Gurganian)

Jennifer Cui, of Troy High School, watches her tee shot during the Oakland County golf tournament at Pontiac Country Club, Wednesday September 18, 2013 (Oakland Press Photo:Vaughn Gurganian)

Rylie Miller, of Birmingham Seaholm High School, chips onto the green during the Oakland County golf tournament at Pontiac Country Club, Wednesday September 18, 2013 (Oakland Press Photo:Vaughn Gurganian)

WATERFORD TWP. — The expression that every stroke counts in golf applied more than ever at the Oakland County Division I girls golf tournament on Wednesday. On a perfect late summer day for golf, four shots ended up separating the top-four teams and only two shots separated the top-three finishers at Pontiac Country Club.

By the narrowest of margins, Birmingham Seaholm ended up taking home the first-place trophy at the Division I tournament for the first time in school history, besting the 18-team field with a final total of 325, one shot ahead of second-place Birmingham Detroit Country Day, two shots ahead of third-place Troy and four shots ahead of Stoney Creek.

Defending champion Farmington Hills Mercy shot a 336 to round out the top-five.

Typically, Seaholm head coach Leon Braisted doesn’t have his best golfers compete at the county tournament, whether it is because his top players have other school obligations going on or he simply wants to save the days they are allowed to miss school in order to golf for other tournaments throughout the season, including the regional and state tournaments.

But other than top player Rachel Wilson, a junior who Braisted said might be out for the season with a shoulder injury, Seaholm had its top guns on the course this time.

“They were all committed to playing,” Braisted said. “They said this was one they wanted to win. They wanted to come out here and send a message that we can play. It is the first time that all five of them have played together since the first league meet, which we lost to Stoney Creek. It’s awesome and a great feeling. The girls worked hard.”

Leading the way for Seaholm was sophomore Allegra Cunningham, who shot a 79 to finish in a tie for 10th place. Junior Megan Lam (80), sophomore Jordan Michalak (81) and junior Jamie Greene (85) also contributed to what was a balanced effort for the Maples, one of the state’s top teams in Division 2.

Right behind was Country Day, which saw senior Ellie Miller shoot a 77, senior Monika Hedni shoot an 80 and junior Nicole Junn shoot an 82 to lead the second-place effort.

“By one silly stroke,” said Country Day head coach Peggy Steffan, who said her team shot its second-lowest tournament score this year following a 323 earlier this season. “Everybody is like ‘I wish I had made that putt.’ But we finished second and it is still good.”

While Seaholm and Country Day are more veteran-dominated teams, Troy is about as young of a squad as it comes, which obviously made Troy coach John Getzan thrilled with his team’s third-place finish.

Sophomore Jennifer Cui shot a 77, sophomore Naomi Kim had an 82 and senior Amanda McCafferty had an 83 to set the pace for the Colts.

“We’ve got two sophomores, a junior and a freshman playing in our top-five,” Getzan said. “I’m quite pleased. Pontiac plays tough. It has big greens and lends itself to three-putts. But we did well. I’m happy.”

As close as the team scores were at the top, the individual scores were even closer, as three golfers tied for medalist honors after each shot a 75.

Those golfers were Stoney Creek junior Bailey Compton, North Farmington-Harrison junior Sophie Kollin and Rochester freshman Veronica Haque.

Overall, 13 golfers broke 80 for the day.

With the county meet over, the next step for area golf teams is to finish off league play and prepare for the fast approaching state regional tournaments, which will be held from Oct. 9-11.

Oakland County Division I girls golf tournament

(at Pontiac Country Club, par 72)

TEAMS — Birmingham Seaholm 325; Birmingham Detroit Country Day 326; Troy 327; Stoney Creek 329; Farmington Hills Mercy 336; South Lyon 339; Novi 344; North Farmington-Harrison 345; Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood 350; Lake Orion 360; Milford 361; Rochester 367; Rochester Adams 370; Bloomfield Hills 370; Oxford 372; Birmingham Marian 383; Clarkston 389; South Lyon East 425