When Chris Cunningham first arrived on the campus of Grand Valley State University in the fall, things didn’t necessarily click for the freshman golfer.

“Going into the year I didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “I didn’t know even if I’d be playing in the lineup every week”

But after getting used to both collegiate golf and college life, Cunningham exploded in the second half of the year, which earned him the GLIAC Freshman of the Year award.

He led all freshmen in the conference in stroke average at 76.4, and played in every tournament for the Lakers during the season despite his uncertainty.

“In the fall I found (the transition to college) pretty difficult, actually,” Cunningham said. “It was a different environment living on my own for the first time; I wasn’t yet comfortable with it, but over the year I ended up getting a lot more comfortable and started playing better golf.”

After Cunningham acclimated to his new situation, he was able to turn around his game and make a bid for freshman of the year, which his teammate, Chase Olson, won last year.

Olson was the first Laker in program history to win the award, and Cunningham recently made it back-to-back for GVSU freshmen.

“I knew Chase (Olson) won Freshman of the Year last year,” Cunningham said. “I figured that if I was going to be in the lineup that would be a goal of mine. Once I realized that goal, it was pretty exciting and felt pretty good.”

Though Cunningham wasn’t always certain of his status on the team, GVSU head coach Don Underwood never really had similar doubts.

“I was excited when we got Chris to commit to go to school here,” said Underwood, who is in his 17th year as the GVSU men’s golf head coach. “I thought he would do very well for us, and I don’t think it was a surprise (he won Freshman of the Year). He had a very good junior golf career; he was probably one of the top three junior players in the state last summer, so I don’t think it’s a surprise by any means.”

Underwood added that while Cunningham is just a freshman, he has the composure and moxie of an upperclassman.

“He controls himself like a very, very experienced individual,” he said. “I’ve seen him have to deal with adversity on the golf course, and he’s very calm and very mature in the way he goes about handling that adversity. Those are traits that are hard to find in this game, especially amongst young players. They tend to see some emotional swings, up and down, and I don’t see that out of Chris at all.”

Cunningham called his iron play the best part of his game, but struggles at the same aspect of golf as most people, from first-timers to professionals.

“I could definitely improve my consistency in putting. Ever since I’ve been playing, I wouldn’t say it’s been a problem, but it’s probably been my weakest point in my game. I’ve worked hard this past season and I’m starting to improve, but I can definitely improve upon that some more.”

GVSU missed the national tournament by a mere three strokes, which means Cunningham and the rest of the Lakers are done until the fall. But Cunningham knows that though the collegiate season is over, he will have plenty of chances to get ready for his sophomore season.

“I’m going to play in a few tournaments just to see what I can do,” he said. “And when I’m not playing, I’ll be out there practicing.”

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