All spring long, the men’s golf team has struggled to get off to a positive start in its opening round. On Friday at the Findlay Spring Invitational, however, things changed for Grand Valley State University.

The Lakers used an opening round score of 304 to propel them to their first win of the season at the Red Hawk Run Golf Course. The team’s 616 final score was 10 strokes better than Ferris State University, who finished in second.

“We hadn’t really gotten off to a very good first round and we did that this weekend, so I think that was the big factor in what went on,” said GVSU head coach Don Underwood. “Once you do that, it’s a matter of getting back out there the second day, continuing to be aggressive, continuing to focus on going forward and not trying to hold on. Our guys did that this weekend and when we do that, that’s a very good sign for us.”

Despite playing through windy and sometimes rainy weather conditions, all five Lakers finished in the top 20.

Sophomores Nick Gunthorpe and Travis Shooks led the way as both finished in a tie for fourth place firing scores of 153. Senior Matt Malloure finished in a tie for ninth place, and freshman Chase Olsen tied for 13th place. Sophomore Mike Basinski rounded out the scoring for GVSU as he tied for 18th place.

Underwood said the balance his team showed was the main reason for its big victory.

“If you’re going to be a good team week in and week out, you need all five guys to contribute,” Underwood said. “You can win tournaments having one or two guys dominating the field, but if you’re going to be a consistent top program, you need to have five guys that are really getting involved and helping out and we did that for the most part.

Hoffman wins third straight tournament

After being the individual medalist in her two previous tournaments, sophomore Sarah Hoffman of the women’s golf team kept it rolling as she finished first at the Ashland Invitational this past weekend. Hoffman posted a two-day score of 157.

“I think (winning) was something that I always wanted to do, but it wasn’t something I realized I could do,” she said. “I thought you had to hit all perfect shots in order to win a tournament. I’ve hit some bad shots and I’ve just been able to recover, and it’s built my confidence.”

GVSU finished the tournament in second place with a score of 646, two strokes over first place California University of Pennsylvania (644).

Finishing right behind Hoffman were seniors Caitlin Bennett, who scored a 158, and Ashley Smith, who finished in eighth place with 163.

GVSU head coach Rebecca Mailloux said bad weather inhibited the team’s play.

“We tend to hit the ball long, but not always straight,” she said. “We had lots that ended up in the trees, some punch out shots and a lot of penalty shots.”

Mailloux also said the performance could boost the team in the GLIAC Championships next weekend.

“I think it gave them a little taste of reality,” she said. “We knew conditions weren’t great, but still they need to know we might not be as ready as we thought and kind of use it as motivation for us next week.”

The GLIAC Championships will begin on Saturday at Ferris State University.

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