The Grand Valley State University women’s golf team got to take its first strokes this season at its home course when it opened play at the Gilda’s Club Laker Invitational.

“It was definitely nice to be able to come home and play at the meadows,” sophomore Gabrielle
Shipley said. “I was able to focus in more and stay more controlled throughout the tournament.”

The Lakers hosted 13 teams over the weekend, which included the likes of Ferris State University,
Ashland University, Tiffin University and a number of other Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic
Conference teams.

“It was a big tournament for us,” freshman Julie Guckian said. “After a disappointing result last
weekend, we knew we just had to get back to our ways and play Grand Valley Golf. We know we are
capable of competing and winning tournaments.”

Shipley got off to a hot start as she sat atop the leaderboards with a round of 77 ( 2). The sophomore
outplayed almost all of her competitors and was able to take more of an aggressive approach on the
second day of the tournament.

“I used a different mental technique which really helped me out a lot on the course this weekend,”
Shipley said. “I didn’t get discouraged after a bad shot, and I was able to keep my poise in difficult
situations.”

Guickman and senior Veronica Ryan also posted top five finishes, which ultimately pushed the Lakers
out in front as they led all teams after the first round of play with a total team score of 318. Closely
trailing the Lakers after the first round was rival Ferris State with a total team score of 322.

“We really just played with confidence on each day of the tournament, which was really a big part of
our success,” freshman Britni Geilow said. “Surprisingly it wasn’t windy at all at the Meadows, which
really never happens. I think that somewhat helped us settle in, as well.”

After a mediocre first round score of 85 ( 13), junior Kelly Hartigan rebounded nicely with a second
round score of 73 ( 1), which eventually led the Lakers to the Gilda’s Club Laker Invitational
championship.

“She didn’t let her first round struggles get to her at all, which really shows how good of a player she
is,” Guickman said. “On the second day of the tournament she got back to playing her level of golf.
She really has shown the rest of the girls on this team that even after a bad round, you can still
recover and help your team out.”

The GVSU women’s golf team hopes to ride the recently sustained momentum into the upcoming
weekend when it travels to Ohio for the University of Ashland Invitational.

“This was a really big win for us in several ways,” Guickman said. “We made a statement against a
number of GLIAC teams that we will see again this year. Hopefully we can carry this momentum into
our match this upcoming weekend against Ashland.”

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