The Grand Valley State men’s golf team wrapped up the fall season with a first place finish at the Motor City Invitational in Dearborn, Michigan Oct. 16-17, shooting a 21-over-597 team score.

It was the first and lone win of the fall season. The Lakers finished in the top four or higher in all four of their fall tournaments.

The Lakers separated themselves quickly in round one by scoring a 294 (+6). Senior Alex Nannetti finished the first round three strokes under par, giving the Lakers a 10-stroke lead over the 15-team field.

TPC Michigan, which is a Jack Nicklaus design, is one of the toughest courses in southern Michigan. The Lakers went into round one with a very aggressive mindset, building off of positive shots and not letting poor shots phase them.

“A 294 on that course is a really good score and we felt great about it,” said GVSU coach Gary Bissell. “Day one was all good feelings.”

Led by sophomore Alex Scott in round two, the Lakers shot a 303 (+15), a score that was just enough to hold off charging Saginaw Valley State and Bellarmine from making a comeback.

“We felt comfortable going into round two,” Scott said. “It was a ‘respect everyone, fear no one’ situation.”

While that was the mindset before the round, feelings began to change on the course. The wind picked up, making very little room for error, placing a great amount of pressure on the Lakers to hold on to their first win of the fall.

Bissell felt the team was pressing too hard in round two to stretch their lead rather than making the smarter shots to hold onto the win. In a close tournament like this, overlooking any shot can be costly.

“We did a poor job of handling ourselves the second day, and we let frustration get to us,” said junior Domenic Mancinelli. “We got lucky we didn’t end up losing the tournament.”

Scott scored sixth individually in the tournament by shooting a five-over-149. Right behind him and finishing 12th was Mancinelli with a seven-over-151.

Scott and Mancinelli led this tournament for the Lakers, but Bissell is certain any player on his team can step up at any moment.

Bissell believes that there is not just one single leader of this golf team, rather, the Lakers have several great golfers who can all lead and play well. This includes sophomores Bryce Messner and Mitchell White, who both finished inside the top-20 individually.

Despite the near collapse in the final round, the Lakers held on to what Bissell said was “a perfect win.”

The Lakers gained a little bit of confidence from the win but can take day two as a positive learning experience moving forward.

“We won, it feels good,” Bissell said. “But it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, we have a lot of work to do this winter.”

The Lakers will have plenty of time to practice throughout the winter in preparation for spring, when expectations are higher than ever.

The Lakers begin the spring portion of their season March 5 at Primm Valley Golf Course for the Las Vegas Desert Classic.