Grand Valley State University’s Women’s Golf team finished out the week with two matches taking fourteenth place out of 15 schools in the Mary Fossum Invitational at Forest Akers West Golf Course in East Lansing and winning the Gilda’s Club Laker Fall Invite at the Meadows Golf Club.
Lakers’ head coach Rebecca Mailloux was happy to see how her team bounced back during the competitions.
“We finished on a high note, our first nine holes were our worst nine holes of our 36 today, but the girls recovered and played amazing in those last 27 holes to secure the victory,” Mailloux said.
On Monday, Sept. 18 GVSU women’s golf team was the only Division II school to compete in the Mary Fossum Invitational. After three rounds of play, the Lakers finished in 14th place, shooting a 941 which put them ahead of Division I opponent Oakland University.
Julia Sanchez led the Lakers with a tie for fifty-ninth place. Sanchez shot a final round of 77 (+5) with one birdie to end at fifteen over for the tournament. Junior Olivia Stoll had a great final round, shooting a 70 (-2) with five birdies to end in a tie for sixty-second at +16.
Competing in the Mary Fossum Invite as a DII school is a tall task. Mailloux looked at it as an opportunity for growth.
“The reason I put the girls in such a tournament is to be tested, and to be challenged and hopefully make their game a lot better which I definitely think it did,” Mailloux said. “When we are playing in Division I tournaments playing close to 6400 yards, which is a lot longer than we are used to playing in Division II, so going back to shorter yardage would give us more confidence and helps us improve score wise.”
On Saturday, Sept. 23 the team began play in the Gilda’s Club Laker Fall Invite at The Meadows Golf Club finishing in first place, shooting a 615 through three rounds and claiming their first win of the season. Stoll took first place in the individual championship and sophomore Rachael Krieger also received all tournament honors.
Hosting the invite at the Meadows Golf Course, the Lakers had a bit of an advantage over their opponents, competing their home turf for the first time this season.
Stoll shot rounds of 72 and 77 to finish at five over for the tournament, winning her fourth career tournament and first of this season. Stoll stepped up big time with three birdies in her first round and one birdie and an eagle in the second round to win the tournament by one stroke.
Stoll said she was very proud of the way that the team played this weekend.
“We know if we aren’t playing great, we all know it’s inside of us to flip the switch and get it going, we all know we are better than that,” Stoll said. “It’s our home course. We knew how to play it, we knew how to play smart.”
Krieger and Sanchez both tied for fourth at nine over. Krieger shot rounds of 80 and 73 with two birdies while Sanchez shot a 77 and a 76 and had one birdie in each round. Lakers’ junior golfer Megan Miron was tied for fifteenth at 16 over par, as she had one birdie over her rounds of 82 and 78. Lakers’ freshman Evelyn Park played rounds of 80 and 81 to end in a tie for seventeenth, with five birdies on the day.
GVSU will travel to Big Rapids, Michigan to compete in Ferris State University’s Lady Bulldog Invitational, which began on Sunday, Sept. 24 and will conclude the following day.
