Grand Valley Men’s and Women’s Teams Keep Winning
By Tom Lang
The Grand Valley men’s golf team went two-for-two to start the spring season, winning tournaments at the Buccaneer Classic in Tennessee (at 15-under par to win by 12 strokes) and the Hargett Memorial Invite in North Carolina (by 19 strokes at 1-under par).
At the Buccaneer, Nick Krueger (ranked No. 21 in the country) led the way with a 4th place finish, shooting rounds of 70-73-69 to finish at 4-under. Charlie Cooley and Charles DeLong both ended in a tie for 7th at 3-under. Drew Coble finished at 2-under par for 9th place.
"Freshman Charlie Cooley shooting a 67 in the second round gave us a needed jumpstart," head coach Gary Bissell said. "We are happy to start the spring off on the right foot and we are looking forward to improving as we go."
DeLong of DeWitt (ranked No. 2 in the country) picked up his 10th college career win at Hargett, shooting 10-under par for the three-rounds.
GVSU Women:
Similarly, the women’s team got their first win of the spring, its second win of the season, by taking the title at the Augustana Spring Fling in Palm Desert, CA, with a 16-shot margin over host Augustana. Olivia Stoll of Haslett also picked up her second win of the fall/spring season, shooting even par for the tournament.
"This was a collective team win … the ladies made a lot of birdies and were 5-under on the par 5s as a team which is a big reason for our success in the desert,” head coach Rebecca Mailloux said. “Great to see Liv get her 2nd individual win."
Paula Badino finished in a tie for 4th by shooting rounds of 76-74, tallying four birdies during the two rounds. Julia Sanchez shot rounds of 75-76, carding six birdies. Megan Miron shot rounds of 75-77 to end at +8 in a tie for 9th after recording four birdies in the tournament.
U-M Wins Big Ten Golf Match Play Title
The University of Michigan men’s golf team got the new spring season off to a hot start in February by turning a No. 8 seed placement in the Big Ten match Play Championship into a huge win.
In the semifinal and final rounds, the Wolverines defeated No. 3 seed Indiana, before disposing of No. 1 seed Northwestern. Both match scores were 3-and-2.
In the quarterfinal round, the Wolverines beat No. 2 seed MSU, making it a total sweep of the top 3 seeds in the annual event at Hammock Beach Ocean Course. In Palm Coast, Florida, in early February.
Hunter Thompson became the third golfer in Wolverine history to go undefeated in the match play event (4-0). The exclusive list includes Patrick Sullivan in 2020, and Kyle Mueller in 2015.
"This was a total team effort," said U-M head coach Zach Barlow in a news release. "Hunter (Thomson) leading the way, going 4-0, was just tremendous. I cannot say enough about the work these guys have put in this offseason. They're starting to reap the rewards of that."
When U-M won the same event in 2014, it was the No. 8 seed as well.
MSU junior men's golfer August Meekhof fired an 11-under par 205 to finish in first place, while helping lead the Spartans to a 3rd-place finish among 12 teams at the Colleton River Collegiate, played on the Jack Nicklaus Course in Bluffton, S.C. in early March. Georgia Southern won the event.
Meekhof entered the final day in a tie for 7th place but fired a 4-under par 68 to finish at 11-under par 205 (68-69-68) and one shot ahead four other golfers. Meekhof had four birdies in the final round. His 54 hole totals were: 13 birdies, with 39 pars and just two bogeys – earning Big Ten Player of the Week.
"Overall, it was a very successful weekend," said head coach Casey Lubahn. "Watching August play that round (the final day) was phenomenal. It was a long-time coming and we're thrilled for him.”
