Great Lakes Wire

The Northern Michigan University women's golf team concluded its season-opening tournament at the Warrior Invitational in Washington, Michigan, finishing 12th out of 13 teams with a total score of 1013 (+149) over three rounds.

The event took place from Monday to Tuesday and included both regional and conference opponents. Teams played two rounds on Monday and one final round on Tuesday. Grand Valley State and Findlay tied for first place with scores of 885 (+21), followed by Ferris State, Davenport, and Northwood.

After posting rounds of +51 and +60 on Monday, the Wildcats improved in the third round on Tuesday by reducing their score by 22 strokes to finish with a +38. This was the eighth-best team score for that round. The Wildcats recorded an average of 3.72 strokes (+43) on par threes, 4.95 (+143) on par fours, and 5.95 (+57) on par fives throughout the tournament. They made 16 birdies—the ninth most among all teams—but also had a high number of bogeys (91) and led in double bogeys or worse with 72.

The Orchards Golf Club course measured 6,020 yards as a par-72 layout, averaging a score of approximately 82.7 per round across all players. There was a four-way tie for individual champion between June Hsiao and Rachael Krieger (Grand Valley State), Kamryn Shannon (Ferris State), and Emma Myers (Findlay), each finishing at +3 after three rounds.

Maddy Martens led NMU individually, shooting an opening round +13 before carding consecutive rounds of +7 for a total score of +27 (243), tying for 34th place in a field of 78 golfers. Martens achieved four birdies during the tournament—second most on her team—and opened her final round with strong play: "Martens started on hole eleven all three rounds, where in round three she opened with a birdie before carding seven-straight pars to shoot -1 in her opening eight holes, finishing with an even 36 on the back-nine in her final round." She led NMU in several statistical categories including par four scoring (+17), par five scoring (+3), total pars (26), and fewest double bogeys or worse (seven).

Freshman Aavra Relich finished second among NMU golfers with a three-day total of +37 (253). She shot rounds of +8, +12, and +17 to tie for 51st place individually in her collegiate debut: "Relich opened the tournament strong, leading the team with her opening round 80 (+8), a round that included 13 pars." Relich matched Martens' four birdies over the event.

Abbie Pietila was one stroke behind Relich at +38 (254) to finish alone in 55th place after improving by ten shots from her second to third round: "Pietila erased ten strokes off her second round score in round three, shooting a +8 to finish the tournament."

Payton Donnelly placed fourth among Wildcats competitors at T66 overall with a total score of +47 (263). She made significant improvement in her last round: "Donnelly had an exceptional end to her tournament; after shooting rounds of +18 and +23... Donnelly led the Wildcats in round three, shaving off seventeen strokes and shooting a +6."

Abby Luke (+80), Olivia Brill (+94), and Gabriella Moreau(+99) completed NMU's lineup.

Next up for Northern Michigan is participation at the Bulldog Fall Classic this coming weekend at Katke Golf Course in Big Rapids.