Ferris women’s golf has started this season in top spots through week two on the road, setting themselves up nicely for their home tournament this weekend.
The Bulldogs started off the season by winning the Saginaw Valley State Fall Invitational by six strokes over Lake Superior State University (LSSU) on Sept. 14 and 15. They then followed up their top performance by finishing second in the Cumberland Classic Sept. 21 and 22. The weekend saw the Bulldogs set or tie two records after the team shot a score of 296 on Saturday, which tied the record set 14 years ago in 2005. The next day, junior golfer Destiny Lawson set the 36-hole record by shooting a 142 over the course of the weekend.
In the Saginaw Valley State Fall Invitational, the Bulldogs finished the first day in third place after the team shot a 312. They then bounced back by shooting a 298 on the second day, erasing a six-stroke deficit to Wayne State and winning the tournament by six strokes themselves over LSSU. The tournament consisted of nine teams.
Lawson tied for first overall with Hannah Meloche of Davenport in individual play after shooting a 150 over the two days of play. This included a score of 76 on Saturday and a 74 on Sunday. After the tie, the duo went to a one-hole playoff. Lawson was able to birdie the playoff hole to finish first overall in the tournament.
“I would describe the start of the fall golf season to be strong and successful for the women’s golf program,” Lawson said. “The hard work and dedication of the entire team has been shown through the first-place finish at the SVSU Invitational and then the second-place finish at Cumberland Classic. Personally, the first couple weeks have provided a good foundation for the rest of the year and have shown me what I need to improve on.”
Senior golfer Shayna Schneider finished second on the team and fifth overall after shooting a 153, including a tournament best round of 71. Sophomore golfer Mackenzie Dale carded a 154 and finished tied for eighth overall, third on the team.
Both Lawson and Schneider were named to the all-tournament team for the Bulldogs. A total of nine teams were in the field.
Moving onto this past weekend, the Bulldogs continued building momentum on the season after the team tied the school record by shooting a 296 as a team. They finished the day in second place out of 16 teams only behind Tiffin University by four strokes. After the first day, the Bulldogs led the tournament in pars shot with 79, which was six pars more than the second place team, Gannon University.
Both Lawson and Schneider shot a score of 72 on Saturday, which is even par for the course. Lawson led the team with four birdies while also carding 13 pars.
On Sunday, the Bulldogs closed the four-stroke deficit to Tiffin University, but it wasn’t enough as the Bulldogs finished with a score of 604, two strokes behind Tiffin’s 602.
Lawson once again led the team by shooting a 70, two strokes below par. This strong second round led her to her score of 142, breaking the previous record of 144 set by Jacqueline Benscoter in 2007.
“The final round of the Cumberland Classic was competitive,” Lawson said. “The thought never crossed my mind about setting the 36-hole individual record for Ferris. Going into the final round as a team we were 4 strokes off the lead and my mindset going into the round was to play for my teammates and to get a few strokes back. The individual 36-hole record I set is a secondary accomplishment compared to the team breaking the 36-hole team total record with a 604 total.”
The Bulldogs will return home this weekend as the Bulldog Women’s Invitational will be held this Saturday and Sunday.