Team Results | Player Results

Team & Player Results | Day Four Tee Times

The Grand Valley State women's golf team put together the best single round in school history on Friday (May 20) at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora, Colo., as the Lakers moved to sixth place at the NCAA National Championships with an incredible round of 284 (-4). Three GVSU golfers shot even par or better, led by sophomore Samantha Moss and senior Gabrielle Shipley, who were both under par during Friday's record-setting round.
 
It took 18 birdies and an eagle from the Laker fivesome to obliterate the previous school record for a single round in any tournament in GVSU history. In the opening rounds of the 2015-16 GLIAC Championship and in the 2011-12 Bulldog Invitational, Grand Valley State fired then-school records of 292, both of which were good for +4 as a team.
 
Friday's round was not only eight strokes better than that mark, but it was also not coincidentally the first time GVSU has ever shot under par as a team for an entire round. The score is even more impressive considering just one other team (Tarleton State with a 3-under 285) shot below par. In fact, Indianapolis' 292 (+4) was the third-lowest score on Friday, eight strokes back of the Lakers' record tally.
 
Moss led the Laker contingent on Friday, notching six birdies for a personal best 69 (-3), one shot ahead of Shipley, who knocked down four birdies for a 70 (-2). It was Shipley's second consecutive round of 70; coupled with her opening round 73, the senior All-American sits in a three-way tie for first place after 54 holes with a 213 (-3). Shipley is tied with Tarleton State's Isabell Jimenez Perea and Findlay's Kasey Petty, as both golfers shot a 69 (-3) in the third round.
 
Ten of GVSU's 18 birdies came from Moss and Shipley, but all five Lakers contributed to the all-time low score. Freshman Alex Amos and junior Alex Taylor each tallied three birdies, while junior Julie Guckian birdied two holes and notched a rarely-seen eagle on the par-5 15th hole. There have been just six total eagles in the first three rounds of the tournament.
 
As a team, Grand Valley State recorded three birdies and an eagle on the 15th hole, while also knocking down three birdies on both the second and 18th holes.
 
While the Lakers moved from an eighth place tie after round two to sixth place after Friday's third round, GVSU (890, +26) is just five strokes out of third place in the team standings. Rollins continues its 54-hole lead with an 871 (+7), while Indianapolis (878, +14) and Dallas Baptist (885, +21) are second and third, respectively.
 
Tarleton State (886, +22) and Nova Southeastern (889, +25) are just a couple strokes ahead of Grand Valley State heading into Saturday's (May 21) final round. The Lakers' third round team score of 284 is the lowest round by any team in any round in the entire tournament and comes on the heels of scores of 302 and 304 during the first 36 holes.
 
Moss was terrific for the Lakers on Friday, notching six birdies and 10 pars during the round. GVSU started on the back nine in round three and Moss was even after nine holes (she birdied the 11th and 18th holes), then heated up on the front nine. She bogeyed the first hole, but was par or better the rest of the way, tallying a birdie on the second hole and closing her round by going birdie-birdie-birdie on the seventh, eighth, and ninth holes. Heading into Saturday, Moss is tied for 34th place with a three-day score of 227 (+11).
 
Shipley nearly duplicated Moss' performance, tying her own personal-best with a 70 (-2) on Friday. On the back nine, Shipley started with a par and a birdie to begin her 3-under 33. She recorded six pars and three birdies (holes 11, 15, and 18) on the back nine before making a birdie on the second hole. Shipley made five more pars the rest of the front nine (for a dozen total pars on Friday) to stay in a three-way tie for first place as an individual. Her 13 total birdies are second-most by any player.
 
Highlighted by her early eagle, Guckian notched her best round of the week with an even-par 72. She is tied for 48th place with a 229 (+13), following up her opening rounds of 77 and 80 on Wednesday and Thursday. Guckian birdied the 18th hole for a stellar 1-under 35 on the back nine. She collected six pars and a seventh hole birdie on the front nine to go even over the 18 holes.
 
Tied with Guckian is Taylor, her junior classmate. Taylor improved for her third straight round, as she lowered her score from 79 on Wednesday to 77 on Thursday to a 73 (+1) on Friday. Like Guckian, Taylor has a 54-hole score of 229 (+13). Taylor birdied the 15th and 17th holes for a 1-over 37 on the back nine. After a first-hole bogey, she sandwiched seven pars around a fourth-hole birdie for an even par front nine.
 
GVSU played so well on Friday that - remarkably - Amos' solid score of 76 (+4) was the highest score by a Laker in the third round. The freshman is still tied for 34th place (along with Moss) with a score of 227 (+11) through 54 holes. After rounds of 73 and 78, Amos used nine pars and three birdies in her 76 on Friday, as she tabbed birdies on the second, third, and 15th holes.
 
Saturday's final round of the 72-hole competition begins at 8:00 a.m. MDT (10:00 a.m. ET), as the Lakers will go off the front nine in the order of Taylor, Guckian, Moss, Amos, and Shipley.