Results

What started as a two-team race quickly turned into a runaway victory for the Grand Valley State women's golf team, which saw all six of its competitors finish inside the top 20, at Indian Pond Country Club in Kingston, Massachusetts. The No. 6 Lakers, who entered Monday (Oct. 6) morning's final round with a four-stroke lead, were the only team to break 320, firing a 13-over 301 and totaling a 42-over 618 to best second-place Missouri-Saint Louis by a whopping 26 strokes.

"The course was definitely challenging, because of how a lot of the greens are sloped," said head coach Rebecca Mailloux. "It was a pretty tricky course as far as a lot of elevation changes and the strategy involved. It was definitely a course that takes some time to get comfortable with. It wasn't a very deep field, but it still says something to win by that much."
 
Not only was GVSU essentially able to lap the nine-team field, junior Gabrielle Shipley followed up Sunday's (Oct. 5) 2-under 70 with a 1-under 71 to claim medalist honors by a 13-shot margin. It is the third first-place finish, and lowest 36-hole score, of her three-year career.
 
The two-time All-GLIAC First Team honoree led the field with nine birdies—only one other player made more than five—and played both the par 4s and par 5s at 2-under, pacing all 52 competitors in those categories. Moreover, the next-closest players to Shipley in par-4 scoring—teammates Molly Esordi and Kelly Hartigan and Wheeling Jesuit's Kasey Frazier—all totaled 6-over.

"I was putting really well this weekend," said Shipley, one of the longest hitters off the tee in Division II. "I didn't miss many greens and gave myself a lot of birdie opportunities both days. The course was playing short, so my length was an adavantage...My mental game has gotten a lot stronger this year, which helped me pull out the win today."
 
Taking second place for the second consecutive event was Hartigan. The two-time GLIAC Women's Golfer of the Year parred 24 of her 36 holes, posting back-to-back 5-over 77s. UMSL's Joana Yanez and Merrimack's Alessandra Ricigliano were the only ones able to match Hartigan's 10-over 154.
 
A career-low 2-over 74 on the closing 18 holes vaulted sophomore Alex Taylor into a tie for sixth place, the highest finish of her career.
 
The Port Robinson, Ontario native tallied a 14-over 158 for the event, mostly because she was one of just four golfers to play the par 3s at even par or better. Overall, Taylor poured in 21 pars and a pair of birdies en route to the lowest two-round score of her career.

"I was really proud to make a comeback from the day before," said Taylor. "(Today) I tried some different things approaching the ball, paid more attention to my alignment, because it was a problem before, and stayed more positive over the ball. I was hitting everything a lot better and more solid."
 
Freshman Samantha Moss battled to an 8-over 80 on day two, ending the event in a tie for 13^th place with a 22-over 166. Moss played the par 4s at 8-over, making her one of six golfers to do so, as she took home the first top-15 finish of the year.
 
Sophomore Julie Guckian cracked the top 20 for a second straight week with a 24-over 168. The Linden High School alum bounced back from an opening-round 17-over 89 with a 7-over 79 on day two. Additionally, she was one of three players to lead the field in par-3 scoring (2.88, -1), while her three birdies were tied for seventh and 18 pars were tied for ninth, respectively.
 
Esordi, an individual competitor, notched her second career top-10 finish with rounds of 9-over 81 and 10-over 82. The senior played relatively steady golf, amassing 20 pars in 36 holes.
 
The Lakers will look to take first place for a third consecutive time later this month at the inaugural Malone Invitational. The two-day event will be held at The Legends at Massillon in Ohio from Oct. 18 through Oct. 19.