Grand Valley State soon-to-be sophomore
Katie Chipman notched a runner-up finish at the 101st Michigan Women's Amateur Championship on Friday (July 14), as the Laker golfer won her semifinal matchup before dropping a tight championship contest in match play. One of four GVSU golfers to compete in the tournament at Saginaw Country Club, Chipman earned a second-place finish among the 84 golfers in the field.
Chipman fell to Aya Johnson in the championship round by a score of 3 & 2. Johnson, from Muskegon, will enter her senior season at Wisconsin this fall. Chipman completed a terrific freshman campaign in Allendale, where the Laker rookie was named to the All-GLIAC First Team.
Ironically, both Chipman and Johnson shot a 146 in the qualifying rounds last Monday and Tuesday, with Chipman shooting a 71 followed by a 75; Johnson was the exact opposite, notching a 75 in round one and a 71 on Tuesday. The duo tied for third place in the qualifying stages, with Johnson earning the 3-seed in match play and Chipman entering match play as the 4-seed.
Chipman had an interesting path to the final match of the tournament on Friday. She defeated 29-seed Jami Laude 3 & 2 on Wednesday before matching up with future Laker teammate Olivia Reed the same day, tallying a close 2 & 1 victory in the round of 16 over Reed, the 13-seed. On Thursday, Chipman faced a current GVSU teammate in soon-to-be junior
Mackenzie Blomberg; Chipman edged out 21-seed Blomberg by a 1 Up result to advance to the semifinals.
As one of the final four players, Chipman had another tight matchup, as she needed 19 holes to get past 8-seed Sarah White, who knocked off the top seed Kerrigan Parks in the quarterfinal round.
That led Chipman to her championship matchup against Johnson later on Friday afternoon. Chipman took an early 2-up lead after five holes before Johnson rallied back to even the match as the duo headed to the back nine. After the 11th hole, Johnson opened a 1-up lead, which was extended to a 2-up advantage after the 15th hole. Needing to win two of the final three holes to extend the match, Chipman was unable to do so, but finished as the tournament runner-up after a terrific week of competition.
Chipman, Blomberg, Reed, and
Samantha Moss (a round of 32 qualifier) will be back in action this fall, as the 2017-18 GVSU women's golf season opens up on Sept. 11-12 in Carmel, Ind. at the Indianapolis Fall Invite.
