Reigning again: Yurik, Stoney Creek defend Oakland County golf title
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
WATERFORD — With the state tournament looming less than a month away, Rochester Stoney Creek has picked the right time to start proving that it still belongs among the state title contenders once again this season.
The Cougars, who graduated two Division I golfers from its 2010 state runner-up team, captured its fourth tournament crown of the season Wednesday at Pontiac Country Club by winning the prestigious Oakland County Division I Tournament.
Stoney Creek, the top-ranked girls golf program in Division 1, put together a play-five, count-four team score of 333 to win its second straight county crown and kick off the championship season in style. The Cougars will have their second OAA Red Division league meet, regional and likely state finals matches over the next 3.5 weeks.
RAISE YOUR HANDS: Rochester Stoney Creek's Chloe Guschewski celebrates a shot during Wednesday's Oakland County Division I Tournament. Guschewski and the Cougars shot 333 to win their second straight county crown. Photo By Larry McKee, www.lmckeephotography.com
“We don’t worry about rankings and all of that (outside distractions),” admitted first-year Stoney Creek coach Tony Lafferty. “It’s more important for them to go out and play their game. And we’ll see how the chips fall in the end. Why the ranking is nice, they need to focus on shot-by-shot and hole-by-hole.”
Chloe Guschewski (84), Bailey Compton (87) and Abbie McCain (88) aided Stoney Creek’s team score, as the Cougars were the only team to have four golfers break 90. Last season Stoney Creek shot a 317 to win by 24 strokes.
“Every time we go out we get better and better. That leaves you with a really positive feeling at the end of the day,” added Lafferty, noting several underclassmen on the roster this season. “We had Bailey (Compton), a freshman, come out and shoot an 87.She keeps getting better and better. That’s what we need, to have these young girls keep improving.”
Perhaps no player was as focused as Stoney Creek senior Gabby Yurik, who continued to impress by shooting a 1-under round of 71 to defend her county individual crown and place in the top 10 for the fourth straight season. She bogied the final hole, but still ended with a four-stroke lead over Birmingham Seaholm’s Essance Biggs, who carded a 75.
“Our whole team is getting better,” said Yurik, a front-runner for the 2011 Miss Golf award who shot a 70 at least year’s county event. “For me, I hit more greens than I normally do. Other than that, it was just course management. I shot 1-over on the front and 2-under on the back, but I could’ve done a lot better. I shot 70 here last year. I am just concentrating on playing good golf and hopefully help us get back to the state finals.”
Only four golfers broke 80 on the day, as the course was still mud-bogged after Monday’s 12 hours of rain showers. Birmingham Marian’s Kelly Lumghamer and Troy’s Kelly Feng tied for third at 78, while Walled Lake Central’s Kathleen Kennedy, Farmington Hills Mercy’s Breanna Hammond and Novi’s Lauren Cojei all shot 81 and tied for fifth in the field of 90 golfers.
Sarah Dilts of Bloomfield Hills Sacred Heart (82), Marian’s Macy Hudson (83), Rochester’s Jazmin Haque (83) and Rochester Adams’ Kaela Sakorafis (83) rounded out the top 10 in the medalist standings.
Troy, ranked third in Division 1, finished 10 strokes back of Stoney Creek with a 343 team score. Farmington Hills Mercy, ranked third in Division 2, was third at 353, D-2 10th-ranked Birmingham Marian was fourth (354) and Rochester, which won six county titles in the past 10 years, claimed fifth at 357.
“Stoney Creek played so well. A 333 is a very good score for this course,” conceded Troy coach John Getzan, whose team was third last season and had a three-stroke improvement over last year’s county tournament. “I know the girls are disappointed because they really thought they had a shot at winning it this year and they have beaten Stoney Creek at a tournament last month.
“But I’m not disappointed in finishing second,” continued Getzan. “Looking at the big picture and all of the (state-ranked) teams here, this is a very good showing. Finishing second at the Oakland County tournament is nothing to be ashamed of at all.”
Birmingham Detroit Country Day, ranked 10th in Division 3, was sixth with a 363 team score, followed by Milford (368), Walled Lake Central (370), Novi (370), Bloomfield Hills Sacred Heart (371) and South Lyon (371) in the top 10 of the 18-school field.
Walled Lake Central is 12th in Division 1 and Sacred Heart 11th in Division 4. There were eight total ranked teams in the field, including Birmingham Seaholm (No. 6 in D-2), which shot 384 to finish 13th but did not have all of its top golfers at the tournament.
Clarkston finished 12th (383), while Adams was 14th (388) and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood 15th (393). Bloomfield Hills Andover (401), Lake Orion (406) and Bloomfield Hills Lahser (439) completed this year’s field.
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Category: Clarkston, High School, Lake Orion, Prep Wraps, Rochester, Rochester Adams, Rochester Stoney Creek, Troy
