Simply Sensational

Sunday, October 14

Noblesville, IN

TBA

Central Michigan University

901

MAC Fall Preview (Purgatory Golf Club)

Photo by: Andy Sneddon

10/15/2018 6:54:00 PM | Women's Golf

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Chippewas Rewrite Record Book With Historic Tournament

By: Andy Sneddon

Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com

NOBLESVILLE, Ind. – No letdown. Another outstanding day. And a sensational tournament.

Bria Colosky and her teammates on the Central Michigan golf team continued to re-write the record books – and gain some sit-up-and-take-notice attention -- on Monday during the third and final round of the Mid-American Conference Fall Preview at Purgatory Golf Club.

Colosky, a senior, shot a 1-under par 71 to finish with a 215 total and place second individually in the 74-player field. It is the best placing by a CMU golfer since the program's resurrection before the 2014-15 season. Colosky's 215 is a 54-hole program record. She led the Chippewas to a third-place finish in the 12-team event, a week after they finished fourth at Eastern Michigan which came immediately after a third-place finish at Oakland.

CMU finished in front of six MAC teams in posting a 901 team total, a program record which came on the heels of the Chippewas' 18- and 36-hole record rounds on Sunday. The previous best 54-hole score by a Chippewa was a 919 they posted a year ago at the Ball State Cardinal Classic.

COLOSKY SHINES
Colosky's 215 bettered the program mark of 221 set by teammate Jami Laude at the North Florida Collegiate last March. Colosky, who had set the program 36-hole record with a 144 total on Sunday, finished three shots behind medalist Natcha Daengpiem of Toledo, who closed with a 75.

Colosky's 71 was the low round of the day -- by an amazing four shots.

"For the program it's huge because you have to have these individual successes to have team success," first-year CMU coach Jim Earle said. "Bria is having one heck of a fall and I think she's setting the foundation for this program to succeed well after her time. It's exciting to be a part of it and watch her strike the golf ball and play golf. She's a special talent."

Colosky's round included four birdies after she made six over her 36 holes on Saturday. Her 10 birdies tied her for the second most among the field.

Colosky said she benefitted from having the company of CMU grad assistant Dev Naik, who walked 16 of the 18 holes with Colosky. Her second-place finish is the best by a Chippewa since the program's resurrection prior to the 2014-15 season.

"I feel like Dev and I were jelling," Colosky said. "She was helping me read putts. We kind of had a routine. Obviously I hit the putts, but it was good to have a second opinion on how it was going to break and everything."

FOLLOWUP
After posting their 291 in Sunday's second round – a 12-shot improvement over the best 18-hole round in program history – the Chippewas didn't miss a beat on Monday, though it didn't come easily in the wind and cold temperatures which made scoring difficult.

CMU's 307 was the lowest of the 12 teams. Toledo's 311 was the second-best score of the day.

It was the first time that Earle had taken the Chippewas to Purgatory, a links-style course made all the more difficult by the British Open-like conditions: strong winds and temperatures in the 40s.

Earle, who previously coached Division II Missouri-St. Louis, had seen how nasty Purgatory can be. The Chippewas' performance on that track under those conditions was impressive, he said.

"I've seen this golf course," said Earle, whose team has placed third, fourth and third in its last three tournaments. "I was here with an UMSL team which was a really good golf team and (the course) absolutely demoralized us. I knew this was a difficult test of golf.

"To be totally honest I didn't put that big of expectations on us of how we'd finish. It was, 'just continue the streak of competing hard and let the girls play their way into some success.'

"Following up our play with the lowest score of the day against this field under really, really difficult conditions, it's as rewarding and impressive, in my eyes, as the record-setting performance (on Sunday)."

TEAM EFFORT
Danielle Sawyer shot 76 for CMU, while Jami Laude shot 78, Holly Hinds posted an 82, and Meghan Deardorff shot 85.

Sawyer turned in a solid tournament, shooting 76-75-76 – 227 to finish in a tie for 11^th place. She began Monday's final round tied for 26^th. Laude finished at 228 and tied for 21^st.

"Coach this morning said, 'We did great yesterday; today's a new day. Play it as if it's a new day because it is,'" Colosky said. "I'm just super, super proud of us and we're not letting it get too big into our heads. This should give us nothing but confidence. We're competing with the top teams in our conference, which is huge."

Yes, the Chippewas' scores were generally higher, individually, on Monday than they had been in Sunday's second round. But so were most of those of the entire field. That the Chippewas were able to grind through is a testament to their mettle, Earle said.

"There were just a lot of great individual performances," he said. "Jamie struggled on the greens today and she still posted a number; Holly had a really tough stretch and she held it together and scrapped and fought her way back to a score that we desperately needed, and Danielle Sawyer shot 76 today, one of the best rounds of the day. She's put together four great rounds in a row now. I couldn't be more proud of the hard work she's put in."

PERSPECTIVE
Colosky, who is in her fourth year in the program, has seen the steady growth among her teammates. Improvement had been expected as the players developed and gained experience, but the Chippewas have perhaps exceeded even the most optimistic of hopes with what they have accomplished over the past month.

"I think back to my freshman year and we were just showing up and no one knew our names and we'd just go play golf," Colosky said. "We had good scores here and there. And now we can walk into tournaments and be like, 'CMU's here,' and actually compete."

Said Earle: "They're believing in themselves and I don't think that that's always been the case with them. They do believe they can compete with the very best and it's exciting for all of us."

NEXT
The Chippewas close the fall portion of their season at the Charles Braun Jr. Intercollegiate, hosted by Evansville, at Oak Meadow Country Club in Evansville, Ind. On Oct. 22-23.