Dramatic And Historic

ROCHESTER, Mich. – A little bit of drama, a little bit of fret, and a little bit of composure.

And a lot of history.

The Central Michigan golf team shot 309 on Tuesday to hold off Green Bay and win a tournament for the first time in program history as the Chippewas claimed the Oakland Golden Grizzlies Invitational at Katke-Cousins Golf Course, finishing with a 36-hole 614 total. Green Bay finished at 615.

Oakland was third with 620. The Golden Grizzlies led the Chippewas by one shot entering Tuesday's round.

"We're absolutely elated and proud," second-year CMU coach Jim Earle said. "A lot of emotion from the girls who have been here that haven't been able to experience a whole lot of success. For the new players to come in and for us to mesh and to beat a team like Oakland at their home course, and Green Bay fired a heck of a round today."

It didn't come easily. The Chippewas held a seemingly comfortable lead with just a few holes remaining and then the cart wobbled and suddenly pars became double bogeys.

Somehow, the Chippewas – with three freshmen playing their first collegiate tournament – white-knuckled it home to win by the narrowest of margins and turn what would most certainly have been bitter disappointment into jubilation.

"Coming down the stretch, there were moments," Earle said. "Everybody was getting tight. I thought we had a fairly significant lead with three holes to go. It just came down to a few key shots."

Padgett Chitty shot a 3-over 75 to lead the Chippewas, while Meghan Deardorff posted a 76, Claudia Salvador carded a 77, and Zoe Vartyan came in at 81. Chitty, Salvador and Vartyan are freshman, while Deardorff is a junior.

"Chitty had a 15-foot putt on her last hole for birdie, and she made it," Earle said. "And (Deardorff), her last hole, she was way above the hole with the green slanting away from her. She was up top, 10 feet, 15 feet above the whole and had to chip it and let it crest and roll back down towards the hole. She chipped it within 6 inches. It was fantastic.

"That's some big stuff."

Individually, Salvador finished with a 36-hole 153 total to tie for third, while Chitty and Vartyan finished tied for fifth at 154, and Deardorff finished among a group tied for seventh at 155.

Junior Jami Laude shot 85 on Tuesday to finish with a 162 total and in 24^th place. The team victory was perhaps more meaningful to Laude and Deardorff, who are both in their third year with the program and had never tasted victory on the collegiate level.

"She never gave up though, and that's really important," Earle said. "She was fighting until the end. She was as emotional and as elated as I've ever seen her. She's a stoic type of person. I'm happy for Jami. Very much so."

Though the Chippewas won the tournament in regulation, their celebration was delayed because of a scoring error that had tournament officials believing the Chippewas and Green Bay were tied. That necessitated a playoff in which all five players from each team teed off on No. 1 with the top four scores from each team counting toward a total. Low team wins.

With the players having teed off and working their way down the fairway, tournament officials drove out in carts and made the announcement that the Chippewas had, in fact, won.

"They all started jumping up and down, elated, and hugging," Earle said. "It was a great moment to be in the middle of the fairway and do that. And Green Bay was a gracious runner-up, so we appreciate that."

The win was certainly a long time coming for the program which made major tangible strides last fall with four top-five finishes, beginning with a third-place finish at the 2018 Golden Grizzlies Invitational.

"We were close to winning this tournament last year and I'd be lying if I said I haven't been thinking about that one for quite some time," Earle said. "To get back and win this event, that is very important. I think the girls are excited about the immediate success of the program. Just so they can show to themselves that they can win. I think that's the most important thing. It jumpstarts some real belief in themselves. If you stay focused and persevere through the round, you can win."

Two Chippewas, freshman Ashley Liles and junior Rachel Leucuta, played in the tournament as individuals. Liles shot 86 on Tuesday to finish with a 163 total; Rachel Leucuta posted an 88 to finish at 173.

The Chippewas go to the Eastern Michigan Invitational on Sept. 30-Oct. 1 in Ypsilanti.

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Players Mentioned

Padgett Chitty

Meghan Deardorff

Jami Laude

Rachel Leucuta

Ashley Liles

Claudia Salvador

Zoe Vartyan