Central Michigan University Athletics
Junior Elise Fennell closed with her second consecutive 1-over 71 on Tuesday to lead the CMU women's golf team at the Dayton Flyer Invitational.
Photo by: Rey Del Rio
10/20/2026 5:41:00 PM | Women's Golf
CMU women's golf wraps up oustanding fall during which they posted three tournament victories
KETTERING, Ohio – Elise Fennell closed with a 1-over par 71 on Tuesday for a sixth-place finish in leading the Central Michigan women's golf team in the Dayton Flyer Invitational at NCR Country Club.
The Chippewas finished in third place in the 11-team field with a 54-hole 50-over 890 total. CMU opened the tournament on Monday with a 292, then posted a second-round 302, and closed with a 296.
It was the final fall tournament for the Chippewas, who played five events, won three of them, and finished second in another. It easily ranks as the best fall in the 13-year modern history of the program.
"We had a really, really good fall season," said fifth-year CMU coach Ryan Williams. "A lot of solid golf. It's an indicator of us taking big steps forward as a program. It's exciting."
Fennell opened with a 4-over 74 on Monday and then posted twin 71s in the final two rounds. She made no worse than a bogey throughout her 54 holes in finishing at 6-over 216, 10 shots behind medalist Addi Kooi of Butler.
Fennell, a junior transfer from Illinois State, finished in the top 10 in all four of CMU's four stroke-play tournaments this fall. She also won both of her matches in helping the Chippewas to victory in their lone match-play event, the Motor City Matchup.
"Just really consistent," Williams said of Fennell, who leads the Chippewas with a 73.63 scoring average. "No big mistakes and she just kind of kept things in front of her.
"She's a solid player and it's great to see her consistent performances, top 10s and top fives, and that's kind of what we expected from her. It's great to see that she's doing that."
CMU's Lexi Schulman also closed with a 1-over 71 to finish at 12-over 222 and tied for 14th in the 77-player field.
It wrapped a solid fall for Schulman, a senior who posted two top-10 finishes and, like Fennell, went 2-0 in the Motor City Matchup.
Schulman made 35 pars, tying for the third most in the field, and just one double bogey over her 54 holes.
"She played really well," Williams said. "She played pretty simple and made it look easy, which is awesome."
Also for the Chippewas on Tuesday, Mya Morgan shot a 5-over 75, Rachel Niskanen and Zoe Dull both posted a 9-over 79, Milly Pantepin carded a 10-over 80, and Brooke Morris shot a 13-over 83.
Morgan at 15-over 225 and T23, Pantepin and Niskanen finished among a group tied at 20-over 230, Dull finished T46 at 23-over 233, and Morris tied for 68th at 36-over 256.
Pantepin and Morris were playing as individuals.
"We didn't have our best stuff this week and we didn't play as clean as we'd like and we still finished third in a pretty solid field so that's a really good sign," Williams said. "We made some mistakes where we couldn't afford to and missed in spots where you can't miss out there.
"This golf course is a really good test; it tests your patience, it tests your management, and you've got to be able to think your way around this golf course. The pins were a little bit tricky and the greens were tough to putt. We just didn't make a lot of putts and that's kind of where the difference was for us this week in comparison to a few of the weeks that we've played really well.
"We can take a lot away from this week that we can learn from and going into the offseason with a few lessons fresh on the mind isn't a bad thing and a bit of a motivation. I'm really happy with where we're at and the way we played this fall."
Butler rode an outstanding second round during which the Bulldogs shot a 9-under 217 to the tournament title. The Bulldogs finished at 17-over 857.
The Chippewas finished in third place in the 11-team field with a 54-hole 50-over 890 total. CMU opened the tournament on Monday with a 292, then posted a second-round 302, and closed with a 296.
It was the final fall tournament for the Chippewas, who played five events, won three of them, and finished second in another. It easily ranks as the best fall in the 13-year modern history of the program.
"We had a really, really good fall season," said fifth-year CMU coach Ryan Williams. "A lot of solid golf. It's an indicator of us taking big steps forward as a program. It's exciting."
Fennell opened with a 4-over 74 on Monday and then posted twin 71s in the final two rounds. She made no worse than a bogey throughout her 54 holes in finishing at 6-over 216, 10 shots behind medalist Addi Kooi of Butler.
Fennell, a junior transfer from Illinois State, finished in the top 10 in all four of CMU's four stroke-play tournaments this fall. She also won both of her matches in helping the Chippewas to victory in their lone match-play event, the Motor City Matchup.
"Just really consistent," Williams said of Fennell, who leads the Chippewas with a 73.63 scoring average. "No big mistakes and she just kind of kept things in front of her.
"She's a solid player and it's great to see her consistent performances, top 10s and top fives, and that's kind of what we expected from her. It's great to see that she's doing that."
CMU's Lexi Schulman also closed with a 1-over 71 to finish at 12-over 222 and tied for 14th in the 77-player field.
It wrapped a solid fall for Schulman, a senior who posted two top-10 finishes and, like Fennell, went 2-0 in the Motor City Matchup.
Schulman made 35 pars, tying for the third most in the field, and just one double bogey over her 54 holes.
"She played really well," Williams said. "She played pretty simple and made it look easy, which is awesome."
Also for the Chippewas on Tuesday, Mya Morgan shot a 5-over 75, Rachel Niskanen and Zoe Dull both posted a 9-over 79, Milly Pantepin carded a 10-over 80, and Brooke Morris shot a 13-over 83.
Morgan at 15-over 225 and T23, Pantepin and Niskanen finished among a group tied at 20-over 230, Dull finished T46 at 23-over 233, and Morris tied for 68th at 36-over 256.
Pantepin and Morris were playing as individuals.
"We didn't have our best stuff this week and we didn't play as clean as we'd like and we still finished third in a pretty solid field so that's a really good sign," Williams said. "We made some mistakes where we couldn't afford to and missed in spots where you can't miss out there.
"This golf course is a really good test; it tests your patience, it tests your management, and you've got to be able to think your way around this golf course. The pins were a little bit tricky and the greens were tough to putt. We just didn't make a lot of putts and that's kind of where the difference was for us this week in comparison to a few of the weeks that we've played really well.
"We can take a lot away from this week that we can learn from and going into the offseason with a few lessons fresh on the mind isn't a bad thing and a bit of a motivation. I'm really happy with where we're at and the way we played this fall."
Butler rode an outstanding second round during which the Bulldogs shot a 9-under 217 to the tournament title. The Bulldogs finished at 17-over 857.
Players Mentioned
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Friday, September 11
Thursday, June 25
Saturday, April 25
Saturday, April 25