Central Michigan University Athletics
Monday, September 21
East Lansing, Mich. / Forest Akers West
9 a.m. (18 holes)
Central Michigan University
at
Mary Fossum Invitational
CMU finished runner-up on Monday at the Michigan State Mary Fossum Invitational on Forest Akers West in East Lansing.
Chippewa Women Finish Runner-up at Mary Fossum Invitational
9/21/2026 5:23:00 PM | Women's Golf
Fennell, Niskanen finish T4, Schulman T10; Chippewas' fall tally at 2 wins, 1 runner-up
EAST LANSING, Mich. – An outstanding result in what is unfolding as the best fall in program history.
Elise Fennell and Rachel Niskanen tied for fourth and all four Central Michigan scorers finished in the top 13 as the Chippewa women's golf team place second on Monday in the 15-team Mary Fossum Invitational at Forest Akers West Golf Course.
The Chippewas posted a 301 team score on Monday to finish with a 27-over-par 603 total, four behind first-place Delaware.
CMU finished five shots ahead of host Michigan State, which placed third, and six better than Rutgers and Bowling Green, which tied for fourth.
The tournament was scheduled for 54 holes but shortened to 36 due to rain during Sunday's opening round. CMU began the final round in third place, one shot behind second place MSU.
"Everything you can ask for, honestly," said CMU coach Ryan Williams, whose team has two victories and a runner-up finish in three tournaments this fall. "We played really, really well. We executed great shots in pressure situations. I was extremely impressed with the way they continued to chase the lead and to scratch and claw and fight, to try to land the plane again.
"I'm really excited that we have that type of student-athlete. We have that group of players who are motivated and hungry and excited to go make shots, make some birdies, just keep getting after it and play until the final hole. That's what we did today.
"We were playing in the final pairing alongside Michigan State and Delaware, which is a very good team historically, and we stood up to the challenge. I'm super proud of the score we shot today in a pressure situation."
Niskanen, a senior who opened with a 5-over 77 on Sunday, shot an even-par 72 – tying for the low round of the day on Monday – to surge 13 spots up the leaderboard and a 5-over 149 total, five shots behind medalist Rhianna Gooneratne of Delaware.
Niskanen finished T4 in the season-opening A-Ga-Ming Invitational and T3 last week in the Rocket Classic. She made four birdies against four bogeys on Monday.
"Rachel, she's playing great golf, and she's making it look easy," Williams said. "She has played really steady, really solid golf, and that's what the conditions and the course asked. And she delivered.
"You're going to make your bogeys when the course is tough like that, but to be able to make as many birdies as she did bogeys today is a really, really good round. It shows that she's playing with confidence and she's playing aggressive and she's not afraid, she's not worried about making mistakes."
Fennell posted a 4-over 76 on Monday after an opening 1-over 73. The junior transfer from Illinois State, like Niskanen, has finished in the top 10 in each of CMU's first three tournaments (T7 at A-Ga-Ming, sixth at the Rocket Classic).
"She has come in and just played solid golf," Williams said. "She's right there every round. If she's struggling, she can make some things happen and turn it around. She's just steady. It's really nice to have added her to the team and she has made a huge difference, and it's exciting to see her play well.
"I know she was a little disappointed today, but again she helped the team with that finish; she's doing great, and it's awesome."
CMU senior Lexi Schulman closed with a 3-over 75 and freshman Mya Morgan posted a 6-over 78. Schulman, who began the day tied for 17th, finished at 8-over 152 and in a tie for 10th, while Morgan finished T13 at 9-over 153.
CMU's Zoe Dull shot 6-over 78 on Monday to finish T38 at 14-over 158. The field comprised 81 players.
Like Niskanen and Fennell, Morgan has finished in the top 10 in each of CMU's three tournaments. She was sixth at A-Ga-Ming and tied for first at the Rocket Classic before falling in a playoff for medalist honors.
Schulman made 15 pars en route to her 75 on Monday and she finished the event with 25 pars, tying for the third most in the field. It marked her second top-10 finish of the season and she rebounded from her T26 finish at the Rocket Classic.
"Lexi, she just stays right with it," Williams said. "When she's playing well, she can make a ton of pars and that's what we needed this week."
The start to the season has been particularly gratifying for veterans like Niskanen and Schulman, Williams said, as both have been solid program mainstays.
"Both have been on the team for four years and have worked hard and grinded and experienced challenging seasons," he said, "and to have them be major contributors at the beginning of the season in really, really great team performances and finishes, it's awesome. It makes me really happy and I'm proud of them.
"They've stuck with it and continued to work really hard and continued to show up ready to play. As a coach, it just really gets me jacked up about the potential of what they can do this season. I'm just really happy for them to experience getting some trophies as a team and to see brighter days ahead as a program as well."
The tournament was CMU's third in as many weeks. The Chippewas are off until the Oct. 12-13 Motor City Matchup, which they co-host with the CMU men's team, at Birmingham Country Club in suburban Detroit.
Delaware, which started the day with a three-shot lead over second-place Michigan State, matched the Chippewas with a 13-over 301 and claimed the tournament crown.
Gooneratne claimed a two-shot victory over Addison Kartusch (72-74 – 146) of Bowling Green.
Elise Fennell and Rachel Niskanen tied for fourth and all four Central Michigan scorers finished in the top 13 as the Chippewa women's golf team place second on Monday in the 15-team Mary Fossum Invitational at Forest Akers West Golf Course.
The Chippewas posted a 301 team score on Monday to finish with a 27-over-par 603 total, four behind first-place Delaware.
CMU finished five shots ahead of host Michigan State, which placed third, and six better than Rutgers and Bowling Green, which tied for fourth.
The tournament was scheduled for 54 holes but shortened to 36 due to rain during Sunday's opening round. CMU began the final round in third place, one shot behind second place MSU.
"Everything you can ask for, honestly," said CMU coach Ryan Williams, whose team has two victories and a runner-up finish in three tournaments this fall. "We played really, really well. We executed great shots in pressure situations. I was extremely impressed with the way they continued to chase the lead and to scratch and claw and fight, to try to land the plane again.
"I'm really excited that we have that type of student-athlete. We have that group of players who are motivated and hungry and excited to go make shots, make some birdies, just keep getting after it and play until the final hole. That's what we did today.
"We were playing in the final pairing alongside Michigan State and Delaware, which is a very good team historically, and we stood up to the challenge. I'm super proud of the score we shot today in a pressure situation."
Niskanen, a senior who opened with a 5-over 77 on Sunday, shot an even-par 72 – tying for the low round of the day on Monday – to surge 13 spots up the leaderboard and a 5-over 149 total, five shots behind medalist Rhianna Gooneratne of Delaware.
Niskanen finished T4 in the season-opening A-Ga-Ming Invitational and T3 last week in the Rocket Classic. She made four birdies against four bogeys on Monday.
"Rachel, she's playing great golf, and she's making it look easy," Williams said. "She has played really steady, really solid golf, and that's what the conditions and the course asked. And she delivered.
"You're going to make your bogeys when the course is tough like that, but to be able to make as many birdies as she did bogeys today is a really, really good round. It shows that she's playing with confidence and she's playing aggressive and she's not afraid, she's not worried about making mistakes."
Fennell posted a 4-over 76 on Monday after an opening 1-over 73. The junior transfer from Illinois State, like Niskanen, has finished in the top 10 in each of CMU's first three tournaments (T7 at A-Ga-Ming, sixth at the Rocket Classic).
"She has come in and just played solid golf," Williams said. "She's right there every round. If she's struggling, she can make some things happen and turn it around. She's just steady. It's really nice to have added her to the team and she has made a huge difference, and it's exciting to see her play well.
"I know she was a little disappointed today, but again she helped the team with that finish; she's doing great, and it's awesome."
CMU senior Lexi Schulman closed with a 3-over 75 and freshman Mya Morgan posted a 6-over 78. Schulman, who began the day tied for 17th, finished at 8-over 152 and in a tie for 10th, while Morgan finished T13 at 9-over 153.
CMU's Zoe Dull shot 6-over 78 on Monday to finish T38 at 14-over 158. The field comprised 81 players.
Like Niskanen and Fennell, Morgan has finished in the top 10 in each of CMU's three tournaments. She was sixth at A-Ga-Ming and tied for first at the Rocket Classic before falling in a playoff for medalist honors.
Schulman made 15 pars en route to her 75 on Monday and she finished the event with 25 pars, tying for the third most in the field. It marked her second top-10 finish of the season and she rebounded from her T26 finish at the Rocket Classic.
"Lexi, she just stays right with it," Williams said. "When she's playing well, she can make a ton of pars and that's what we needed this week."
The start to the season has been particularly gratifying for veterans like Niskanen and Schulman, Williams said, as both have been solid program mainstays.
"Both have been on the team for four years and have worked hard and grinded and experienced challenging seasons," he said, "and to have them be major contributors at the beginning of the season in really, really great team performances and finishes, it's awesome. It makes me really happy and I'm proud of them.
"They've stuck with it and continued to work really hard and continued to show up ready to play. As a coach, it just really gets me jacked up about the potential of what they can do this season. I'm just really happy for them to experience getting some trophies as a team and to see brighter days ahead as a program as well."
The tournament was CMU's third in as many weeks. The Chippewas are off until the Oct. 12-13 Motor City Matchup, which they co-host with the CMU men's team, at Birmingham Country Club in suburban Detroit.
Delaware, which started the day with a three-shot lead over second-place Michigan State, matched the Chippewas with a 13-over 301 and claimed the tournament crown.
Gooneratne claimed a two-shot victory over Addison Kartusch (72-74 – 146) of Bowling Green.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Golf
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