The Wildcats were a dozen shots out of the fourth and final position for match play after Friday’s opening round, then finished 25 shots behind eventual No. 4 team Ferris State by the time Saturday’s second round was completed. Golfers played at the Stonehedge Golf Club that is part of the six-course Gull Lake View complex in Augusta.

Ferris joined stroke play winner Grand Valley State, No. 2 Davenport and No. 3 Saginaw Valley State in the semifinals, which was eventually won by the Lakers 5-0 in the championship match against Davenport on Sunday afternoon.

On Saturday, NMU shot a four-woman total of 35-over-par 323, one shot better than Friday’s 324 to roll up a 647 total, good for sixth place at 71-over.

The Wildcats now await to see if their team or any individual golfers receive bids to the NCAA Division II regional tournament.

Northern Michigan University’s Maya Hunter led the Wildcats women’s golf team over both days at the GLIAC Championships held at Stonehedge Golf Club in downstate Kalamazoo County on Friday and Saturday. She carded rounds of 77 and 75 for an 8-over-par total of 152, good for a tie for sixth place in the 43-golfer field. (Photo courtesy NMU)

Northern finished ahead of Lake Superior State, which had 342 Saturday and 674 in all, and Purdue Northwest, which totaled 332 Saturday and 679 in the end.

Finishing ahead of NMU but also missing match play was fifth-place Wayne State, which shot two strokes better than Northern on Saturday, 321, and finished 13 ahead of the Wildcats with 634.

GVSU’s two-day leading total was a 12-over 604 (300 Saturday), which leapfrogged Day 1 leader Davenport, which shot 316 Saturday for a 616 total. SVSU also jumped over Ferris for third on Saturday as the Cardinals totaled 308 that day for 620 while Ferris hit 312 and had 622.

The Wildcats finished as sixth best in four of the five team statistical categories; the one they weren’t sixth was the par-3s as they were fifth best with a 3.53 per-hole average.

Maya Hunter continued to pace the Wildcats while moving up the leaderboard on Saturday. After a 5-over 77 on Friday, she carded a 3-over 75 Saturday for an 8-over 152. That moved her up six spots from a tie for 12th to a tie for sixth as she finished eight strokes behind individual medalist Olivia Stoll of GVSU and just five shots out of second place.

Northern Michigan University’s Maya Hunter plays during a college women's tournament earlier this season. On Friday and Saturday, she led the Wildcats over both days at the GLIAC Championships held at Stonehedge Golf Club in downstate Kalamazoo County. She carded rounds of 77 and 75 for an 8-over-par total of 152, good for a tie for sixth place in the 43-golfer field. (Photo courtesy NMU)

Stoll had rounds of 2-over 74 Friday and 2-under 70 Saturday to finish with an even-par 144. That beat out runner-up and teammate Julia Sanchez, who carded 75-72–147.

Hunter played the front nine on Saturday in even par, and over the two days, she registered birdies on the par-4 third, par-5 fifth and par-5 ninth. The third and fifth holes were both among the five hardest holes on the course, statistically among the entire field.

For her two rounds, Hunter’s best ranking statistically was in par-5 scoring average, where she was sixth at 5.08 per hole. She was a total of 1-over on those holes, 3-over on par-3s and 4-over on par-4s, with an equal number of each of those types of holes on the course.

Hunter was also fifth in the field in pars with 24 of a possible 36.

Hailey Bolander was the next best shooter for the Wildcats, shooting an 8-over 80 on Saturday to go with 81 the day before for a 17-over total of 161 and a tie for 22nd place.

Like Hunter, she also accumulated three birdies, including one Saturday on the par-5 fifth.

Teammate Alyssa Yaggie was right behind Bolander in a tie for 26th with 164 after rounds of 81 Friday and 83 Saturday.

Northern’s Maggie Pietila was 33rd with a pair of 85s for a 170 total, while Payton Donnelly shot 87 Saturday, an eight-stroke improvement over Friday, to finish 42nd with 182.

Donnelly and Yaggie each had two birdies over the two rounds, giving the Wildcats 10 in all, which actually matched the total over the two stroke play rounds of leader GVSU.

Information compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.