Sports
Brighton Golfers Off to Strong Start
The young team is playing better than the coach anticipated.
They may not have a whole lot of experience, but that hasn’t stopped the girls on the golf team so far this season.
The Bulldogs are led by junior Hannah Pietila, who constantly strives for excellence. She tied for eighth at the Division 1 state finals last season and doesn’t consider it that strong of a finish.
Brighton placed 12th at states as a team last season, and the only player who graduated is Pietila’s sister, Emmie.
“We’re achieving a lot for such a young team,” coach Paul Parsell said. “We had a good showing in Traverse City. That’s always our first big tournament. We placed runner-up out of 31 teams. It’s a pretty big deal.”
Monday, the Bulldogs blew away the competition in a field of highly ranked teams at the Bill Miller Invitational on their home course at Oak Pointe Country Club.
Brighton, which is ranked No. 12 in Division 1 by the Michigan Interscholastic Golf Coaches Association, shot a 332. Saline, which is ranked No. 1 in Division 1, placed seventh with a score of 359. The Bulldogs also edged No. 3 Holt, No. 7 Temperance Bedford and No. 10 Northville.
“We did very good,” Pietila said. “Nicole (Myer) shot good. Jennica (Long) shot good. We all shot good.”
Myer, only a sophomore, shot an 83 Monday, which was good for a tie for seventh place out of 74 golfers.
“She was trying to break 100 at tryouts last year,” Parsell said of Myer. “Not too many girls drop 20 strokes off their game over the summer.”
Sophomores Jess Geer and Logan Street competed at the state finals last year. Gabby Long is a sophomore, while Jennica Long and Bailey Tuzack are freshmen.
“I’m the oldest and I’m only a junior,” Pietila said. “We have a lot of potential in our freshmen. Nicole Myer worked really hard over the summer. She brought her scores way down. They just have to get used to the competition. A lot of the freshmen haven’t played a lot. They did some work over the summer, but being on a team, it’s all different.”
On Wednesday, Brighton opens Kensington Lakes Activities Association West Division action by hosting Hartland.
Last season, Brighton shared the West Division title with the Eagles but went on to win the Lakes Conference championship. The Bulldogs were 8-2 in the West Division.
Many of the teams in the KLAA will be at the same regional tournament on Oct. 6 at Prestwick Village, the home course for Milford.
“Our goal is definitely to get to states,” Parsell said. “It’s a tough regional, but we’re playing a lot better than I anticipated.”