Second place. The one constant reminder the Seaholm girls golf team had to deal with after a heartbreaking second place finish at states last year. Motivated by last year’s finish, the girls persevered and won the 2008 MHSAA Division 2 girls state championship.
After the first day, Seaholm was 1 shot behind Battle Creek Lakeview. According to head coach Leon Braisted, they were in the prime position because they had nothing to lose. With the pressure off their shoulders, Seaholm took full advantage and ending up winning the tournament by 16 strokes.
Not 1 girl on the Seaholm squad shot over 200. Senior Alex Lipa shot 152, junior Ali Restaino shot 175, junior Elyse Jackson shot 195, junior Sarah Norris shot 195, and senior Brooke Selis shot 196 for a team total of 707.
Lipa was tied after the second day with Liz Nagel from DeWitt both with totals of 152. They went to a 3 hole playoff where Lipa secured the individual championship. Lipa said the second day was a key factor towards her first individual championship at the state meet.
“The first day was a struggle, I was down 7 strokes, but the second day I felt pretty good about my swing,” said Lipa. “I had confidence in my stroke and trusted my game.”
There was another Seaholm athlete who finished in the top 10 at states- Ali Restaino finished in 9th place. Restaino said that the first day was key for her 9th place finish, shooting an 83. Seaholm was the only team with 2 top 10 finishers.
Seaholm was expected to be in contention with the defending state champion DeWitt who ended up finishing in 3rd place. By winning the state championship, these expectations were met.
Head coach Braisted was ecstatic after the state championship. Braisted believes that always pairing up with the top dogs was key to their postseason success. Seaholm played in the OAA Red division where they played teams like Rochester who won the division 1 state championship.
“I had all the top teams pair up with us so we’d be ready for the state meet,” said Braisted. “Eventually the reward was at the end of the season.”
Lipa and the seniors couldn’t have asked for a better finish to their 4 year career at Seaholm. She wouldn’t have wanted to accomplish this award with any other group of girls.
“All 4 girls are amazing players and great friends,” said Lipa.
Not only were the seniors outstanding on the golf course, they were even better in the classroom. All of the seniors on the golf team this year had a 3.5 GPA or higher unweighted.
Restaino credits a lot of her individual success and the team success to her head coach. According to Restaino, the progress she has made from freshman to junior year is remarkable and appreciates the advice she receives from Braisted.
“He always made sure we were on top of our game,” said Restaino. “ He is one of the most respected coaches in the state.”
Lipa believes she will take his teachings into consideration when she plays college golf at either Georgetown or Yale.
“He has been my coach for 4 years now,” said Lipa. “I greatly appreciate all his efforts to plan our practices and matches.”
Braisted throughout the season preached a theme through the good and bad times: You got to believe. This helped the players believe in their game and made them sure they were there for a reason.
After winning the championship, Braisted left the team with 1 quote to remember.
“Success is a journey,” said Braisted, “not a destination.”
