Courtesy of D.J. Foster, Grand Valley State Assistant Sports Information Director
Team Results | Player Results | Team & Player Results
AURORA -- On the final putt of her outstanding career, senior Gabrielle Shipley drained a seven-foot birdie to not only record her best-ever collegiate round, but also capture the individual national title at the 2016 NCAA Women's Golf National Championships at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora, Colo. Shipley's final round 69 (-3) on Saturday (May 21) tied the GVSU individual round record and gave the senior All-American a one-stroke victory to become the second Laker golfer ever to win the individual national championship.
Not only did Shipley claim the tournament medalist honors, but her first-place finish helped Grand Valley State tie for fourth place overall with Saint Leo (1,189, +37). The Lakers moved from a tie for eighth place on Thursday to sixth place on Friday to a top-four finish, which guaranteed GVSU a team trophy in the final standings.
Shipley's last putt - after a terrific chip shot from the greenside bunker - on the par-five 18th hole was true, sinking into the bottom of the cup, as her Laker teammates and GVSU faithful watching from around the green erupted. She was the leader in the clubhouse at that point and after the other teams and individuals finished up roughly an hour later, it became official that Shipley was this year's women's golf national champion.
Shipley joins former GVSU great Melissa Sneller as the only Lakers to win the individual national championship. Coincidentally, Sneller also sank a birdie putt on her final hole of that year's competition to win the 2005 national title in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Sneller's score of 292 (E) in the championship victory 11 years ago was the 72-hole low score in Laker history until Shipley broke that mark on Saturday with an overall four-day score of 282 (-6).
The senior from Hastings, Mich. was tremendous all week, with her high score (73, +1) coming in Wednesday's opening round, followed by back-to-back 70's (-2) on Thursday and Friday, and a sparkling 69 (-3) on Saturday. Shipley led the entire field in par-four scoring (-2) for the tournament and ranked second in par-five scoring (-8). Her 19 birdies in the 72 holes were two more than any other golfer.
Shipley finished one stroke ahead of GLIAC competitor Kasey Petty of Findlay, as she was second with a 283 (-5). Tarleton State's Isabell Jimenez Perea was in the same group as Shipley on Saturday and was the only other golfer under par for the week with a third-place finish of 285 (-3). All other golfers were at least +1 for the 72-hole tournament.
After an opening bogey to start the final round, Shipley settled into a nice groove by delivering consecutive pars before birdies on the fourth and fifth holes. She also went birdie-birdie on the seventh and eighth holes, sandwiched between two more pars to close the front nine with a terrific 3-under 33. Shipley collected five pars on the back nine and birdied the par-five 15th hole to remain near the top of the leaderboard.
At nearly the same time Shipley was closing out the back nine, Petty was finishing the front nine, as Findlay started on the 10th hole on Saturday. The two were neck and neck, while Petty made a birdie on the seventh hole to tie Shipley for the individual lead, though neither golfer was aware of the scoring at the time.
Shipley posted back-to-back pars on the 16th and 17th holes to come to the par-five, 527-yard 18th hole, the final one of her collegiate career. She hit a booming drive off the tee and her approach shot went a little right, ending up in a bunker to the right of the green. Shipley calmly lifted her bunker shot onto the green, leaving herself a very makeable birdie putt. The pressure of the moment never got to Shipley, as she buried the roughly seven-footer for a birdie, her first-ever 69 (after multiple rounds of 70 in her career), and eventually the individual national championship.
It took a total team effort to earn the fourth-place finish and freshman Alex Amos was a big contributor during her first-ever national competition. Amos finished in a tie for 28th place with a 301 (+13) after rounds of 73-78-76-74, opening and closing the tournament with her two best individual rounds. On Saturday, Amos was one-over on both the front and back nine, collecting birdies on the fifth, 10th, and 11th holes. She also recorded 10 pars on the day. Her 11 birdies for the week were tied for 14th-most in the tournament.
Junior Alex Taylor tied for 39th place with a four-day total of 305 (+17), notching rounds of 79-77-73-76. She posted seven consecutive pars on the front nine on Saturday and added four more pars on the back nine; her 11 pars in the final round gave her a team-high 45 for the four-day tournament, just seven behind the individual leader's 52 pars. Taylor also birdied the 13th and 18th holes to close out a strong tournament showing.
Sophomore Samantha Moss finished in a tied for 47th place with a 307 (+19) after rounds of 79-79-69-80. Moss collected 44 pars for the week (one behind Taylor's team-high total), with 11 of those coming on Saturday. She notched a par on five consecutive holes to close the front nine and open the back nine and went par-par-par on the final three holes of competition. That came on the heels of her school-record tying 69 on Friday, obviously tied by Shipley exactly one day later in Saturday's round.
Junior Julie Guckian tied for 59th place with a 313 (+25), posting scores of 77-80-72-84 in the tournament. Guckian secured five pars on Saturday and added birdies on the eighth and 18th holes to cap off her week of competition. Her eagle on the par-five 15th hole on Friday was one of just nine eagles throughout the entire week of play.
Finishing ahead of both Grand Valley State and Saint Leo was the team national champion, top-ranked Rollins. The Tars' four day-score of 1,173 (+21) was nine strokes better than second-place and defending national champion Indianapolis (1,182, +30) and third-place Nova Southeastern (1,183, +31). GVSU and Saint Leo tied for fourth place just six strokes back, meaning both schools earned a team trophy with top-four finishes.
