A Battle for Rochester and the State

By Keith Dunlop

The Division 1 state girls golf tournament might not be until October, but there probably will be many events before that time that feel like the state tournament, at least for Rochester Adams and Rochester. 

That’s because whether it’s at invitationals, dual matches or league tournaments, whenever Adams and Rochester are competing at the same event, it will likely be more than a battle of the best teams in Rochester or metro Detroit.

It could very well be a contest between the two best teams in the state that reside roughly just three miles from one another. 

“It’s nice to be battle-tested,” Adams coach Jeff Kutschman said. “We see Rochester this year between duals and tournaments probably six or seven times.”

Adams enters this year as the defending state champ after a resounding triumph at Battle Creek’s Bedford Valley at the 2022 state tournament last fall.

The Highlanders captured their first state championship by finishing 47 strokes ahead of runner-up Brighton, and Adams might be even more potent this year.

The only player lost to graduation off of that team was Grace Wang, so Adams is in a great spot to repeat with nine of 11 players back. 

Laura Liu, Katie Fodale and Olivia Dance will be the senior leaders, with junior Alexa Camargo and sophomore Hannah Wang are also back after playing at the state tournament last year.

“The mindset for the girls is just like it was last year, where it was one day at a time and one shot at a time,” Kutschman said. “We tried not to let anything get too big in front of us. Just go out and play golf. Just have a good time and focus on what you’re doing at the time.”

A traditional power that went through some hard times after winning its last state championship in 2016, Rochester High seems to be back on the upswing.

The Falcons finished third at last year’s state tournament — 52 shots behind Adams — in what was their first top-5 finish at a state tournament since the 2016 squad won it all. 

Even better for Rochester is that its best four golfers are back from last year’s team, seniors Brooke Haney and Natalie Haise, junior Madison Yang and sophomore Ananya Kumar. 

For Rochester head coach Jeff Haney, who has helped guide the program to three state championships (2008, 2009, 2016) and two runner-up finishes since girls golf moved to the fall in 2007, it’s good to begin a season with lofty expectations once again.

“I’ll be honest, after we won in ‘08 and ‘09, I figured that would the extent of that for me,” Haney said. “I was then fortunate to have those teams in ‘15 and ‘16. I really didn’t think it would come back around again. I feel pretty lucky to have a real strong team again.”

There is work for the Falcons to do in order to try and make up the 52-stroke difference Adams had on the Falcons at the state tournament last year, but Haney likes his team’s overall depth beyond the top-four who are back.

“We have better depth than most people,” he said. “At a tournament, probably all nine of my girls can shoot under 100, compared to some other teams I’ve had where we barely had anyone who could shoot under 100.” 

To be sure, Adams and Rochester won’t be the only state title contenders in Division 1.

Brighton lost just one senior from last year’s runner-up team and is powerful as well, while Rockford has four golfers back from its team that finished fifth last year, including senior Jessica Jolly, who tied for third individually at the state tournament and is coming off a solid summer of junior tournament events.

But given the talent and experience both Adams and Rochester have returning, don’t be surprised if the state meet in October turns into a de facto “Rochester Invitational.”