NGI: Another postseason title for Angelica Holman; Santa Clara breaks through in team race
NGI: Another postseason title for Angelica Holman; Santa Clara breaks through in team race
Despite growing up in Fort Pierce, Florida, Angelica Holman came to the desert this week and something about Ak-Chin Southern Dunes in Maricopa, Arizona, just seemed right to her.
'It wasn't easy – I wouldn't say it was ever easy – it just suited my eye,' said Holman, the Eastern Michigan junior who led wire-to-wire on her way to the individual title at the National Golf Invitational.
For Holman, this week marked a major breakthrough. She hasn't really felt she had a good handle on her game since last spring. But here's the crazy thing: Last spring, Holman also ended her season with a national title.
Holman spent her freshman and sophomore seasons at Daytona State College, an NJCAA Division I school in Daytona Beach, Florida. Not only did Holman win the individual title at the NJCAA Women's National Championship in May 2024, but Daytona State finished as the top team.
Holman went on to the University of Georgia from there but only spent the fall semester in Athens. She was on the roster but did not compete and transferred to play for Eastern Michigan coach Josh Brewer, who had recruited her to Georgia, at the midway point of the season.
'In the fall semester I think I just lost my swing and then it just took me so long to get it back,' she said. 'I think really relaxing and focusing on other parts of the game and more mental really helped me.'
Holman teed it up seven times with the team this spring but with only one top-10 finish. She decided to enter the transfer portal, which she said was not only a personal decision but a very hard one considering that she loved her Eastern Michigan team and coaches.
'I'm just open to going anywhere now,' Holman said, 'hopefully closer to home.'
National Golf Invitational: Final scores, standings
Holman's rounds of 69-74-73 at Southern Dunes left her at even par for the week and one shot ahead of Mercer's Katie Scheck. Holman said she felt the most nervous in Sunday's final round, but eventually that went away. She was able to overcome back-to-back bogeys at Nos. 5 and 6 and played the rest of the day in 1-under par.
'It's amazing,' she said of winning the NGI title. 'It's just been so long since my game has been put together so it's really incredible for me.'
Brewer said Holman largely found her way over the hump by herself. She's a beloved teammate and, as one of only two girls on Brewer's team who had a car on campus, was always generous to her teammates when it came to providing rides to and from practice.
'I'm happy for her because she's kind of stuck with it, kept believing and found a way to play her best golf at the end of the year,' Brewer said.
Holman was perhaps an unexpected leader for an Eastern Michigan team that was without its star player Savannah de Bock after the sophomore from Belgium qualified for an NCAA Regional as an individual – becoming the first player in program history to play an NCAA postseason event in the process. That, however, meant de Bock was ineligible to play the NGI.
Eastern Michigan started the final round in second place but 10 shots behind leader Santa Clara. By the end of the day, Brewer's squad had come within four shots of the team title.
'You want to win, but we gave ourselves at least a chance,' Brewer said, praising the resilience his team showed on Sunday as they posted a 4-over team score, the second-best team round of the day.
Santa Clara has played the NGI all three years and finished in the top 5 in each of its past two trips to Southern Dunes.
'It was good to see that we could do it under pressure and that they stuck to their gameplan,' coach Krystal Kelly said of her team's win. 'I'm just so incredibly proud of them and everything they've accomplished this week.'
At the beginning of the week, Kelly liked the plan her young team was following, and that plan didn't waiver even as Eastern Michigan attacked the course in a more aggressive way.
At No. 16, a reachable par 5, for example, Eastern Michigan players went for the green in two. Kelly continued to coach her players to lay up there. The 17th hole is a short, challenging par 3 that Santa Clara played in 1 under. The closing hole is a par 4 with water where Kelly knows anything can happen, so she really didn't take a breath until freshman Proud Sriwongngam, playing in the No. 2 spot on Sunday, finished that hole.
Kelly's consistent message to her team throughout the day was to stay patient.
'Ultimately I tell them, 'Be where your feet are,'' said Kelly, who played on the UCLA team that won the NCAA Women's Championship in 2004.
This Santa Clara team has no seniors, and Kelly loved that no player ever gave up or took the cop-out of, 'hey, my score is not going to count.' For all five, the NGI title also marks the first time they have experienced a team victory.
'Just to see the reaction on their face when they knew we had won,' Kelly said, 'There's tears streaming down their face, it makes it all very worthwhile.'
And for Kelly, there was another layer. Sunday was not only Mother's Day but her 43rd birthday. Her parents were in Arizona to cheer for their daughter's team and son Colt, 11, was at home, very much engaged with what was happening.
'He texted me yesterday, 'Go get 'em, Mom. I'm so proud of you.''
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Chicago Tribune
a day ago
- Chicago Tribune
Eastern Michigan-bound Aidan Nohava doubles to fuel Brother Rice's sectional rally. A green light? ‘I've got you.'
Brother Rice's Aidan Nohava lit up when he saw the coach's sign giving him the green light. The senior first baseman played out the range of scenarios in his head with a runner in scoring position, especially with Illinois State recruit Jackson Natanek following him in the batting order. 'I just wanted to put the ball in play and get the runner over or score him in the best case,' said Nohava, who's committed to Eastern Michigan. 'I knew Jackson was right behind me. 'We looked at each other and we each said that I've got you and you got me.' It all added up to success Wednesday afternoon as Nohava nailed a game-tying double and then scored on Natanek's single as the Crusaders walked off a 2-1 win over Oak Park-River Forest in a Class 4A Reavis Sectional semifinal at Triton College in River Grove. Sophomore pitcher Brady Cunningham led off the seventh inning with a double for top-seeded Brother Rice (34-3), which advanced to play at 11 a.m. Saturday for the sectional title against Catholic League rival Mount Carmel (25-13), a 6-1 semifinal winner over Nazareth. The Crusaders' quest for a third state appearance in four years appeared in peril when they trailed 1-0 heading into their final at-bat, but coach Sean McBride wasn't playing the percentages. He allowed Nohava to let loose. 'We're playing to win and Aidan's our cleanup hitter for a reason,' McBride said of giving him that go-ahead. 'I thought he had two really good swings earlier in the game and just missed. 'He's a senior. He's been through this. I knew he'd get a good barrel on the ball.' True to form, Nohava drilled a second-pitch fastball down the left field line. 'They threw me fastballs all days and everything was inside,' he said. 'I knew they weren't going to switch from that. The previous pitch was also a fastball, so I knew exactly where it was.' Natanek, who earned the win with three strikeouts in an inning of relief, typically starts next to Nohava at second base. 'We've been playing in the infield together since my sophomore year and I knew he would pick me up there,' Natanek said. 'He's the best teammate you could ask for. 'He'd pick me up at 3 o'clock in the morning if necessary. I'd trust my life with him.' Two years ago as a sophomore, Nohava also was a starter as Brother Rice reached the state championship game. No moment is ever too big. 'All of the seniors have played in a game like this,' he said. 'Sophomore year in the supersectional, we had a one-run game. I try to have as much fun as I can. 'Baseball is a tough game. I just want to win for my team and for the guys behind me.' Nohava, who's hitting .316, has totaled 31 hits, five homers and 32 RBIs. An only child, he picked up the game when his parents started him in youth baseball. 'My parents put me around great people who helped me get good at the game,' he said. 'I realized then that the game was a lot of fun, I was good at it and just wanted to keep rolling.' His favorite activity outside of baseball is fishing. It fits his quiet nature but also determination. 'Growing up, I never had battles with siblings, so I just had to learn how to be competitive and get good at stuff,' Nohava said. 'I started watching YouTube videos about fishing. 'I just felt like it was something I wanted to do. I was out yesterday and caught a couple of fish.' Now, he has another memory that will last forever. 'This is one of the most important wins I've ever been a part of,' Nohava said. 'This could be my last pitch, my last game. I'm a captain, and (Wednesday) is going to sit heavy with me.'
Indianapolis Star
20-05-2025
- Indianapolis Star
Butler basketball adds nonconference games to schedule, loses 1
INDIANAPOLIS — The Butler basketball team's 2025-26 nonconference schedule continues to take shape with the addition of homes games against Chicago State and Eastern Michigan. The Bulldogs will host Chicago State on Nov. 11 at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Eastern Michigan will make the trip to Hinkle on Dec. 2. Tip times and television assignments have not been announced. The Dawgs open the first week of the season against Southern Indiana on Nov. 5 and IU Indy on Nov. 8 at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Butler will play in the Greenbrier Tip-Off in November and will return to Gainbridge Fieldhouse for the 2025 Indy Classic on Dec. 20 against Northwestern. The Bulldogs will conclude their home-and-home series at SMU on Nov.15. A nonconference game against Western Illinois was tentatively scheduled but will not take place because the contract to play the game was never signed. Last season, Butler started nonconference 7-1 before dropping consecutive games to Houston, North Dakota State and Wisconsin. Of Butler's four nonconference losses, the losses to Austin Peay and North Dakota State were ominous signs for a disappointing season to come.
USA Today
19-05-2025
- USA Today
Ohio State scores redemption win at NGI; Utah State's Enrique Karg earns indy title in playoff
Ohio State scores redemption win at NGI; Utah State's Enrique Karg earns indy title in playoff Had Ohio State's season ended last month, it would have been on a sour note indeed. The Buckeyes, in a rebuilding year, finished fifth at the Big 10 Championship and missed an NCAA Championship bid. But three weeks after their year could have been over, head coach Jay Moseley and his team are carting a postseason trophy back across the country to the heartland, and that's something Moseley has never done. On Sunday, Ohio State finished off a seven-shot victory in the third National Golf Invitational at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes in Maricopa, Arizona. Ohio State made an NCAA semifinal run a year ago this time, but that was with four distinguished seniors on the roster. After failing to score an NCAA regional bid earlier this month, Moseley's team committed to some areas of improvement and bought into a different side of the postseason: the NGI. This win amounts to a huge shift in momentum, especially considering that Ohio State's only two team wins this season, as Moseley noted, came in their backyard. 'To come out where we're unfamiliar with the desert golf conditions, to come out on top and get a win with a little bit of a target on our back was really good,' he said. National Golf Invitational: Scores The Buckeyes trailed Utah State by a shot on the first day, had leapfrogged them by the end of 36 holes and slowly pulled away over the course of Sunday's final round. Three Ohio State players finished in the top 7 individually, and the Buckeyes led the field in birdies ''Fight' has been our mentality all spring, so they did a good job hanging in there, taking advantage of the chances when we got them and making some birdies down the stretch was really cool,' Moseley said. 'It was a great team win.' While Ohio State, on the other side of its senior exodus, spent the week finding out what its next chapter can look like, a similar transition period awaits Utah State in the fall. The NGI amounted to the final ride for graduates John Cook, Julio Arronte and Esteban Jaramillo. The Aggies made six team birdies in the first three holes on Sunday and hung within a few shots of Ohio State all day. 'We beat them on Day 1, so I think they were like, 'OK we can do this,'' Utah State head coach Dean Johansen said. That sophomore Enrique Karg was the man to lead them is a good sign for Utah State. Karg, of Guadalajara, Mexico, only finished inside the top 20 in one start during the regular season. At Southern Dunes, he came out of the gate with a bogey-free 7-under 65 and parlayed that into a Sunday playoff victory for his first individual title in a year. Karg is a player who struggled with a lot on his plate this past year – from school to golf to family. 'I had a rough spring this year,' Karg said. 'I had a lot on my mind, and it was a lot of up and down so playing good in this event, it was very good for me.' Karg felt he took advantage of his distance all three rounds and put himself in favorable positions, reaching several par 5s in two and leading the field in par-4 scoring. The week wasn't all smooth sailing, however, and Johansen watched Karg fight for a second-round 70 to stay in the tournament. 'The mark of a true human being is how they handle adversity, and you couldn't tell from 5 feet to 500 yards if he was making a bogey or a birdie,' Johansen said, 'and I love that.' Karg, who finished the week at 12-under 204, had to play an extra hole with Richmond's Carson Baez for the individual title, and nearly holed his 70-foot birdie putt on that extra trip down the 18th to do it. His tap-in par was good enough. He Facetimed his family back home in Mexico right away. As a result of his win, Karg earns an exemption into the Southeastern Amateur, which he'll add to the lineup of other amateur events (the Memorial Amateur in Sacramento, California, the Mexican International Amateur in Guadalajara and a U.S. Amateur qualifier) he has planned for the summer. As this Utah State team scatters, Cook, Arronte and Jaramillo are headed for professional careers. Johansen knew early week it would be emotional to see them go. This team's international makeup is largely thanks to the work of assistant coach Erik Skinner, who took Johansen's idea to expand the roster globally and 'found some of the best young men – phenomenal kids,' Johansen said. He has always been interested in the whole player, not just level of golf talent. Johansen began his day on Sunday with an early workout before driving a couple miles down the road for a protein shake. When he pulled into a gas station, he met Cook, one of his three seniors. Cook, who has committed himself to getting healthy these past three years, was out on a morning run before the round. Cook, as a runner, demonstrates exactly the level of commitment this senior class gave to Utah State. Nevermind that they all reassembled post-graduation for a final tournament – Cook ditched a full cycle of marathon training, skipping the Ogden (Utah) Marathon on Saturday to be here with his team instead. And that, funny enough, was how Johnson lost it, three hours before his team ever hit a shot. 'I was driving back to the hotel and he was running alongside the road and I just started tearing up,' said Johansen, who has praised the character of his whole squad this week. 'I'm so proud of the young man he has become.'
