Women's Golf Signs Trio to National Letters of Intent
11/15/2018 10:40:00 AM | Women's Golf
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Adding the top two prep players from Michigan and a third from California, University of Michigan women's golf coach Jan Dowling announced Thursday (Nov. 15) the signing of Hailey Borja (Lake Forest, California), Anika Dy (Traverse City, Michigan) and Mikaela Schulz (West Bloomfield, Michigan) to National Letters of Intent for the 2019-20 season.
"It's safe to say the talent and experience this freshman class brings to Michigan is extremely deep," said Dowling. "It's pretty exciting to look at all three players, reflect on their high school careers in both academics and athletics, and know they bring all of this competitive experience and standard of excellence to our team. They are extremely ambitious, and that will resonate and impact our program very well."
Currently ranked No. 10 in California and 26th overall in the Class of 2019 by the National Junior Golf Scoreboard (NJGS), Borja becomes the third California golfer to come to Michigan under Dowling's watch.
"Hailey has this beautifully natural golf swing. Nothing about it looks manufactured, and her ability to score also looks so innate," said Dowling. "This took lots of hard work behind the scenes, but she makes it look so simple. Hailey is bringing a wealth of experience and consistent low scoring to our program. She competes at the highest level in both junior and amateur tournaments in California and around the USA, testing herself against the very best golfers in the nation. This has prepared her extremely well for the next level."
Over her last two summers, Borja has twice made it to the USGA Girls' Junior Championship. She finished tied for 28th in stroke play in 2018 (Poppy Hills) and tied for 21st in 2016 (Boone Valley). She also qualified for the 2018 USGA Four-Ball Championship, where she and her partner advanced to the round of 32.
She was the medalist at the 2017 Toyota Tour Cup at River Ridge (70-72/142) and had four top-five finishes in the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA), including a third-place finish at the 2017 AJGA Junior at Centennial and a fourth-place finish at the 2018 AJGA Junior at Lake Merced. She also finished fourth at the 2018 SCPGA Southern California Junior Amateur Championship.
Currently the No. 2-ranked golfer in Michigan and 47th overall in the Class of 2019 according to the NJGS, Traverse City native Dy is headed to Michigan after a dominant prep career at West High School.
After finishing as the medalist runner-up as a freshman in the 2015 MHSAA D1 State Championships, Dy went on to win three straight individual titles in 2016 (72-71/143, won by two shots), 2017 (69-72/141, won by eight shots) and 2018 (68-72/140, won by six shots). With those performances, she guided West to team titles in 2015 and 2017, with a fourth-place finish in 2016 and a third-place finish in 2018.
For those efforts she was named Michigan's Miss Golf three straight years (2016-18) and earned four Michigan Interscholastic Golf Coaches Association (MIGCA) Division 1 honors -- all-state (2015) and Super Team (2016-18).
"Anika has a wealth of local, state and national competitive experiences that go back through 2013," said Dowling. "It's really quite impressive what she has accomplished through the years as a junior golfer, and we are so excited to have her on our team. She loves to compete and brings a strong work ethic, ambition for her team and incredible experiences that will impact our program right away."
Over her last two summers, Dy twice qualified for the PGA Junior Championship (2017, '18), won the 2017 AJGA Junior All-Star at Owensboro, closed fourth at the 2018 Dustin Johnson World Junior, and had nine top-10 finishes on the AJGA, including twice finishing as the medalist runner-up at the Coca-Cola AJGC at Boyne Highlands, shooting 216 (69-77-70, 2018) and 216 (70-74-72, 2017). In addition to her play, Dy qualified for the Drive, Chip & Putt Finals at Augusta National in 2015 and 2016.
The daughter of former Wolverine women's golfer Rachel (Krickstein, 1982-83), Schulz is currently ranked as the No. 1 player in Michigan and the 44th overall in the Class of 2019 by the NJGS.
Schulz helped Bloomfield Hills High School reach the MHSAA D1 State Championships for four straight years and post three top-five finishes -- third (2015, '16) and fourth (2018). Individually at the state finals, Schulz was twice the medalist runner-up to fellow signee Dy in 2016 (72-73/145) and 2018 (75-71/146). She earned four straight MIGCA Division 1 honors – all-state (2015) and Super Team (2016, '17, '18).
"Mikaela simply loves golf and is a true student of the game," said Dowling. "Passion for the game of golf runs deep in her family, and it's impacted her athletic career in a really positive way. She understands what high-level golf looks like and pushes herself to compete at a high level over and over again. Her love of the game will be contagious for our team work ethic and competitive fire."
This summer, Schulz, who is a cousin to Morgan and Madison Pressel, qualified for the USGA Girls' Junior Championship and the PGA Junior Championship while posting three top-10 finishes on the AJGA including a medalist runner-up finish at the AJGA Junior at Forest Lake and a third-place finish at the AJGA City of London Junior Championship. She also won the Golf Association of Michigan (GAM) Junior Girls Championship (medalist and match play champion).
In the summer of 2017, she won the Women's Western Golf Association Junior Girls Championship and had four top-five finishes in AJGA events, including a medalist runner-up finish at the AJGA Randy Wise Junior Open.
The Wolverines will lose senior All-American Elodie Van Dievoet to graduation following this season.
Players Mentioned
