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Northern Michigan University

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2025 Men's Golf GLIAC Championship Team
Walter Ylitalo, Kyle Maki, Arthur Ylitalo, Tyler Annala, Russel Sprecher, Levi Pennala, HC Ben Johnson

Men's Golf

Ylitalo Makes Waves in Round Two of GLIAC Championships

Walter Ylitalo shoots -2 70 thanks to a four-under front nine, Wildcats finish 8th of 10

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. - The NMU men's golf team concluded it's time at the 2025 GLIAC Championships, finishing 8th overall with a two-day total of +19. 

The Wildcats showed improvement on round two, shaving off 11 strokes from the first round and posting the fourth-best round two score of +4. The Green and Gold finished 10 strokes behind Parkside (+9) and nine strokes ahead of Purdue NW (+28).

Despite the great outing from the team, the 'Cats did not make the top-four, and the 2025 season comes to a close. No. 47 Ferris State had a commanding day, shooting the lowest score of the day by eight strokes with a team-total of -8, moving up four spots to finish first with a two-day score of -7 and advance as the top seed in match play. In second place was No. 9 Grand Valley, who added five strokes from yesterday's score and shot even as a team to finish -5. No. 21 Wayne State was -4 after round one, but a second round +6 moved them into a tie for third place with Saginaw Valley, who moved up one position and knocked Roosevelt out of match play. 

For the tournament, the 'Cats played the par threes at +13 (10th), the par fours at +33 (8th), and the par fives at -3 (9th). NMU reorded 20 birdies (T8), 104 pars (T8), 50 bogeys (1st), and 6 double bogey+ (T4). 

The story of the day for NMU was Walter Ylitalo, who moved up 19 positions overall thanks to a second round -2 70, the third-most spots moved up on the field. Walter, like everyone for NMU, started on the back nine, where he carded a +3 39 to start his round. Walter shot par on 17 and 18 before making the turn, where he would shoot -5 31 on the front nine with five birdies and four pars, including birdies on the second, third, fifth, seventh, and eighth. Walter led the team along with brother Arthur with six birdies, and finished his tournament in T27 overall and T2 on the team with a two-day total of +5.

Brother Arthur Ylitalo also moved up on the leader board, jumping nine positions overall with his second round of E 72. Arthur opened his round with two birdies and six pars on the back nine for a -1 35 before making the turn, and posting six pars and one birdie for a second nine of +1 37. Arthur led the team and was one stroke back of the leader in par five scoring (-5, 4.38 avg.) on the weekend, and would finish the tournament first on the team and T16 overall with his two day total of +2. 

Russel Sprecher moved up three spots into a tie with Walter at T27 overall and T2 on the team with his second round of +2 74. Similar to Walter, Sprecher opened his round with a +4 40 on the back nine before making the turn, where he shot a bogey-free -2 34 on the front after scoring three-straight pars to end the back nine. Sprecher was tied for the team lead and T18 overall with Walter on par four scoring (+3, 4.15 avg.) on the two rounds, and finished his tournament at +5.

Finishing out the team scoring was Tyler Annala, who shot a round of +4 76, giving him a two-day total of +7. Annala led the team and was T6 in pars (25), and tied for the team lead on par three scoring with Walter for the tournament (+1, 3.13 avg.), T17 overall.

Kyle Maki subbed in as an individual for Levi Pennala, where she shot a round of +12 84. 

Shea Harmeson of SVSU shot the best second round at -6 to finish his first two rounds at -8 to sit atop the leaderboard. Manuel Cue dropped into second place, with a total of -7 for the two rounds, and Pierre Heylen of Roosevelt finished third with his two day total of -6.

The full leaderboard and stats from the 2025 GLIAC stroke play tournament can be found here. Ferris State will play Saginaw Valley and Grand Valley will play Wayne State in the medal match play, and you can find those scores here. 







 
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Players Mentioned

Tyler Annala

Tyler Annala

6' 0"
Junior
Kyle Maki

Kyle Maki

5' 11"
Senior
Russel Sprecher

Russel Sprecher

6' 0"
Senior
Arthur Ylitalo

Arthur Ylitalo

5' 11"
Sophomore
Walter Ylitalo

Walter Ylitalo

5' 11"
Senior
Levi Pennala

Levi Pennala

Freshman

Players Mentioned

Tyler Annala

Tyler Annala

6' 0"
Junior
Kyle Maki

Kyle Maki

5' 11"
Senior
Russel Sprecher

Russel Sprecher

6' 0"
Senior
Arthur Ylitalo

Arthur Ylitalo

5' 11"
Sophomore
Walter Ylitalo

Walter Ylitalo

5' 11"
Senior
Levi Pennala

Levi Pennala

Freshman