Dy sisters win away from finals matchup at Michigan Amateur Championship
Jun. 17—ROCHESTER — Anika and Anci Dy played 90 holes of golf in 72 hours. The sisters are hoping to play 36 more Friday.
The Traverse City West alums are among the final four golfers in the 106th Michigan Women's Amateur Championship at Great Oaks Country Club. If they make it past their semifinalist opponents Friday morning, the high school state championship-winning duo will square off against each other with a title on the line for the first time in their competitive careers.
"When we looked at the brackets, we saw that the first time we'd see each other was in the final match," Anika said. "So we knew it was possible, and now we're getting closer to it. That'd be the best outcome, I think."
Anika and Anci played in a quarterfinal match in the Women's Amateur at Saginaw Country Club in 2017 with Anika winning. Anci feels good about the possibility of taking down her older sister in the championship match if it works out that way.
"I would be ecstatic, honestly," Anci said of just getting the opportunity to play with Anika in the finals. "It would be a tough match but a fun match. I think our games are pretty even, right now. The last time we played each other, I wasn't as developed. But now I feel like I've come a long way."
Before Anci has a shot at her big sister, she will have to take out Anika's University of Michigan teammate and last year's runner-up Mikaela Schulz.
"I know Mikaela. She's a really good player and really consistent," Anci said. "It's going to be a tough match, but I'm excited for it. I think matchplay can get in anybody's way."
Anika said she would not be supplying her younger sister with any tips on how to play against her fellow Wolverine.
"It's tough," she said. "It's your sister and your teammate, so it's a weird dynamic. They're both such different players that if they each do what they do best and keep to their own game, then they'll be fine."
When asked who she'll be rooting for, Anika was quick with a response.
"No comment," she said with a laugh.
Anika will take on recent Northville High School graduate Megha Vallabhaheni in her semifinal match.
"It'll be a fun time," Anika said. "I know she's playing well, so we'll keep each other on our toes."
Anci, a University of Indianapolis golfer, beat Grand Blanc's Kate Brody 2-and-1 in the morning Thursday and then topped Western Michigan University golfer Alissa Fish of Clark Lake 4-and-2 in the quarterfinals. She said she had to work a little more in the first match against Brody to come from behind and get the win.
"I just kept playing steady and tried to keep myself going," Anci said. "The second match was just fun."
The 20-year-old Anika, who golfs for the University of Michigan, turned back Sophie Stevens of Highland 2-up in the morning round, and then she knocked off Maya Hunter of St. Joseph, a Northern Michigan University golfer, 4-and-3 in the quarterfinals.
"Right off the bat, I knew my first match was going to be a tough one, so I just had to grind it out," Anika said of her battle against Stevens, a University of Florida commit. "Even in the second one when I was up, it still felt like we were neck and neck for some reason."
Friday will mark Anci's first appearance in the semifinals. It will be Anika's second. The semifinal matches tee off in the morning with the championship match set for the afternoon.
