Women's Golf Adds Two Prep Recruits

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's golf team recently signed two talented prep players as part of its 2012 recruiting class, according to an announcement made today by head coach Mike Mignano.

This spring's signees include Elizabeth Bauernfeind (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) and Olivia Pizii (Petoskey).  Both will join the Bulldog program this fall.

Bauernfeind helped lead Wayzata High School to the 2011 Minnesota State Class AAA State Championship and was also selected to play in the Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach last summer.  A National Honor Society member, she served as president of The First Tee of Three Rivers Park ACE Leadership Team and was a two-time member of her school's conference championship team.  She also served as a drum major ofr Wayzata's Marching Band.

"Elizabeth will be an outstanding addition to our program this fall," Mignano said.  "She's been part of a successful team, which is an important element in college.  She's also shown strong leadership in everything she's done and has a passion and love for the game of golf, which makes Ferris State and our Professional Golf Management (PGM) program a perfect fit for her career goals.

"The most important attribute Elizabeth has is a wonderful attitude and commitment to getting better at everything she does," he added.

Pizii led Petoskey High School to a state tournament berth as a prep senior in 2011 and became only the second four-year letterwinner in school history.  A member of the Boyne Junior Elite Team, she played in the 2011 Amateur Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Coca-Cola Junior Championship at Boyne Highlands and registered school records for both nine (39) and 18-hole (80) individual scoring rounds.  Pizii is the first-ever Petoskey girls golf player to sign a college letter-of-intent.

Last fall, Pizii shot a school-record 80 at FSU's Katke Golf Course while placing second in the Division III regional as the Northmen claimed the school's first-ever berth in the state finals.  She also shares the school standard for fewest putts (29) in an 18-hole round.

"Olivia has made some big strides in her golf game over the last few years," said Mignano. "She works extremely hard on her golf game and is a superb student in the classroom as well. I look for her to be very competitive during her career and she's a terrific leader with a great attitude."

The Ferris State women's golf team made its 11th consecutive NCAA Division II Regional Tournament appearance this past season where they placed sixth at the 2012 NCAA-II East Super Regional (May 6-8) held in Findlay, Ohio.