RECRUIT SIGNS WITH FERRIS STATE WOMEN’S GOLF PROGRAM

Bulldogs Add Talented Heidi Aittama To 2003 Recruiting Class

Ferris State University women’s golf head coach Brad Bedortha has announced that Heidi Aittama (Livonia/Churchill) (pronounced I-tah-ma) will attend FSU and compete in women’s golf, starting with the 2003 fall season.

“Heidi has the ability to come in immediately and really help us,” said Bedortha. “I knew we had to get some high-quality skill players this upcoming season as a result of losing some of our top players to graduation. She’s a competitive individual who has played a lot of tournament golf and knows what is going to be expected of her.”

Aittama, a 2002 graduate of Livonia Churchill High School, has spent the last nine months taking instructional golf lessons at the Arnold Palmer Golf Academy in Orlando, Fla. She was both a three-time all-state and All-Western Lakes Conference selection at LCHS under head coach Sharon Laskowski and was the school’s first-ever women’s golfer to participate in a state finals tournament. A four-year team Most Valuable Player, Aittama averaged a team-leading 79.0 strokes per round with 13 first-place individual tourney finishes during her senior year. The four-time state qualifier, who received Division 1 accolades as a senior, placed second individually at the 2002 Michigan Division I State Finals with a two-round 151 score as the Chargers finished sixth overall at the championship tournament.

As a junior, Aittama placed sixth in the state finals and concluded the season with an 83-stroke average while garnering top individual medalist honors on 11 occasions. She posted an 86 average in her freshman and sophomore campaigns while finishing in ninth and 13th place individually at the state championship finals, respectively.

A four-year letterwinner in golf, Aittama served as team captain during her final prep campaign. “Heidi has proven she can compete at a high level,” Bedortha said. “She’s probably going to be one of our top three players.”

The daughter of Robert and Lynn Aittama, Heidi plans to pursue a degree in professional golf management at Ferris State. She joins Kelley Wilkinson (Fort Gratiot/Port Huron Northern) as current members of the Bulldog 2003 recruiting class.

This spring, Ferris State placed second at the GLIAC Championships (April 26-27) and concluded its season with a third-place effort at the NCAA-II East Regional (May 6-7), which was held at Findlay, Ohio.