TALENTED WEST MICHIGAN RECRUIT TO PLAY AT FERRIS STATE

Raquel Hansen (West Olive/Grand Haven), a member of the 2005 Michigan Interscholastic Golf Coaches Association Girls' All-State Super Team, has committed to attend Ferris State University and compete in women’s golf, beginning with the 2005 fall season as announced by seventh-year FSU head coach Brad Bedortha.

Raquel Hansen will take her talents to Ferris State this fall.

“Raquel is a great kid and certainly a fine addition to our program,” said Bedortha, the 2004-05 National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) Division II National Coach of the Year. “Her game has really improved by leaps and bounds since a year ago and I definitely believe she will push our other players for possibly a starting spot this fall.

“Raquel has a great work ethic and I’m excited about the possibilities of coaching her while helping our team continue to improve,” added Bedortha.

Hansen, a three-time (2003-05) All-Ottawa-Kent (O.K.) Lakeshore Conference selection under coach Roger Glass, averaged 37.5 strokes per round during her senior year and registered nine top individual tournament finishes this season. A three-time all-state academic team performer, Hansen placed in a three-way tie for sixth place with a two-round 158 score at the 2005 Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) Lower Peninsula Division I Girls Golf Finals (June 3-4) held at Eastern Michigan University’s Eagle Crest Golf Course in Ypsilanti, Mich. A three-time (2003-05) team captain, Hansen has received the Buccaneers’ Most Valuable Player Award the last three seasons while being a state tourney qualifier in each of those three years.

As a junior in the 2004 season, Hansen recorded a 40.5 stroke average and accumulated 14 top individual finishes after posting a 43.0 average as a sophomore for the 2003 campaign. She holds school records for the lowest 18-hole round (70 at the East Lansing Invitational) and nine-hole round (34 at Chase Hammond).

A four-year prep golf letterwinner, Hansen also lettered four years in cheerleading at GHHS. Academically, she has received the Powerbilt Sportsmanship Award in 2002 while being honored as the Rotary March Student of the Month and a distinguished academic leader. The National Honor Society student was also awarded the Excellence in Education Award. Hansen is a two-year member of the school’s Ambassadors Club, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and the InterAct Club.

Among the highlights of Hansen’s playing career is traveling to Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Italy.

The daughter of Dan and Jaclyn Hansen, Raquel plans to major in Ferris State’s Professional Golf Management (PGM) program.

Ferris State made its second straight NCAA Division II Women’s Golf National Championship appearance and the program’s fifth ever this spring (May 11-14) as the Bulldogs placed fourth with a four-round 1,251-stroke total at the 2005 NCAA-II National Championship Tournament in Albuquerque, N.M. In the previous year (2004), Ferris recorded the highest-placing ever in the school’s women’s athletics history with a second-place tying 1,264 four-round total at the national championship tourney in Longwood, Fla.