I first met Lorenzo Pinili when he was a 7-year-old student at Montessori Children’s Academy, displaying an amazing swing and hitting towering shots over the fence. He then won the 8-under division of every TGA tournament he entered.
Eleven years later, Lorenzo is a state high school champion! He shot rounds of 64 and 70 to win the Division 2 individual title by seven strokes and lead his Brother Rice team to a second-place finish.
The following week, Lorenzo advanced to the quarterfinals of the Michigan Amateur. And this fall, he will start his college career as a scholarship player at Michigan State. He’s also an outstanding student who cares deeply about family and community service. Congratulations, Lorenzo!
There were 19 former TGA students or current coaches (or both) who qualified for the four state tournaments, and many finished near the top. Mason Sokolowski of Northville High was third individually in Division 1 with rounds of 70-74 and led Northville to the team title. Gowtham Nalluri of Novi was fifth in Division 1 with scores of 71-75.
Here’s the complete list of TGA connections at states:
Bloomfield Hills — Leo Bugajewski
Brother Rice — Lorenzo Pinili, Leandro Pinili, Ben Yono and Rocco Iacobelli.
Cranbrook-Kingswood — David Schmitt.
Detroit Country Day — Arnav Modi
Northville — Mason Sokolowski
Novi — Gowtham Nalluri
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s — Mikey Karwaski
Rochester Adams — Daniel Lee
Roeper — Sam Salinas
Romeo — Dominic DeLaura
U of D Jesuit — Will Friedrich
University Liggett — Steve McMahon, Charlie Cooksey, Leo Pampalona
Warren DeLaSalle — Collin Urbas, Troy Nguyen
