The St. Ambrose University Women’s Golf program has shown substantial growth over the past few years. Within the sport, there are typically five golfers chosen to compete in tournaments toward the end of the season. As the decision may be difficult to choose from, SAU Women’s Golf does not take this responsibility lightly.

Junior Captain Leah Sullivan is a major component of the team as she is included in the top five golfers at SAU. While participating for three years on the team, she demonstrates the importance of academics as well as exceeding expectations in her chosen sport. 

“Being a student-athlete is a lot of work and commitment,” said Sullivan. “However, when school starts to become stressful, the hour or two of practice is a good break and reset so that you can get back in your groove.”

As one of her main goals, Sullivan has hopes to obtain a consistent average score throughout this year’s season. With groundbreaking tournaments coming up, she demonstrates how staying positive and working hard every day can prove to gain great success.

“The event I am most looking forward to is nationals,” said Sullivan. “Nationals this year is at Deere Run and Ambrose gets to host. Even though our team will earn our spot after conference, we will get the chance to play against the best teams in the country.”

Golf is typically acknowledged as an independent sport; however, the SAU Women’s Golf team embraces the concept of being part of a team. 

“Even though golf is more of an individual sport, we still have team practices twice a week and try to do team dinners as much as possible,” said Sullivan. “We do this to be able to get to know each other better and it gives us a break from the stress of school.”

During her time playing for SAU Golf, Sullivan has taken the utmost responsibility in the role of a captain. Even though the team may not be large, she values being able to support her teammates when needed.

“For me, fitting into a captain’s role means being positive and getting the team to enjoy coming to practice,” said Sullivan. “I am a very energetic person and always try to find the positives within every situation so I think I am perfect for this role.”

Sullivan diligently expresses the intensity and joy of her sport. As the spotlight is on each golfer when performing, she explains how to handle the pressure of performance while still having fun.

“When I am on the golf course, nothing seems to matter,” said Sullivan. “The beauty within the course and the peacefulness among nature is amazing. It makes all your worries and stresses go away.”

The St. Ambrose University Women’s Golf Team has finished out the first part of its season but is still actively training for the spring season. Look for the team again on Friday, April 7th, 2023 at the Upper Iowa Invite! The live stream can be found on the SAU Athletics Page!