O’Donnell is first UE golfer to be invited to the event

 

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Anyone who spends five minutes around Caitlin O’Donnell will understand the drive and motivation that she has.  Whether it is on the golf course, in the classroom or working around the community, O’Donnell gives it the same amount of passion, professionalism and enthusiasm.

It was one year ago when the Centennial, Colorado native made history, taking the first NCAA Tournament swing in University of Evansville women’s golf history.  Last month, the Purple Aces showed that their run to the 2021 Missouri Valley Conference Championship was no fluke, earning the second-best MVC finish in program history.

As the calendar turned to May, O’Donnell made history once again, becoming the first-ever UE golf student-athlete to participate in the PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship.  The most culturally significant championship in collegiate golf takes place each year and is comprised of student-athletes from Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-serving institutions as well as individuals of a minority background from other institutions.

Taking part in this tournament is a prestigious honor and includes an application process that includes 50 questions as well as a formal selection.  Working with UE head golf coach John Andrews, O’Donnell submitted her application in mid-March and the result was an experience that will truly last a lifetime.

This tournament is not just about golf…not even close.  It is about the bigger picture and presenting current student-athletes with the opportunity to network with those who paved the road before them.  It is about sharing experiences and exchanging ideas with the other golfers. It is meant to be life-changing and for Caitlin O’Donnell, it was just that.

“The PGA extended an invitation to Coach Andrews and he had previous golfers at other institutions who participated and he believed that I would like it,” O’Donnell exclaimed.  “They are looking for the best of the best from Division I and in the first week of April, I found out that I was accepted.”

While the tournament took place starting on Monday, May 2 through Wednesday, May 4, student-athletes arrived on April 29.  Two prestigious golf courses in the Philadelphia area played host to the tournament – Union League Liberty Hill and The Union League Golf Club at Torresdale.  There were five different divisions who took part in the tournament and each played at least one round on each course.  O’Donnell’s group played the first and third rounds at Liberty Hill with the middle round held at Torresdale.

O’Donnell arrived in Philadelphia on the 29^th in order to take part in the opportunities that were presented that weekend.  Saturday included a morning practice round at Torresdale along with the opening ceremony for the event.  This took place at The Inn at the Union League.  The venue is anything but “just a venue”.  Membership was created in the 1860’s in support of President Abraham Lincoln’s policies.  This continues to be an important piece of civil rights history in the United States and is more of a museum that captures its history.

“Being able to see the Union League was a meaningful opportunity.  The building that we ate in was built in the 1860’s and contained all of the history from that time including an original painting of George Washington, which was the largest portrait of him painted in the United States,” O’Donnell continued.

While the participants were at The Union League, they were presented with a chance to explore the building and its history – something that few in the general public are ever able to do.

Sunday included another practice round – this one in the afternoon at Liberty Hill.  The day began with another experience that gave the student-athletes a chance to build on their future as they visited the Comcast Technology Center.  This was a networking event that included executives within the golf industry as well as people of color who hold some of the most prestigious positions that you can imagine.

Among those O’Donnell met was the Vice President of Comcast, the President of the NAACP, former President Barack Obama’s Diversity and Inclusion Director and the President of the PGA.

“Golf is my favorite thing in the entire world and has many similarities to life.  The places it has taken me and the people I have gotten to meet would not have happened if not for the sport,” O’Donnell explained.  “A huge thank you goes out to the PGA for putting this event on for us.  We all felt like professional golfers and this experience has motivated me even more to get to the highest level in my career.”

“I feel like everyone would say that this whole week was life-changing,” she said.  “Throughout the experience, I made friends who I will remain in contact with for a long time.  It meant a lot to learn how people of color before me used golf to get further in life.  One day, I would love to come back and speak on the panels that were provided to me.  Those were people in my shoes 10 years ago who used golf to succeed in life today.”

Following the weekend events, it was time to take to the course.  O’Donnell explained how switching between two courses was not the easiest thing to do, especially with the venues being vastly different.  That did not stop her from success as she came home in the 18^th position with rounds of 76, 83 and 78.  Following the final round, she traveled back to Evansville to wrap up the school year.

As O’Donnell explained, it was the sport of golf that presented her with several unique and important opportunities.  One of those was the chance to attend and represent the University of Evansville.  After spending time with other golfers at the tournament, she took some time to reflect on the university and just how special of a place that it is.

“I love the University of Evansville and have done a lot in 4 years to make it better and help as much as I can.  This is the best school on Earth and to go to PGA WORKS and represent UE was very special to me.  I discussed the efforts we make at UE to be more inclusive all the way around including SAAC (Student-Athlete Advisory Committee) and acronyms that we are working on.”

“Issues like that happen everywhere but seeing how we put those at the forefront at the University of Evansville was great to see,” O’Donnell added.  “Those are opinions that I never would have had without this event.  It puts us on the map for diversity and inclusion in golf.  It was special to represent our program and promote to others what we are looking to do here in Evansville.”

DES MOINES, Iowa – The University of Evansville men’s 4×100-meter relay team of seniors Brendon Smith (Newburgh, Ind./Castle) and Greg King (Indianapolis, Ind.), junior Giovanni Purser (Port Maria, Jamaica) and sophomore Geordan Blades (Avon, Ind./Avon) earned a podium finish on Sunday to help cap a successful weekend for the UE track and field teams at the Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.

Smith, Blades, King and Purser placed third overall in a time of 42.12.  It marks the first time in which UE has placed on the podium in a relay event at the MVC Championships.  The time of 42.12 is also the fastest on record at Evansville since 1972, when Marvin Cooper, Bob Koehl, Bob Barnett and Jeff Willoughby set the school standard at 42.05.

“The guys today were really locked in,” said UE head coach Don Walters.  “They did a great job with their hand-offs and really left it all out on the track today, and I am really proud of them for making the podium.  What a great way to wrap up the year!”

The relay teams were the story of the day for UE, as all four relay teams posted season-best marks in the 4×100 and 4×400-meter relays.  On the women’s side, the 4×400-meter relay team of seniors Haley Dean (Lacombe, La./Lakeshore), Sam Weldon (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Bishop Dwenger) and Skylar Tucker (Linton, Ind./Linton-Stockton) and freshman Kara Yunker (Evansville, Ind./North) also posted the second-fastest time on record at UE with a time of 4:10.39.  It fell just a second and a half shy of the 2019 school record of 4:08.82.

Tucker and Yunker also teamed with seniors Taiza Alexander (Berea, Ky./Berea Community) and McKenna Sapp (Bloomington, Ill./University) to place seventh in the scoring in the women’s 4×100-meter relay in a time of 50.39.

Individually, graduate student Anna Lowry (Taylorville, Ill./Taylorville) capped her distinguished UE running career with a ninth-place finish in the 5,000-meters in a season-best time of 17:03.32.  Freshman Denzel Lasam (St. Louis, Mo./De Smet Jesuit) also placed tenth in the triple jump with a leap of 13.11 meters (43’0.25″), while senior Andrew Schuler (Ferdinand, Ind./Forest Park) capped his UE throwing career with a personal-best toss of 40.93 meters.

“We did what we set out to do this year:  set PRs and school records,” said Walters. “I really think that we set more PRs this year (168 total) than any other year in which I have coached.  That is a real credit to the student-athletes and my assistant coaches for all of the hard work they put in together to get better.  While, yes, we were focused on our team finishes this year as well, the real key to our growth this season has been that focus on setting PRs and always trying to get better in meets and in practice.”

Team-wise, Evansville finished eighth on the men’s side, posting UE’s highest men’s scoring total in MVC Championship history, while the women placed ninth in the MVC.  Sunday’s action concluded not only the 2022 track and field season, but also the Don Walters’ era as head coach of the Purple Aces.  Walters will officially retire from coaching after 23 years as UE’s cross country and track and field head coach at the end of May.

“Today was a very emotional day for me,” said Walters.  “I can’t even count how many people came over and talked to me and shook my hand and congratulated me on the job that I have done at UE over the years.  It means more than they know, and while it will be tough to step away at the end of the month, it is time for my next adventure in life.  I just want to thank all of the student-athletes, coaches and administrators who have made these last 23 years so enjoyable at UE.”