Senior Annika Cruz has been recruited to play golf for the women’s team at Seattle University, Cruz said in a Zoom interview. She will start playing there in the fall of 2021, she added.
At the beginning of quarantine, she began looking for interested colleges by emailing golf coaches at various schools, Cruz said. After talking to about 10 to 15 coaches, she was recruited by Seattle University, and she finalized her decision to play for that university in August, Cruz said. There were a variety of factors that influenced her decision to play at Seattle University, such as the cost of tuition and the school’s academic and athletic programs.
“Money has something to do with [my decision to play at Seattle University],” Cruz said. “Seattle University has very strong academics because it is a private school and also because there is a small student body at only 7,500 people. This will mean that professors will be able to help me more as an individual rather than having to teach large classes. Also, they do a lot to support the athletics at the school, with a fitness building solely for athletes, and the golf courses in Seattle are outstanding.”
Although she only started playing in golf tournaments around six years ago, Cruz has always been interested in the sport, she said. She initially started playing golf because of her dad and then continued the sport, while also learning valuable life lessons along the way, because it was fun, Cruz added.
“[After] I started doing tournaments, I [realized that I] liked the competitive aspect of it. [Golf is a sport that] I can keep doing for as long as I want because I [find] it both fun and meaningful to me. Golf is a game of misses, and you have to accept that you can always improve and grow, both in the sport and as a person,” Cruz said.
Initially, she practiced by going to a golf course as often as she could, Cruz said. She continues to go to golf ranges often to practice, but realized that having the right mindset while practicing is important as well, Cruz added.
Just as the pandemic has had a major impact on everyone’s lives, Cruz’s practice routines have changed too. “I couldn’t practice for a month or two until one place in Sacramento opened early, so I started practicing there as much as I could,” Cruz said. “Overall, I honestly improved during the pandemic because I had more time at home to focus on golf. I can do more drills at home and can go to practice more frequently. I practiced a little more than I did before the pandemic, and the quality of my practices have greatly improved and I have made so much progress during the pandemic as a result.”
All the training that Cruz did paid off during golf tournaments. She won first place in the Mountain View City Championships and second place in the school league tournament, Cruz said. She has also participated in multiple golfing organizations, such as the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA, Junior Golf Association of Northern California (JGANC), and Junior Tour of Northern California (JTNC), and is a part of the MHS golfing team, Cruz said.
Cruz said she plans to strive for improvement while in college. “I want to be able to play in competitions as much as possible,” Cruz said. “I also want to perform better than I have been here [at MHS]. Those are my main goals, but I also do want to focus on my academics so that I have opportunities besides golf.”