In 2005, Kelly Sawyer was playing high school golf at Stockbridge in Munith, Mich. While she was finishing up her high school playing days, Siena Heights was building their first Women’s Golf Team. Siena Heights Head Coach, Debrah Ray, said of recruiting Sawyer, “I liked how she hit the ball. She was consistently hitting in the 70’s and 80’s.”
Coach Ray recruited her to be one of seven players on the Saints’ inaugural team; she was the third player Ray recruited. Of those seven players, only two players stayed for their entire collegiate careers, Sawyer and Kaendall McVicker.
The 2009 fall golf season has come to an end, so too has the careers of the first recruiting class for Women’s Golf. Coach Ray said of Sawyer, “She was very coachable, even saying to me this year, ‘If I had done it this way four years ago, I would be a much better golfer today.’”
Sawyer said, “I had no expectation to be the best to go through SHU and am honored to have played all four years.” Having had no expectations, she quickly was seen as one of the best golfers on the team. Coach Ray said she is the quiet leader of the team, using her actions to lead rather than her voice. Her ability to try new shots was another great attribute Sawyer brought to the course.
Sawyer, as a freshman in 2006, played eight rounds of golf in six events. On September 1st, she played in the first ever Women’s Golf match for Siena Heights and shot an 89 at the Robert Morris Fall Classic. Her best round that season was an 86 at the NAIA Region VIII Tournament finishing in ninth place. She finished the season with one top ten and one top twenty. Her scoring average for her first year was 93.9.
That was the beginning of what would be an excellent career at Siena Heights. Sawyer currently has nine of the top ten lowest rounds in Siena Heights history, with her lowest round shot in 2007 at Lost Creek Country Club in Lima, Ohio with an 80. That score also gave her the victory at the Ohio Northern Invitational. Kaendall McVicker has the second lowest round of golf by the women with an 81 at Foss Park Golf Club in North Chicago, IL.
In 2007, Sawyer placed first three times, and tied for first once. She finished in the top ten in all nine tournaments, with eight top five’s. She won the first ever individual WHAC title and was subsequently named to her first All-WHAC team. Her average score was 86.7, dropping over seven strokes in one year.
In 2008, she never shot over a 90, and finished in the top ten eight times in nine events. Her best round of golf was at Pheasant Run Golf Club in Canton, Mich., where she shot an 81 to tie for fourth place. Her maturity and growth showed her junior year and again captured a spot on the All-Conference team. She averaged an 87 for that season.
In her senior season, 2009, she captured a spot on the All-Conference team for the third year in a row. She finished in the top five in all of the WHAC Jamboree. Her season best round of 82 was at the WHAC Jamboree #3 at her home course of Tecumseh Country Club, which she finished tied for third.
Sawyer improved each year she was at Siena Heights. Her average round of golf dropped eight shots from 2006 to 2009. She gradually got better with age, averaging an 85.3 her senior year. She was named to three WHAC teams and was an individual WHAC medalist.
Together, Sawyer and McVickers share the honor of being part of the best low round by a team. In 2008, the SHU Women’s Golf Team shot a 361 at Foss Park Golf Club.
McVickers career at Siena Heights shadowed that of Sawyer. While not always at the top of the leaderboard, she was always consistent.
Her freshman year in 2006, she placed 19th out of 33 competitors at NAIA Region VIII tournament with her best rounds of the year, a 91 and 93 respectively. That year she averaged 101.5.
In 2007, she consistently shot in the 90’s, recording her first tournament win at the Golf Club at Thornapple Pointe in Grand Rapids, Mich., with an 87. Coach Ray said, “McVickers is very coachable,” and that was evident in her sophomore campaign. She dropped her average to 94.7, and was in the top 20 in all nine tournaments that season.
In the 2008 and 2009 seasons, she was named to the WHAC All-Academic team. Coach Ray said, “She has good leadership ability, is gritty and a hard worker.” You could see that throughout her career at Siena Heights.
When Sawyer and McVickers hit their final putts at the Walnut Creek Country Club in South Lyon, Mich on September 29th, 2009, they may have ended their collegiate career, but they left a legacy that will be hard to live up to.
Sawyers said, “I wanted to show other girls in high school that if they want to play in college, they can.” Her choice to be on the first Women’s Golf Team at Siena Heights, and then finish her career here, ties in with her leadership role on the team. Quiet and reserved in personality, she became vocal through her continued actions to improve each and every day.
Players often enter established programs. Sawyer and McVickers established a program. They helped start a collegiate team, start a new tradition at SHU, and groom others to be Champions of Characters on and off the golf course. They took a leap of faith, and it paid off for everyone involved.
Sawyer will graduate in May with a degree in Accounting/Business Administration. She plans to attend Graduate school. McVicker is looking to obtain her teaching certification in Social Studies and English. Hopefully, when they look back at their time at Siena Heights, they will know that they played an integral part of building another athletic tradition at Siena Heights.