Senior Ashlee Bobzin, the only woman golfer at Virginia Wesleyan, graduates this spring. The Women’s Golf program plans to still be part of athletics next school year.
Most collegiate athletes want to perform their best during their senior year. That’s the case with senior Women’s Golf player Ashlee Bobzin. The only woman on the current roster came into the program in the fall of 2018 as a freshman.To say that she has seen multiple teammates and coaches come and go through the program would be a severe understatement.
Earlier this school year in September Bobzin competed against Chowan University in Suffolk, Virginia at the Sleepy Hole Golf Course. She got second place out of four players shooting an 86.
After that, she competed at the VSGA Intercollegiate in Front Royal, Va. The two day tournament she finished eleventh with a score of 176. Her last tournament of the fall was the Chick-fil-A Collegiate Invitational in Rome, Georgia. The two day tournament was hosted by Berry College. Bobzin tied for 58th at the end of the weekend with a total score of 176.
Bobzin’s first tournament this spring was March 19th-20th at the Marlin Invitational hosted at the Cypress Point Country Club in Virginia Beach, VA. She finished the two day tournament in fourth with a total of 172. She then went to Washington, DC to compete at the Cardinal Classic at the end of March. She finished that tournament in 22nd with a score of 88.
Talking about her season so far Bobzin said, “It went really well, some of the best golf I’ve ever played, it’s been fun.”
Head Women’s Golf Coach Shane Kohler also agrees saying, “She shot a career best 84 at the Marlin Invitational. She also had a number of rounds in the 80s helping her have a career best 88 scoring average. Overall I think she’s played really well and I’m excited to see her perform in the ODAC Tournament.”
With Bobzin being the only woman on the roster she practices with the Men’s Golf team every day. Coach Kohler thinks this has been a positive for Bobzin and her golf throughout the season. Kohler said, “The men’s team has some really talented golfers that help push Ashlee whenever they play together. I know the men’s team and Ashlee have a great relationship with one another, which positively impacts things both on the course and off of it.”
During her career as a Marlin, Bobzin has had a lot of coaches. With only one coach staying her entire career at Wesleyan, Bobzin has had four different coaches during her four years. She has also seen teammates come and go. The women’s team has had injuries that forced players to quit, others wanted more of a team environment and others decided to transfer out of the school entirely which has led Bobzin to be in the position she is in today.
As far as the future of the team is concerned, Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Andrea Hoover- Erbig said, “We are planning to have a Women’s Golf team next fall.”
With recruiting troubles Bobzin mentioned how hard it is to recruit for golf in general. Coach Kohler added to that saying, “I think the sport itself is still growing, particularly for high school aged girls. As the game continues to grow at the high school level, I expect more girls looking to golf collegiately will increase as well. We are going to keep recruiting and try to bring in the best possible student-athletes that will help positively impact the Women’s Golf program.”
At the 2022 ODAC Golf Championships held on April 24-26 at The Dominion Club in Richmond, Va., Bobzin finished 18th. Her scores over the three days were 85, 85 and 90 for a total of 260.
After her graduation, Bobzin plans on going into financial advising. Bobzin said, “I’m gonna stay with it as long as I can, Northwestern Mutual is where I did my internship. I’ll probably stick with the one I’m with.”
By Colette Kearney
cmkearney@vwu.edu
