The Longwood Women's Golf season has ended, but it is not to be forgotten. Through the team's nine events dating back to last September, the Women's Golf Team finished in the top 10 in eight, showing off Lancer dedication and skill. Two of the team's six players managed to finish first indi- vidually in two tournaments and mark their place in Long- wood's record books.
Growing up in North Lima, Ohio, Ariel Witmer was merely five years old when she was given her first golf club from her grandfather. Two years later, Witmer was winning her very first tour- nament at the age of seven. "You actually had to be nine years old to compete ... my grandfather lied about my age," Witmer chuckled. Her prize for winning was a Giga pet, which she still has to this day. She still admires profes- sional player Annika Sorens- tam who Witmer was blessed to meet and pose with in a picture. Through her grand- father's teachings and prac- tice, she played in several lo- cal tours before entering high school.
Witmer played all four years on her South Range High School squad. Since there was no Women's golf
team at her high school, Wit- mer played on the men's team. By 2008, she was the Ohio High School Division II Girls State Champion, at- taining the Ohio state record for the lowest average fin- ish (139). She still holds the record to this day. A three- time MVP of her team, Wit- mer also played basketball in high school. The very next year, she finished 21st at the 2009 Optimist International Junior Golf Championship.
Four universities looked to acquire Witmer after her senior year in high school, including Akron, Cleve- land State, Youngstown and Longwood. Though three of the four are in her home state of Ohio, Witmer chose to at- tend Longwood. "I loved the school size and the coach and team. Plus, I would be get- ting to play golf in warmer weather and still be able to get some snow." The change in scenery for her was a bit overwhelming at first, but Witmer said she was satis- fied with how she played on the golf team freshman year. Prior to this spring, she ranked third in career aver- age (77.29), and with her first individual victory this past season, she also gave the Lancer's a team-best 36-hole score. Now her third season with the Lancers, junior Ariel Witmer is continuously im- proving. Not only was this
Witmer's first collegiate vic- tory, but remarkably, it was her second top-five finish in three events.
Picking up her first club around the age of six due to the encouragement of her father or, as Carter put it, "because I was the old- est," senior Kameron Carter learned to love the sport of golf. Her story is compa- rable to recent Masters vic- tor Bubba Watson who, like Carter, never received any kind of formal golf lessons. Watson, however, was not Carter's golf idol growing up. "I always enjoyed watch- ing Sergio Garcia play ... oh, and Annika Sorenstam of course."
According to Carter, she played in but a few tourna- ments for the Roanoke Valley Golf Tour in middle school.
In high school, the future Longwood golf veteran found herself still limited by the small Bassett schools but kept playing and improv- ing. "Bassett High School is a small school in a small town. We didn't even have a girl's golf team." Un-phased, Cart- er played four years in high school on the men's team, earning All-State, All-Region and Piedmont Player of the Year as a senior. Becoming a junior/amateur player fol- lowing High School, Carter advanced to the quarterfinal round of 16 in the 2009 Wom-
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Kameron Carter
en's Amateur Championship. Following her accomplish- ments at Bassett High, Carter was recruited by three uni- versities: Radford, James Madison and Longwood. Her reasoning behind decid- ing to play at Longwood was put simply, "I chose Long- wood because I loved Coach Wright, and the golf team
was the most entertaining." Carter saw success early as a Lancer. One of her most memorable performances was when she finished third in just her third tournament
at Iowa University. Now a fifth-year senior at
Longwood University, Carter has only improved her game, ranking first this past sea- son in career average (76.15). Overcoming back surgery in 2010 before taking her se- nior year off, Carter achieved the best 18-hole, 36-hole and 54-hole scores this past fall at the Tulsa/Dale McNa-
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Ariel Witmer
mara Invitational. According to Carter, though her back worried her when she came back this season, she found no difference in her ability to swing a club and feels 100 percent.
This past March, Carter played one of her best rounds in the team's last event in North Carolina for the Se- ahawk Classic. Placing third individually, she attained her collegiate-best 214. Maybe it is in the genes. Carter's fa- ther played golf at the Uni- versity of Richmond and now her brother Blake Carter is a freshman on Longwood's Men's team. A chemistry major at Longwood, Carter graduates this July with a Masters degree from Long- wood's Graduate Program. Carter looks to turn her golf- ing career professional at the end of this year.