Greene finishes collegiate golf career focusing on the priorities
4/18/2019 1:04:00 PM | Women's Golf, Features
MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – Senior Danielle Greene of the Millersville University women's golf team had a tough decision as she approached the 2018 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships. She needed to decide whether she should play golf in her last semester or focus more on her academics.
In the fall of 2018, Greene led Millersville to a fifth-place finish and placed ninth as an individual at the PSAC Championships, but one class in particular was a challenge. Greene wanted to stay above a 3.0 GPA but was on track to lose that so she decided to withdraw from a class. This left her lacking the minimum number of new credits required in order to continue playing in the spring. Greene finished the fall with a 3.06 cumulative GPA and then improved it in the winter, boosting her GPA to 3.09. The decision to leave golf was not easy.
"As a student-athlete, I had very high expectations for myself in athletics and academics. I knew that the team had a chance to win the PSAC Championship and we did win in my freshman year. It is always challenging as a student-athlete to juggle academics and athletics. I have always given 100 percent on both sides.
In three-and-a-half years with the program Greene made a significant impact, and helped build a young program into a PSAC contender. Greene finished her career with an outstanding resume: six tournament wins, 25 top-10 finishes, the second-best career scoring average in program history and three of the top four single-season scoring averages. She is the only three-time All-PSAC selection in program history.
Her freshman year was a banner year as she won three tournaments and ranked second on the team in scoring average at 81.8. She posted the second-best scoring average in program history and the lowest for a freshman of the team. She won two of the final three tournaments of the season. In her sophomore campaign, she posted top-10 finishes in all but one tournament and nine straight top-five finishes.
Greene finished in the top-20 in nine of 10 tournaments in the 2017-18 season. That year, she average a score of 81.4
"There was not a tournament that we competed in that Danielle was not a threat to win," said Millersville head coach Scott Vandegrift. "It is nice to know that you have a player of that capability on your team out there."
After scheduling her life around golf for three and a half years, Greene adjusted priorities to now focus on academics and her future teaching career.
"I think when it comes down to it you, you have to focus what you will be doing after college," said Greene. "I love golf so much and it was such a difficult decision to have to make but, as an education major my GPA is particularly important. It was hard to think of leaving, especially going into my last PSAC Championship, knowing that this might be my last college tournament. I realized that I had to focus fully on academics at this point in order to keep my GPA where it was and improve. I do not have any regrets about what I did but I do miss playing for the team and working with Coach Vandegrift. He's been like a second father to me and I know we will always be close."
"Her priorities have always been academics first which is what all coaches hope that a student-athletes looks for," said Vandegrift."
It was a hard to decision to give up college golf a semester early. But Greene hopes to become a golf coach while pursuing her teaching career. With all that she has learned about balancing over the last four years, from being a student-athlete and a team captain, Greene is ready to pass down lessons that she has learned on to other future student-athletes.
In the fall of 2018, Greene led Millersville to a fifth-place finish and placed ninth as an individual at the PSAC Championships, but one class in particular was a challenge. Greene wanted to stay above a 3.0 GPA but was on track to lose that so she decided to withdraw from a class. This left her lacking the minimum number of new credits required in order to continue playing in the spring. Greene finished the fall with a 3.06 cumulative GPA and then improved it in the winter, boosting her GPA to 3.09. The decision to leave golf was not easy.
"As a student-athlete, I had very high expectations for myself in athletics and academics. I knew that the team had a chance to win the PSAC Championship and we did win in my freshman year. It is always challenging as a student-athlete to juggle academics and athletics. I have always given 100 percent on both sides.
In three-and-a-half years with the program Greene made a significant impact, and helped build a young program into a PSAC contender. Greene finished her career with an outstanding resume: six tournament wins, 25 top-10 finishes, the second-best career scoring average in program history and three of the top four single-season scoring averages. She is the only three-time All-PSAC selection in program history.
Her freshman year was a banner year as she won three tournaments and ranked second on the team in scoring average at 81.8. She posted the second-best scoring average in program history and the lowest for a freshman of the team. She won two of the final three tournaments of the season. In her sophomore campaign, she posted top-10 finishes in all but one tournament and nine straight top-five finishes.
Greene finished in the top-20 in nine of 10 tournaments in the 2017-18 season. That year, she average a score of 81.4
"There was not a tournament that we competed in that Danielle was not a threat to win," said Millersville head coach Scott Vandegrift. "It is nice to know that you have a player of that capability on your team out there."
After scheduling her life around golf for three and a half years, Greene adjusted priorities to now focus on academics and her future teaching career.
"I think when it comes down to it you, you have to focus what you will be doing after college," said Greene. "I love golf so much and it was such a difficult decision to have to make but, as an education major my GPA is particularly important. It was hard to think of leaving, especially going into my last PSAC Championship, knowing that this might be my last college tournament. I realized that I had to focus fully on academics at this point in order to keep my GPA where it was and improve. I do not have any regrets about what I did but I do miss playing for the team and working with Coach Vandegrift. He's been like a second father to me and I know we will always be close."
"Her priorities have always been academics first which is what all coaches hope that a student-athletes looks for," said Vandegrift."
It was a hard to decision to give up college golf a semester early. But Greene hopes to become a golf coach while pursuing her teaching career. With all that she has learned about balancing over the last four years, from being a student-athlete and a team captain, Greene is ready to pass down lessons that she has learned on to other future student-athletes.
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