I WANT TO BE AN INSPIRATION FOR YOUNG COLOMBIAN GIRLS

Champions' TriBUne Archive

By: Maria Vesga

Champions' TriBUne is a special feature through Baylor Athletics that will give you the student-athlete's perspective and tell their story in their voice. Maria Vesga, a senior from Bucaramanga, Colombia, has recorded 18 career top-25 finishes and is second on the women's golf team this year with a 74.0-stroke average. She has played for the Colombian National Team and has won several medalist titles in her native country. Baylor is seeded eighth for the NCAA East Lansing (Mich.) Regional that starts Monday:

When I was young, my parents always encouraged me to try different sports. I tried tennis, soccer, ballet, skating and swimming. When I was 9, my mom asked me if I wanted to learn how to play golf. I thought that if I wasn't really passionate about the other sports, I obviously wouldn't like golf. But, my parents said, "Come on give it a try, the practice range is only five minutes away from home."

My house in Colombia is in front of a golf course, and that really helped me fall in love with golf and made it so easy for me to get to practice. My dad has played golf for 20 years, and he always tried to encourage me to play, and he would explain to me why he loved and enjoyed golf. I still remember the feeling of being out on a golf range for the first time. It is something that I will never forget. The peace of being surrounded by nature and the smile on the faces of the other kids that were practicing. As soon as I started taking lessons with my coach, I couldn't stop. It became my biggest passion. I would wake up every morning excited about my afternoon lesson.

I love competing, so I started playing tournaments in Colombia when I was 10. After a couple of wins that year, my parents started traveling with me outside the country to compete. I will always remember the first tournaments outside Colombia, I felt lost and didn't know what to do, but at the end of the day it was always the same no matter where I was. Me, the golf course and the golf ball.

I won three national championships, and I was and still am a part of the Colombian National Team. I played South American tournaments with my two best friends from Colombia, and we won two years in a row in 2012 and 2013. After that, I played a lot of AJGA (American Junior Golf Association) tournaments in the U.S., and that was always an incredible experience. I won two AJGA opens in 2014 here in the U.S., and that motivated me even more to play golf here.

Maria Vesga

I owe my success to my family and my coaches. I got to Baylor thanks to them. They always pushed me to do my best and work as hard as I could because they knew I was talented. And on the inside, I knew I would make it far if I worked hard. I have always been very methodical, so I really enjoyed planning my daily practices and knowing exactly what I was going to do each day.

Growing up, I had to make a lot of sacrifices. I would miss trips, parties and social events because I would be practicing for my next tournament. Even though I didn't have a lot of time to socialize, my closest friends always stuck by me. They understood my passion for golf, and they are still my best friends. I was not the only one who sacrificed things to get to where I am right now. My parents sacrificed time, work and many other things to get me to where I am. I would come to the U.S. every summer to play tournaments, and they were very supportive because they knew it was my dream to play golf in college in the U.S.

I committed to Baylor my senior year of high school. I decided to come to Baylor because even though it is so different from Colombia, here I felt like home and I loved campus and the golf facilities. Being a part of Baylor's golf team is more than just playing golf competitively, it is being part of a family. When I am playing golf, I know I have to give it my best not only for myself but for my teammates and coaches who are like a second family to me. As a senior, every day I have to set an example for my teammates and maintain a positive attitude that represents our university well. When the girls are nervous before a round, I tell them: "You've got this, enjoy your day out there, that is the most important thing."

Maria Vesga

I remember in the last tournament we won about a month ago, we all came together and talked before the last round. We were trailing Ole Miss by five strokes, and the last round was crucial because the conditions were tough. I told them, "You know that we all have the game, the spirit and the power. Patience is key today, and this will just be another round of golf out of the hundreds that we have played. Go have fun out there, and we'll see the results." In the end, we won by two strokes and it was one of the most rewarding moments.

The greatest thing about being a part of this team is that no matter how bad my day goes, at the end I know I have teammates and coaches that are always going to stand by my side. I am really close to my teammates, and there is not a day that goes by that we don't push each other to be better. It is really amazing, because they are like my sisters and my home away from home. I also owe a lot of my success to my coaches, because they have believed in me since I got here. My head coach always tells me, "You're a superstar, you can do whatever you put your mind to." I heard that so many times, I started believing it and it inspired me to play some amazing rounds.

I have always been an independent person, and I love the sense of independence that playing golf gives me. When you're on the golf course, it is only you, the course and the golf ball. When you're having a bad round, there is no one that can make you play better. No one is going to hit the ball for you or score for you. Yes, the coaches can come and walk with you and help you, but they can't hit the shots for you. That is one of the things that I love the most about golf, the challenge. Our coach, Jay Goble, always tells us that the team who solves problems better throughout the round is the team that will win. And when I play, I always try to see the opportunities in the challenge.

Being an athlete can be a burnout, but it is definitely rewarding. I want to be an inspiration for young Colombian girls chasing their dreams. I want them to see that dreams can come true if you have the passion and the work ethic for your sport. Golf has been one of the greatest parts in my life, and I love it even more after playing for Baylor.

Maria Vesga

Previous Champions' TriBUne Features
Acrobatics & Tumbling - Camryn Bryant (April 25, 2019)
Equestrian - Shannon Hogue (April 16, 2019)
Women's Tennis - Angelina Shakhraichuk (April 9, 2019)
Women's Basketball - Lauren Cox (March 22, 2019)
Track & Field - Wil London (March 7, 2019)
Men's Basketball - Jake Lindsey (March 4, 2019)
Softball - Nicky Dawson (Feb. 21, 2019)
Baseball - Josh Bissonette (Feb. 14, 2019)
Men's Tennis - Will Little (Jan. 31, 2019)
Men's Basketball - King McClure (Jan. 17, 2019)
Women's Basketball - Chloe Jackson (Jan. 3, 2019)
Football - Blake Blackmar (Dec. 13, 2018)
Volleyball - Braya Hunt (Nov. 29, 2018)
Soccer - Jackie Crowther (Nov. 16, 2018)
Cross Country - Alison Andrews-Paul (Nov. 8, 2018)
Football- Ira Lewis (Nov. 6, 2018)

I WANT TO BE AN INSPIRATION FOR YOUNG COLOMBIAN GIRLS

Players Mentioned

Maria Vesga

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I WANT TO BE AN INSPIRATION FOR YOUNG COLOMBIAN GIRLS

Players Mentioned

Maria Vesga

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