Engineering the perfect balance between academics and golf
4/16/2015 11:05:00 AM | Women's Golf, Features
By Matthew LoBello '15, Lehigh Sports Media Relations
As a high school senior, Kelly Moylan was unsure of where her loves of golf and engineering would take her. The North East, Pennsylvania, native had never heard of or visited Lehigh until former Lehigh women's golf coach Rob Shutte contacted Moylan following her impressive 11th place finish at the PIAA State Championship.
"I didn't know about Lehigh until coach contacted me," Moylan said. "Once I saw how well I meshed with the girls on my recruiting visit, I was like 'Wow this is the place for me.' So it was fortuitous that the coach reached out to me."
Five years later, Moylan is preparing to conclude her career in Lehigh's brown and white.
The two-year team captain has achieved several of the highest Patriot League honors. As a sophomore, she finished sixth at the inaugural Patriot League Championship, shooting 242 to earn All-Patriot League honors.
Moylan followed up her sophomore campaign with another strong showing in her junior year, earning second team all-league honors and leading the Mountain Hawks as their top performer in three different tournaments.
For Moylan, golf has been a family affair from a young age. Growing up around the sport, she was influenced by both her parents and grandparents.
"I had always had golf clubs, both my mom and dad's families were involved in golf, so it was something they at least wanted me to experience," Moylan said. "It was something that I was always good at, so I stuck with it."
As she grew older, Moylan became more passionate as her love for the game developed, and she began to thrive. In secondary school, Moylan was a four-year varsity player, achieving district qualifier honors in each of those seasons, and attained regional qualifier distinctions three times.
Yet, what has differentiated Moylan from her peers is her invaluable leadership skills both on and off the course.
"She digs deep on all levels to truly do her best and be a leader for the team," assistant coach Karen Siegel said. "She truly is a model of excellence both in the classroom and on the course."
As a freshman student at Lehigh, Moylan learned from and embraced three junior golfers (Natalie Lansing, Chelsea Michalek and Ginette Schapira) who she credits with leading by example and teaching her what it meant to be a member of the Lehigh women's golf team.
"They've kind of been my role models for how my leadership role has developed," Moylan said. "They were great leaders on the team and they made the experience so great."
Moylan has strived to embody those leadership skills as a person who is well respected and an individual who teammates can go to for more intimate team or personal concerns.
"She is also the person who anyone can go to if they have an issue," sophomore Elizabeth McGarrigle said. "Kelly is always doing whatever she can to help out her fellow teammates, no matter how much time or effort it takes. Kelly is truly dedicated to the team, and to doing whatever she can to support and encourage her teammates."
The former high school class salutatorian owns a 3.64 grade point average as a Materials Science and Engineering student.
Early in her academic career, Moylan knew she wanted to study engineering, but was unsure of what specified discipline to pursue. Those nerves were soon eased by the sport she loves.
"I took a material science lab where we had to design a putter for golf," Moylan said. "So I thought that was really cool."
In addition to her Lehigh golf family, Moylan fell in love with Materials Science and Engineering because of the close-knit nature of the program.
"Material Science is pretty small I think there's only 15 students in that major in my year, so you end up getting pretty close to the students and professors," Moylan said. "It's great because professors know you personally, so they'll ask me how my tournaments are going."
Upon graduation, Moylan will be working at the Lord Corporation, focusing on vibrational damping for military helicopters and jet engines.
Moylan has maintained her strong academic performance despite the grueling golf schedule that she faces.
"She handles all logistics and scheduling of practice and workouts, which takes any and all pressure off of the rest of the team to try to coordinate with one another," McGarrigle said.
During the season, the team begins training at 6:30 a.m. when they will typically participate in a cardiovascular workout before class. Following a full day of classes, student-athletes will golf later in the day.
"We typically have to schedule our classes pretty early, so we can practice in the afternoon," Moylan said. "A lot of times I will go straight from a workout to class."
However, Moylan has thrived in both athletics and academics, which she credits to her teammates who have maintained strong team comradery.
"As tough as it is to balance athletics and academics, it's totally been worth it," Moylan said. "The team is incredible. They are some of my best friends. We spend so much time together so you're bonding a lot and you end up getting very, very close. That's what I like so much about the team is we're like a family to each other."
Moylan credits her teammates and coaches with instilling a strong bond between teammates, especially in an individual sport such as golf, when competition between individuals could supersede team goals.
"She has a passion for the game as well as her teammates," Siegel said. "She puts the success of the team ahead of everything and sets an example for all holding herself accountable to embody the core values of Lehigh women's golf."
Lehigh will commence competition in the Patriot League Championship on Saturday, April 18 at 8:30 a.m. in Annapolis, Md.
As a high school senior, Kelly Moylan was unsure of where her loves of golf and engineering would take her. The North East, Pennsylvania, native had never heard of or visited Lehigh until former Lehigh women's golf coach Rob Shutte contacted Moylan following her impressive 11th place finish at the PIAA State Championship.
"I didn't know about Lehigh until coach contacted me," Moylan said. "Once I saw how well I meshed with the girls on my recruiting visit, I was like 'Wow this is the place for me.' So it was fortuitous that the coach reached out to me."
Five years later, Moylan is preparing to conclude her career in Lehigh's brown and white.
The two-year team captain has achieved several of the highest Patriot League honors. As a sophomore, she finished sixth at the inaugural Patriot League Championship, shooting 242 to earn All-Patriot League honors.
Moylan followed up her sophomore campaign with another strong showing in her junior year, earning second team all-league honors and leading the Mountain Hawks as their top performer in three different tournaments.
For Moylan, golf has been a family affair from a young age. Growing up around the sport, she was influenced by both her parents and grandparents.
"I had always had golf clubs, both my mom and dad's families were involved in golf, so it was something they at least wanted me to experience," Moylan said. "It was something that I was always good at, so I stuck with it."
As she grew older, Moylan became more passionate as her love for the game developed, and she began to thrive. In secondary school, Moylan was a four-year varsity player, achieving district qualifier honors in each of those seasons, and attained regional qualifier distinctions three times.
Yet, what has differentiated Moylan from her peers is her invaluable leadership skills both on and off the course.
"She digs deep on all levels to truly do her best and be a leader for the team," assistant coach Karen Siegel said. "She truly is a model of excellence both in the classroom and on the course."
As a freshman student at Lehigh, Moylan learned from and embraced three junior golfers (Natalie Lansing, Chelsea Michalek and Ginette Schapira) who she credits with leading by example and teaching her what it meant to be a member of the Lehigh women's golf team.
"They've kind of been my role models for how my leadership role has developed," Moylan said. "They were great leaders on the team and they made the experience so great."
Moylan has strived to embody those leadership skills as a person who is well respected and an individual who teammates can go to for more intimate team or personal concerns.
"She is also the person who anyone can go to if they have an issue," sophomore Elizabeth McGarrigle said. "Kelly is always doing whatever she can to help out her fellow teammates, no matter how much time or effort it takes. Kelly is truly dedicated to the team, and to doing whatever she can to support and encourage her teammates."
The former high school class salutatorian owns a 3.64 grade point average as a Materials Science and Engineering student.
Early in her academic career, Moylan knew she wanted to study engineering, but was unsure of what specified discipline to pursue. Those nerves were soon eased by the sport she loves.
"I took a material science lab where we had to design a putter for golf," Moylan said. "So I thought that was really cool."
In addition to her Lehigh golf family, Moylan fell in love with Materials Science and Engineering because of the close-knit nature of the program.
"Material Science is pretty small I think there's only 15 students in that major in my year, so you end up getting pretty close to the students and professors," Moylan said. "It's great because professors know you personally, so they'll ask me how my tournaments are going."
Upon graduation, Moylan will be working at the Lord Corporation, focusing on vibrational damping for military helicopters and jet engines.
Moylan has maintained her strong academic performance despite the grueling golf schedule that she faces.
"She handles all logistics and scheduling of practice and workouts, which takes any and all pressure off of the rest of the team to try to coordinate with one another," McGarrigle said.
During the season, the team begins training at 6:30 a.m. when they will typically participate in a cardiovascular workout before class. Following a full day of classes, student-athletes will golf later in the day.
"We typically have to schedule our classes pretty early, so we can practice in the afternoon," Moylan said. "A lot of times I will go straight from a workout to class."
However, Moylan has thrived in both athletics and academics, which she credits to her teammates who have maintained strong team comradery.
"As tough as it is to balance athletics and academics, it's totally been worth it," Moylan said. "The team is incredible. They are some of my best friends. We spend so much time together so you're bonding a lot and you end up getting very, very close. That's what I like so much about the team is we're like a family to each other."
Moylan credits her teammates and coaches with instilling a strong bond between teammates, especially in an individual sport such as golf, when competition between individuals could supersede team goals.
"She has a passion for the game as well as her teammates," Siegel said. "She puts the success of the team ahead of everything and sets an example for all holding herself accountable to embody the core values of Lehigh women's golf."
Lehigh will commence competition in the Patriot League Championship on Saturday, April 18 at 8:30 a.m. in Annapolis, Md.
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