Written by Stevan Zlojutro '16
BEREA, Ohio -- Baldwin Wallace University three-time All-Ohio Athletic Conference senior women's golfer Miranda Cunningham (Brookville/Dayton Christian) has found a balance in athletics, academics and leadership during her four years at the University. But this weekend (Saturday and Sunday, April 26-27), nothing is more important to Cunningham than winning her third OAC title to ensuring her team's berth in this year's NCAA Division III National Tournament prior to walking across the stage at commencement.
"Miranda is a prime example of a student-athlete, because even though golf is very special to her, her education always takes precedence," said first-time head coach and BW alum John Kapusta. "She always makes sure that her education, devotion and time to studying, is her first priority, followed by being a golfer second.
"I think this is difficult in many ways, because she loves the game of golf so much," continued Kapusta, who is in his first season as head coach but has seen Miranda play the previous three seasons with his daughter, Rebecca, a 2013 BW graduate and former standout. "I think those same characteristics are true for most Division III student-athletes. They are here to study and get an education first and then to enjoy their athletics experience."
"Miranda has been one of the greatest teammates during the past four years," said three-time All-OAC senior teammate Emilee Woolf (Ravenna). "She has such a passion for the game and a drive to continually get better as the season progresses. While others might give up with frustration in similar situations, Miranda is determined to get better everyday. That is what makes her different from the rest. She takes pride in her schoolwork, and also represents BW with the way she carries herself and presents herself on the golf course."
During both her freshman and sophomore seasons, Cunningham led the women's golf team to two consecutive OAC titles and trips to the NCAA Division III National Tournament. From an early age, her talents and skills paved the way for her accomplishments.
"I came in as a freshman with 15 girls on the team," said Cunningham. "I thought that I would only get integrated into the system that year and not be able to start. Luckily, however, a couple of us freshmen were good enough to play in the top five, and it was a really good experience."
The two OAC titles that Cunningham won during her freshman and sophomore seasons consisted of teams that possessed a lot of skill. However, Cunningham admits that the first OAC title was won with a little bit of luck as well.
"During my freshman season, the OAC Championships were quite the experience," recalls Cunningham on winning her first conference title. "On the first day when my teammates and I first got to the golf course, we were nervous. We were in this huge tournament, but our coach [BW graduate and current Admission counselor Alyson Campbell] calmed us down and told us that we had a good shot to compete because we had won a couple of tournaments.
"After the first day of competition, we completely blew it," recalls Cunningham, who enters this weekend's OAC Tournament averaging 85.06 strokes per 18-hole round in eight tournaments and 15 rounds and was the co-medalist at the fall The College of Wooster Tournament. "We were 20-strokes behind the leader. On the second day, everyone thought that Otterbein had won the title. Even they were taking pictures with the trophy before the next round even got started. But to everyone's surprise, we came back from 23 strokes down to win the title.
"It was a really neat experience to come together like that as a team and to have that bonding experience, even after going through three coaching changes in one season," said Cunningham, referring to the original Head Coach Kelly Warnke taking a women's basketball head coaching job at another school, having an interim coach during the fall and then Campbell taking over at mideseason. "The comeback at the OAC tournament was what brought that season all together and gave my team the opportunity to travel to Florida and experience the moment of being at Nationals. Then being able to go back the following year as a sophomore was special too."
Following her two OAC championships, athletics did not come as easy for Cunningham, who battled some serious health issues during her junior season. She had several heart surgeries that year, one in November and the other in March, which sidelined her for most of the season.
"I have been struggling with my comeback," said Cunningham, thinking back on that time in her career. "At the time, I was not quite sure if I would be able to play. I was out for a while, but I really wanted to come back and experience the last couple of matches and rounds with my senior teammates. They have been so instrumental and influential in my experience. Just having that has made me realize that life is short and that I need to enjoy it. Each round is just another great way to spend the day doing something I enjoy."
"Miranda never lets that [her health issues] interfere with her game," said Kapusta. "As long as she is physically able to play the game, one would never know what struggles she has gone through in her four years."
Following one of the most disappointing downfalls of her junior season, Cunningham was determined to put in a lot of hard work during the summer off-season to recover and help lead her team as a senior. Likewise, the entire women's golf team set their eyes on winning a third OAC title and receiving a third NCAA Division III National Tournament berth in four years after NCAA sanctions prevented all athletic programs at BW from competing in postseason competition during Miranda's junior season.
"It was a rough time, but it brought us together as a team," said Cunningham, who has a career 85.74 stroke average in 40 tournaments and 74.5 rounds with a career-low of 77 as a junior at the George Fox Tournament in Phoenix, Arizona. "For the seniors that were about to graduate without the opportunity to compete for a third time at Nationals, we really tried to win and perform well in our last tournament of the season for them. I felt like that time brought us together, but it was also sad to see the seniors who worked so hard go without that opportunity and recognition."
The disappointment for Cunningham during her junior season gave her extra motivation to lead the team as a senior the way previous fourth-year players had done for her.
"In my first couple of years on the team, the program had such great seniors that just really led the way for the younger athletes," said Cunningham. "Rebecca Kapusta helped set the tone for how our team should represent ourselves and BW. Looking up to her and being able to carry on her good qualities after she graduated has been a really nice way to show to the younger girls how to fill these leadership roles."
"We have one of the closest bonded teams in the entire OAC, and it is evident when we are all together," said Woolf, six-time OAC Women's Golfer of the Week award-winner. "The team encourages one other to do the best we can while having fun."
Like the previous seniors who led the program, Cunningham believes that the best way for her to lead her team is by example.
"To say that I am a good player or to tell my teammates this is how they should act is one thing, but to actually show them what it is like to win a tournament and to be a part of that is something that I cannot even describe," said Cunningham, four-time OAC Women's Golfer of the Week award-winner.
"It has been an honor and a privilege to be her coach," said Kapusta about Cunningham's desire to lead the team with her actions. "She always brings an aura of professionalism to her game. One of the things that makes her standout is that no matter how difficult at times the game of golf is, she always puts it in perspective and can forget about the last shot and move on. That is why she has been such a consistent player over her career."
Cunningham is not only a leader on the golf course, but she also leads by example with her stress on schoolwork. She enjoys her role as a student-athlete and the balance that the two bring to her life.
"I like the flexibility of competing as an athlete while being a student too," said Cunningham, a communications major. "It is really nice to have both of those mixed together. I get the best of both worlds.
"At BW, your academics are very important", continued Cunningham, who has been a tournament medalist twice during her career. "Compared to Division I where athletics are taken more seriously, here, the University makes the exception to where I can be a student-athlete, which includes being and a successful student. At times, however, I also know that I have to make some sacrifices. This has been difficult, but it has made an influence on my life."
"Miranda shows how collegiate sports can be competitive and enjoyable at the same time," said Woolf. "She makes the sport so much fun and rewarding."
Cunningham is sad to finish her collegiate career and have to graduate. She would like to make the most of her final experience and has high hopes for her final stretch.
"I am hoping to be able to go back [to Nationals] and experience that again, and get redemption on Otterbein, or at least it feels that way, because we always go back and forth with them to get to go to Nationals," said Cunningham. "It is a good, healthy respect for their program, and I think they feel the same way about us. It would be really nice to end on that note."
Although Cunningham will end her career as a golfer and as a BW student, Coach Kapusta will continue to recruit hard-working and committed individuals like her. It is one of the reasons for his involvement in coaching.
"Every one of our women's golf student-athletes are such an inspiration, because they bring such an aura of confidence and professionalism to practices and matches," said Kapusta. "That just motivates me to do better and to try to be like them. I just cannot believe how they bring this effort all of the time."
Following the end of her BW golfing career this spring, Cunningham has plans and dreams of her own. Her next step is to obtain a job in research analysis. After a year in the work field, Cunningham plans on attending graduate school.
Looking back at her career at BW, Cunningham has learned a lot about herself both on and off the golf course. She recalls that she has exploited the skill faculty at BW hark on the most – "network, network, network."
"The experience of playing Division III golf at different courses, meeting other parents and making new friends and opposing student-athletes have helped me balance my life and grow as a person," said Cunningham. "I have formed relationships with people that I see every weekend, so they are like an extended part of my family. So now, not only do I have my real family and my BW family, but I also have girls from other schools that have come into my life.
"Being a student-athlete has been a great experience," said Cunningham. "It gave me the opportunity to prolong my career for four more years. It has been a really great experience to continue to play golf and get to meet new people.
Following this weekend's OAC Tournament, Cunningham is hoping to be able to do it again at her third NCAA Division III National Tournament.
FOR MORE BW SPORTS INFORMATION, please contact Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple by telephone at 440-826-2327 and e-mail at kruple@bw.edu or Assistant SID Jeff Miller by phone at 440-826-2780 and email at jefmille@bw.edu. Fans can access the latest BW athletics information at www.bwyellowjackets.com and we invite you to join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bwyellowjackets and Twitter at http://twitter.com/bwathletics.
