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Koleszar given LPGA Dinah Shore Scholarship

Claire Koleszar will try for a berth on the 2021-2022 University of Michigan women's golf team, but she will start her Michigan golf career at the club level and will fund part of her college tuition with the LPGA Dinah Shore Scholarship she received.

"It's something I'm really excited to do," Koleszar said.

Koleszar, who lives in Fallbrook and graduated from Mission Vista High School recently, also captured class salutatorian honors.

Although there was not a berth for her on the 2020-2021 Michigan varsity roster, playing on the club team will give Koleszar the same status as a "redshirt" college athlete who does not participate in any competition that year. A redshirt year does not count against the maximum four years of college eligibility, which unless a waiver is granted must be completed within five years of the athlete first enrolling as a full-time student.

"I talked to the golf coach and he wants me to play on the club team the first year and walk on to the team second year," Koleszar said. "I think it will be a good thing."

Koleszar was born in Scottsdale, Arizona, in April 2002. Her family moved to Fallbrook in February 2003.

"Freshman year I'll be in a new state," she said.

Michigan will be new to Koleszar, but she has family there. Her mother, Julie, is originally from Grand Haven, Michigan, which is about two and a half hours from Ann Arbor, Michigan, and attended Michigan State University after Grand Haven High School. Koleszar's grandmother was raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Koleszar's maternal grandfather attended graduate school at the University of Michigan. Her mother's first cousin lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Koleszar has a step-cousin who is currently in Michigan's marching band.

The extra year will also allow Koleszar to know some of the team members better.

"I can meet some of the girls," she said.

Not participating in the National Collegiate Athletic Association golf program as a freshman also made Koleszar eligible for the LPGA Dinah Shore Scholarship, which is administered by the Ladies Professional Golf Association. The scholarship recipient cannot be on the college varsity team during her first year in college, although she can join the team in a subsequent year.

"I'm just really thankful that I was awarded the Dinah Shore Scholarship," Koleszar said. "They really helped me out tremendously; out of state tuition is a lot at Michigan."

The LPGA Dinah Shore Scholarship is based on grades, extracurricular activities and an essay as well as on golf activity. One $5,000 scholarship is awarded each year – the LPGA also has other scholarships for girls who will be playing on the varsity golf team – and more than 100 girls applied for the LPGA Dinah Shore Scholarship.

"It was really good news to hear, and it means a lot to me," Koleszar said. "It will help me focus on my academic experience."

An applicant must have played in at least 50% of her high school golf team's scheduled events or have played golf regularly for the past two years. In addition to the application form, a student must submit a high school transcript through the fall semester of her senior year, an autobiographical essay and three letters of recommendation.

Mission Vista golf coach Rick Shoup, who also taught Koleszar's Advanced Placement psychology class, wrote one letter of recommendation. Former Bonsall Education Foundation president Erica Perko also wrote a letter of recommendation. The other letter of recommendation was written by Joshua Jones, who taught Koleszar's 12th-grade AP literature and composition class.

Ironically, the AP literature and composition class was one of two in which Koleszar did not receive an "A" grade. She received a "B" in that class and also received a "B" in her 11th-grade AP calculus class. Koleszar graduated from Mission Vista with a 4.44 GPA.

The autobiographical essay must include the student's background and career objectives and describe how golf has been an integral part of her life. The essay should also include the student's personal, academic and professional goals, her chosen field of study and how the scholarship would be of assistance.

"I wrote about what the game of golf meant to me and how it helped me over the years," Koleszar said.

Koleszar learned about her LPGA Dinah Shore Scholarship award in May although the LPGA did not issue the formal news release until June 17.

"I was actually surprised that I got it," Koleszar said.

Koleszar also was not expecting to be given class salutatorian honors because of her AP class "B" grades during her junior and senior years.

"I was really surprised," she said. "That was really awesome to me because it's something I kind of worked for my entire high school career. It shows that my hard work has paid off."

An extra point is awarded for AP classes, so a "B" in an AP class is given the same four points as an "A" in a regular class. Ten of Koleszar's classes were at the AP level.

"It was just a weight off my shoulders because I worked so hard and spent a lot of time in my room," Koleszar said. "All the hard work showed through that."

All freshmen at the University of Michigan are undeclared in their majors. Koleszar is planning on a neuroscience and business double-major and may also minor in film production. Her career plans after college are undetermined.

In addition to her LPGA Dinah Shore Scholarship, Koleszar received a $2,000 scholarship from the Bonsall Woman's Club, a $1,000 scholarship from the Vista Optimist Club, a $1,000 scholarship from the Amigos de Vista Lions Club and a $150 Mission Vista golf captain's scholarship.

The lower demands of club golf as compared with varsity golf will help Koleszar make the transition from high school classes to college courses. The year at the lower level will also allow Koleszar to make the transition to different weather.

"I'm really interested to see how that works out, but it's pretty cool to golf in a different place," she said.

"Being part of a team in high school allowed me to build relationships," Koleszar said. "I'm just excited to continue that at Michigan."

Koleszar was in early elementary school when she received a set of golf clubs as a present from her father, who also instructed her on the basics of golf. She attended camps at the Fallbrook Golf Club and learned to play golf there. After the Fallbrook Golf Club closed in 2016, her father joined the Rancho Bernardo Country Club and the family also had a membership at the Golf Club of California.

Koleszar was at Coastal Academy in Oceanside from sixth through eighth grades after she attended Bonsall Elementary School from kindergarten through fifth grade. She was a varsity starter for the Mission Vista golf team for all four of her high school years.

In both 2018 and 2019, Mission Vista won the Valley League championship, which is based on dual match results, and the league tournament, which is based on the team score for that tournament only. Koleszar was fifth in the 2018 league tournament although her league differential compared to par was third for Valley League golfers that year. In 2019, Koleszar had the best league differential and also won the league tournament.

Koleszar won the 2019 Valley League tournament with a 36-hole score of 161 strokes. Samantha Aguilar, who was also a Mission Vista senior, took second with a score of 166. Ramona High School senior Hannah Anderson had the third-place score of 168.

The 2019 CIF tournament was on the Admiral Baker course in San Diego. Anderson's 83-stroke round the first day was the lowest total of any Valley League golfer; Koleszar took 85 shots and Aguilar completed her 18 holes in 89 strokes.

The CIF tournament uses a shotgun start, meaning that the golfers begin on different holes. Anderson and Koleszar were paired with each other for the second day, which gave Koleszar one of her favorite high school golf memories.

"I got to play my last round of high school golf with one of my best friends from Ramona," she said.

Koleszar took 86 strokes in the second round for a 36-hole score of 171, which tied for 51st. Anderson shared 38th place with a 36-hole score of 166.

One of Koleszar's other favorite high school golf memories was the first match of her junior year when Mission Vista played El Camino High School on the Arrowood golf course in Oceanside. Koleszar had a nine-hole score of 38.

Golf was the only CIF sport Koleszar played while at Mission Vista, but she was also on the beach volleyball club. She was a team captain both for golf as a junior and senior and for beach volleyball as a senior.

Koleszar was also involved with the California Scholarship Federation, the National Honor Society, Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, Healthcare Occupation Students of America and peer tutoring, and she was a student ambassador as a senior. Koleszar co-founded the Women in STEM club and served in the office of secretary. She participated in food drives, shoe drives, prom dress drives and in the Relay for Life to fight cancer. She was also involved in the REINS Therapeutic Horsemanship Program.

"I don't think I could have had a better high school experience," Koleszar said. "I got to do everything I wanted to do."

Joe Naiman can be reached by email at [email protected].

Author Bio

Joe Naiman, Writer

Joe Naiman has been writing for the Village News since 2001

 

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