I was sitting with my wife at a table at last fall’s UTEP Athletic Hall of Fame
induction banquet when a young lady came over, sat down and asked if I played
golf.
‘Well, yes,” I said, rather surprised, “but, I’m not very good at it.”
She smiled and, full of vim and vigor, she started telling me about herself. She
said she loved the sport, was on the UTEP golf team and could hit the ball a
long way. Her enthusiasm was enchanting.
EVERY GOLFER wants to hit the ball farther and I’m no exception. I asked her how
such a young lady could hit the ball a long way.
She didn’t hesitate to tell me – and show me. She took her arms back and swung,
swishing her hands over at an imaginary point of impact.
“It’s my wrists,” she said. “I have a one-plane swing. I take my arms back, turn
my wrists at impact with force and follow through all the way around my
shoulder. I make sure that my right thumb is touching my left shoulder at the
end of the swing.”
I FOUND OUT she was a junior and that she was originally from Spain. Then she
left the table and left me wanting to get out on the course as soon as possible
to try her method. It hit me later that I hadn’t gotten her full name.
So you can imagine what a thrill I received when I learned last week that UTEP
had won the Conference USA women’s golf championship and that the individual
champion had been … yes, the very young lady that had sat with me at last fall’s
UTEP induction banquet, Teresa Nogues
Now a junior, she led the Miners to the title with scores of 71, 75 and 72.
NOW SHE and the rest of the team, including coach Jere Pelletier, own a unique
honor. They’re the first women’s golf team from UTEP to win a conference
championship.
Others on the first team and their scores at the conference meet: Rosana Gomez
74, 76, 74, Shang-Fan Huang 77, 74, 77, Ana Pastor 84-77-77 and Liz Sobczak
80-83-85.
Please excuse me if I feel a little more attached to this team than most others.
After all, I got a golf lesson from the Conference USA champ!
TRIVIA QUESTION: Who is the oldest jockey to win a Kentucky Derby?
ALTHOUGH SHE couldn’t speak because of ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), world class
runner Diane Proud still stole the hearts of those who attended the induction
banquet of the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame Wednesday.
She wrote her own speech thanking the Hall for inducting her and stood by her
husband, Bob, while he delivered it, gesturing with her hands to emphasize
certain points and all the time with a smile on her face.
“Cute as a bunny” is the way a board of directors member, Gary Crossland,
described her.
She got a standing ovation.
OTHER INDUCTEES also got a big hand. They are champion bowler Phil Prieto and
multi-sport athlete Pete Solis in the athletes category, Sun Bowl executive
director Bernie Olivas and incredibly successful Cathedral High swimming coach
Jack White in the coaches/administrators category, sports supporter Richard
Castro who has done so much for youth sports and, posthumously, outstanding
runner Norman Pittenger.
Some of El Paso’s finest high school athletes, including those who have received
athletic scholarships to Texas, Texas Tech, Texas A&M and other colleges, were
introduced, much to the delight of the crowd.
The banquet was a complete sellout, and kudos to El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame
president James Arthur “Flip” Lyle and other officials are certainly in order.
ANSWER to trivia question: Bill Shoemaker in 1986 with Ferdinand. He was 56.
Veteran sports journalist and author Ray Sanchez welcomes suggestions for his
column.