Several years ago, some of my golfing buddies and I were on the No. 5 tee on the Yucca Course at Santa Teresa Country Club waiting to hit our drives when a pretty young lady and her male partner asked if their 
My jaw dropped when I saw the young lady hit the ball so far it almost went out of sight. I turned to one of my buddies and asked, “Who is that?” I was informed that it was Gerina Mendoza, a member of the UTEP women’s golf team. Needless to say, I sought her out and have written several columns about her.
She won four tournaments with the Miners, including the 2007 Conference USA championship, and was named conference Player of the Year.
GERINA GOT off to a slow start on the LPGA tour in 2011, but she made the cut in nine tournaments, finished 10th in one meet, averaged 72.75 strokes and earned $103,322. She kept improving. The next year she made the cut in 17 tournaments, tied for sixth in one meet, averaged 71.41 strokes and earned $258,395. Then in 2013, she had her best season. She made the cut in 23 tournaments, was in the top 10 in eight meets, was second in one, averaged 71.22 strokes and earned $572, 690.
On top of all that, Gerina, who ranked seventh in driving distance at 266.5 yards, was picked on the prestigious Solheim Cup team.
Wow.
IN THE 2014 season, she made the cut in 22 meets, finished in the top 10 five times, tied for third once, averaged 71.38 strokes and took home $466,497.
She’s now a millionaire with career earnings of $1,400,904.
I’m beaming with pride for her. She was born in Roswell, N.M., and married fellow professional golfer Martin Piller in 2011. They live in Plano, Texas, but as a former Miner, El Pasoans can claim Gerina Mendoza Piller as our own.
We’ll be keeping an eye on her this year. The 2015 LPGA Tour will begin Jan. 28 in Flrorida
TRIVIA QUESTION: Can you name two movies about sports that won Academy Awards? Answer at end of column.
THE EL PASO High School Alumni Association isn’t wasting time getting ready to celebrate the school’s 100th anniversary next year. And they need our help. The following is from alumni president Michael Montes:
“Who should I ask to help sponsor the Central School Bell project? I’m not sure if you know or not but for Homecoming we got the bell that hung in the school back in 1885 when EPHS opened on the second floor of Central School back to EPHS. Our next goal is to mount it on a trailer so we can take it all over the city to games, the Thanksgiving Day parade, etc. Amada Flores, (1963). has donated a trailer and will do most of the work on it but now we need about $5000 for the trailer and a display room in the cafeteria. I want to start working on this this month.
“Our current building is 99 years old but the school itself is 130. Our first graduates from 1887, Kate Moore and George P. Robinson, walked underneath this bell to class. That’s the amazing history and significance of this artifact; it ties directly to our roots, our history, our Tiger tradition that is unmatched.”
Sounds like a great project and one worthy of some major company. Any ideas?
ANSWER to trivia question: Rocky in 1976 and Chariots of Fire in 1981.