Oldest competitor: Anne Carr (Washington), 67
Youngest competitor: Allisen Corpuz (Hawaii), 13
Oldest team: Virginia (Average age 57.3)
Youngest team: Hawaii (Average age 14.0)
A total of 31 competitors are making their first appearance in a USGA event.
The only state not represented in this year’s championship is New Hampshire.
Puerto Rico is competing in the championship for the first time.
Here are some interesting tidbits on those competing in this year’s championship (listed alphabetically by state):
ALASKA
Jaime Berge, 54, of Anchorage was influenced by her uncle, who owned a six-green, nine-tee golf course in a Michigan pasture. She works as an income tax specialist and was inducted into the Lake Superior State University Sports Hall of Fame for basketball.
Susan Gatewood, 62, of Anchorage, spends a majority of her time in the Prudhoe Bay oilfields working as an administrative assistant for the Peak Oilfield Service Company. She took up the game at the age of 51 after moving from her native Iowa, where she was a junior high teacher for 14 years.
Terri McAngus, 49, of Eagle River was offered scholarships for volleyball, basketball and softball to St. Mary’s College in San Antonio, Texas, and wound up playing basketball, tennis and softball. She was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame for softball.
ALABAMA
Linda Jeffery, 38, of Millville, is a military officer with the United States Air Force Reserve. She also is a volunteer with The First Tee of Montgomery and is a volunteer youth soccer coach. In 2008, she was inducted into the Hardin-Simmons University Hall of Fame. She is a four-time champion of the Counsil International Sports Militarie golf championship, which has been held in Canada, South Africa, Nambia and Ireland.
Gabi Oubre, 17, of Mobile, made a hole-in-one with her grandfather during the same round of golf in 2008 at the Magnolia Grove Short Course. She has competed in four U.S. Girls’ Juniors.
Suzanne Stanley, 23, of Decatur, comes from quite an athletic family. Her father, Pat, played basketball at Mississippi State and her sister, Shelley, holds the home run and RBI softball records at Samford University. Suzanne won a college tournament while at Mississippi State, where she graduated in 2010.
ARIZONA
Kim Eaton, 52, of Tempe, was named the 2010 Arizona Senior Player of the Year and was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2006. She also is a past Colorado Player of the Year and Senior Player of the Year. A retired police officer, Eaton was out patrolling one night when a driver pulled up to report underage drinking at a local bar. Unfortunately, the driver had also been drinking and Eaton cited the individual for a DUI.
Mikayla Harmon, 17, of Gilbert, won the 2010 Arizona State 5A-1 championship along with her Hamilton High School team. She is currently a junior at Hamilton High.
Thuhasini Selvaratnam, 35, of Tempe, was named the Sri Lanka Sports Woman of the Year in 1997 and is a four-time Sri Lanka Amateur champion. She helped Arizona win the 2007 USGA Women’s State Team title and was runner-up at the 2006 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur. The Arizona State University graduate is currently is the golf coach at Xavier Prep in Phoenix.
ARKANSAS
Brenda Carr, 47, of Bentonville, operates her own kitchen and bath design business, and did not take up golf until 12 years ago.
Rosetta Parks, 47, of Lowell, is a system analyst for Wal-Mart.
Tanna Richard, 54, of Fort Smith, was inducted into the Arkansas Golf Hall of Fame in 2006. She was a semifinalist in the 2007 USGA Senior Women’s Amateur and advanced to the quarterfinals of the inaugural U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur in 1981.
CALIFORNIA
Lynne Cowan, 48, of Davis, is a golf sales rep and a website content editor for amateurgolf.com. Is the only golfer to have won the Women’s Golf Association of Northern California Match Play and Stroke Play Championships, and the Champion of Champions events in the same year. She also has suffered from ankylosing spondylitis, a former of rheumatoid arthritis, since she was 18, and playing golf has been therapeutic.
Joan Higgins, 55, of Glendora, is the oldest winner of the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, achieving the feat at 52 years, one month and one day in 2008 at Barton Hills C.C. in Ann Arbor, Mich. She also played tennis for the University of Wisconsin and has served on the Board of Directors for the Hall of Fame Glendora Little League the last 10 years. She also plays guitar for her Wednesday morning women’s bible study group.
Sharon Park, 33, of Irvine, is a product development manager for a major golf equipment manufacturer. She also won the California Women’s State Amateur in 2007 and 2009.
COLORADO
Mary Doyen, 59, of Denver, won the 2011 Colorado Senior Women’s Stroke Play title, despite opening the tournament with an 84. She rallied with a second-round 74 to win by one stroke. Wrote that she takes pride in sharing her home-grown tomatoes with friends.
Allie Johnston, 17, of Castle Rock, rallied from a four-stroke deficit on the final day to win this year’s American Junior Golf Association event in Lubbock, Texas. She is currently a senior at Rock Canyon High School.
Laurie Steenrod, 55, of Aurora, has been coaching a local high school girls’ golf team for more than a decade. She also won the 2011 Colorado State Senior Women’s Match Play title.
CONNECTICUT
Ellie Dutch, 23, of Moodus, won the 2011 Massachusetts Women’s Open, which included a career-best round of 68. Works as an office assistant at her parents’ business, Dutch Oil & Propane.
Debbie Johnson, 48, of Stamford, works in the IT department at the A+E Network. She once traveled to Lillehammer, Norway, site of the 1994 Winter Olympics, and went down the bobsled run and cross-country skied on the Olympic course.
Mia Landegren, 16, of Bridgeport, is a dual citizen of the United States and Sweden, and she has competed for the Swedish National Team. She also is a triplet, but her two sisters don’t play golf. Hanna is a soccer player and Emma plays field hockey.
DELAWARE
Angie Whitley Coleman, 47, of New Castle, once competed in a now-defunct competition called Miss Collegiate Black America while attending Fisk College.
Carolyn Henry, 46, of Middletown, is a police officer for the city of Wilmington.
Sandy Scitti, 50, Selbyville, is a 10-year cancer survivor who has been honored by the Delaware Special Olympics for the past two years.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Maggie Brady, 63, of Washington, is a retired financial manager in the satellite communications industry who earned her MBA at Harvard in 1981. She is a two-time women’s club champion at Congressional C.C., site of the 2011 U.S. Open.
Shelley Gaffin, 30, of Washington, is a high school teacher in the Fairfax (Va.) County School District. Received the nickname of Heinz because she puts ketchup on everything.
FLORIDA
Wendi Golden, 36, of Bradenton, married a tennis pro who does not play golf, but both of their daughters have taken up the game along with tennis, basketball, soccer and running. She advanced to the semifinals of the 1995 U.S. Amateur at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass.
Meghan Stasi, 33, of Oakland Park, is a three-time U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion (2006, 2007 and 2010) who played on the 2008 USA Curtis Cup Team. Her husband, Danny, a restaurant owner, proposed to her on the Swilcan Bridge on the 18th hole of the Old Course at St. Andrews, where the 2008 Curtis Cup was contested. Served as the women’s golf coach at the University of Mississippi from 2000-07. When Stasi was hired at the age of 23, she was the youngest coach in Division I.
Tovie St. Louis, 23, of West Palm Beach, had an interesting birthday request when she turned 18. She wanted her parents to take her to Bangor, Maine, so she could compete in the Greater Bangor Open, an event her father had played. Her dad caddied and she played from the men’s tees. St. Louis also just competed in Stage II qualifying of LPGA Tour Q-School as an amateur, where she failed to advance to the final stage, but will have Futures Tour privileges in 2012.
GEORGIA
Laura Coble, 47, of Augusta, led Georgia to a pair of Women’s State Team titles in 2005 and 2009. She has claimed the Georgia State Golf Association Tommy Barnes Award (best overall player in state, male or female) three times (2000, 2005 and 2009) and is an eight-time GSGA Female Player of the Year. This past May, she participated on a mission trip to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to help tornado victims. She spent three days in Alabama with 28 youths and five adults from her daughter’s high school youth group.
Rachel Dai, 14, of Milton, says she has to take one deep breath before hitting her first tee shot during a competition. After that, she says, I just go with the flow.
HAWAII
Allisen Corpuz, 13, of Honolulu, surpassed Michelle Wie as the youngest qualifier for a USGA championship when she earned a spot in the 2008 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links at the age of 10 years, 3 months and 9 days. She also is the youngest winner of the Hawaii State Women’s Golf Association Match Play Championship (2009).
Hana Furuichi, 14, of Honolulu, was born in Tokyo before moving to Florida and eventually to Hawaii. She is fluent in Japanese and is currently a freshman (class of 2015) at the Iolani School.
IDAHO
Karen Darrington, 53, of Boise, played a nine-hole exhibition with two-time U.S. Open champion Lee Trevino in 1982 at Hillcrest Country Club in Boise. She is a six-time Idaho Women’s Amateur champion and a four-time Idaho Senior Women’s Amateur champion.
Shawna Ianson, 58, of Boise, was a member of the Boise State University women’s bowling team from 1972-76 and finished third in singles at the National Collegiate Bowling Championship. She was a barrel racer at rodeos before taking up golf at the age of 39. Is a retired teacher who also coached volleyball, basketball, softball and track and field.
Kareen Markle, 49, of Meridian, is a registered nurse at Treasure Valley Hospital. She is a two-time Pacific Northwest Golf Association Women’s Mid-Amateur champion.
INDIANA
Julie Carmichael, 47, of Indianapolis, is the daughter of Sam Carmichael, who spent 23 years coaching the men’s and women’s golf teams at Indiana University. Julie, however, attended Stanford University, and won the individual title at the Stanford Invitational the same year (1986) her father’s Indiana squad took the team title. She and her father co-own a golf course in her hometown of Martinsville (Martinsville Golf Club).
Tobi Herron, 33, of Columbus, was the stroke-play medalist at the 2004 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur at Holston Hills C.C. in Knoxville, Tenn., a year after she made a hole-in-one in the same championship at Long Cove Club in Hilton Head Island, S.C. She has won the Indiana Women’s Mid-Amateur the last two years (2010 and 2011). Two years ago, she received her MBA online from Florida State University and works as a corporate responsibility manager for Cummins, Inc.
Kristi Trotter, 25, of Greenwood, works as a pharmacy technician for the Riley Hospital for Children. In 2009, the University of Indianapolis named her its female athlete of the year. She graduated in 2009 with Magna Cum Laude honors.
ILLINOIS
Laura Carson, 55, of Lake Bluff, briefly led the 1987 U.S. Women’s Open at Plainfield C.C. in New Jersey. She was in the first group of the day and birdied the opening hole, but missed the 36-hole cut.
Char McLear, 57, of McHenry, is the assistant fire chief for the Barrington (Ill.) Fire Department. She also serves on the Illinois Women’s Golf Association Board and on the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship Committee. She also is a 39-year veteran of the National Ski Patrol.
Tanya Olson, 36, of Naperville, is currently training for the New York City Marathon. She also was one of five mid-amateurs (25 and older) to qualify for this year’s U.S. Women’s Amateur.
IOWA
Julie Bush, 36, of Cedar Rapids, is a teacher at Kennedy High in Cedar Rapids, where she also is the varsity girls’ golf coach and ninth-grade boys’ golf coach.
Jenny Graeser, 29, of Waterlook, works as a campaign director for the Cedar Valley United Way. She won the Iowa Women’s Amateur in 2003 and 2009, the latter coming with her husband serving as her caddie, and her mother and father-in-law in the gallery.
Lisa Meshke, 29, of West Des Moines, is a financial consultant for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. The 2010 Iowa Women’s Amateur champion also owns the second-best career scoring average in Iowa State women’s golf history.
KANSAS
Alexandra Beury, 41 of Benton, is a huge animal lover who enjoys painting portraits of all different creatures. She has two German shepherds, a cat and a horse. Born in Lima, Peru, Beury moved to Montana when she was 8 years old and graduated from Montana State.
Shelly McCalla, 41, of Topeka, walked with her golf bag slugged over her shoulder through the neighborhood to prepare for the Women’s State Team Championship, which is now a walking-only competition.
Lacy Shelton, 31, of Overland Park, has completed two marathons and one half-marathon, and is currently training for another half-marathon later this year.
KENTUCKY
Beverly Games, 38, was a three-time Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year for Eastern Kentucky University. She currently works as a marketing director for Physical Therapy Associates. Said that she only plays golf about 10 times a year.
Martha Leach, 49, of Hebron, won the 2009 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, and joined her sister Hollis Stacy as a USGA champion. Stacy claimed six USGA titles, including three consecutive U.S. Girls’ Juniors and three U.S. Women’s Opens. She currently works as a part-time substitute teacher and realtor. She also was the runner-up to Ellen Port at last month’s U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur. Her husband, John, is the director of golf at The Traditions Golf Club. Leach also grew up in Savannah, Ga.
Laura Patrick, 25, of Russell, is an event coordinator for the Kentucky Heart Foundation. She says she has played golf in 32 of the 50 U.S. states.
LOUISIANA
Elise Bradley, 17, of Mandeville, claimed the 2010 and 2011 Louisiana Girls’ Junior and won the 2010 Louisiana Women’s Amateur.
Kay Daniel, 40, of Covington, is a four-time Louisiana Women’s Mid-Amateur champion and won the 2005 Louisiana Women’s Amateur.
Julie Harrison, 51, of Baton Rouge, worked as a disc jockey in college at Louisiana State University and still enjoys for friends or parties. She won the 2009 Louisiana Women’s Mid-Amateur and 2011 Louisiana Senior Women’s Amateur.
MAINE
Emily Bouchard, 22, of Seco, is studying to become an air traffic controller. She claimed the 2011 Maine Women’s Amateur.
Mary Brandes, 53, of Falmouth, is a physician for the Maine Medical Center, who did not start playing golf until she was 30. She was one of the first female scholarship athletes at the University of Michigan for field hockey in 1976 under Title IX and was inducted into the school’s Sports Hall of Honor for being one of the leading goal scorers in the history of the program. Her 22-year-old daughter, Eileen, is now a scholarship field hockey player at the University of Michigan.
Laurie Hyndman, 59, of Cumberland Foreside, has represented her state in seven of the nine Women’s State Team Championships. She has won the Southern Maine Women’s Championship six times, including once in a five-hole playoff. Inducted into the Maine State Golf Hall of Fame in 2010.
MARYLAND
Andrea Kraus, 51, of Baltimore, is a pro bono attorney who attended Yale University. She was on the runner-up Maryland team at the 2001 USGA Women’s State Team Championship. Kraus turned professional in 2007 and received her PGA membership a year later, but then was reinstated as an amateur last year. This will be her seventh USGA Women’s State Team Championship appearance.
Lisa Schlesinger, 53, of Laytonsville, owns her own real estate and property management company. She was the stroke-play medalist at the 2011 USGA Senior Women’s Amateur and advanced to the semifinals. In 1996, she was inducted into the Greater Washington, D.C., Fastpitch Softball Hall of Fame and five years later she was inducted into the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
Elyse Smidinger, 17, of Crofton, upset stroke-play co-medalist Jihee Kim of Korea in the first round of this year’s U.S. Women’s Amateur after getting into the draw via a playoff. Before getting into golf, she was a Maryland Level 6 state gymnastics champion.
MASSACHUSETTS
Tara Joy-Connelly, 38, of Pembroke, was a semifinalist at this year’s U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur. She works as a golf shop merchandiser at Cohasset Golf Club. She was named the Massachusetts Female Golf of the Decade for 2000-2009 by the Massachusetts Women’s Golf Association. She is a two-time New England Women’s Amateur champion.
Pamela Kuong, 50, of Wellesley Hills, is a commercial lender for Bank of America. She won the Massachusetts Women’s Amateur in 2010 at her home course, Charles River C.C. Her picture with the trophy resides next to other great champions and noted members of Charles River C.C., including Francis Ouimet, Eddie Lowery, Margaret Punaret (Women’s Mid-Amateur trophy named after her), Sam Snead and Ben Hogan.
Kristen MacDonald, 22, of Billerica, played four seasons for Fairfield University in Connecticut and was the co-captain the past three seasons before graduating this past spring. She also earned 12 varsity letters at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass.
MICHIGAN
Natalie Brehm, 23, of Mt. Pleasant, won the 2010 Michigan Women’s Amateur and currently is a dietetic intern at Central Michigan University. She completed her eligibility with Michigan State in May and helped the Spartans win the 2011 Big Ten championship.
Kim Kester, 27, of Ada, is a former captain of the University of Toledo women’s golf team who claims she wants to be Tinkerbell for one night and be able to fly out of the castle before the fireworks go off. She will graduate from the University of Toledo this December with a Masters degree in special education. She currently is assisting the women’s golf team and wants to coach after graduating.
Stacy Slobonik-Stoll, 40, of Haslett, coached Michigan State to the 2011 Big Ten championship, which featured her teammate this week, Natalie Brehm. She also played for the Spartans, graduating in 1994.
MINNESOTA
Leigh Klasse, 52, of St. Anthony, is a senior capability architect for Allianz Life Insurance Company who was a member of the winning Minnesota side at the 2001 USGA Women’s State Team Championship held at Woodhill C.C. in Wayzata, Minn. She is a six-time Minnesota Women’s Public Links champion and a four-time Minnesota Player of the Year. She also has claimed Minnesota Senior Player of the Year honors in 2010 and 2011.
Olivia Lansing, 23, of Dellwood, had a nice four days in July, getting engaged on July 22 and then getting a call from the USGA on July 25 that she had gotten into the Women’s Amateur as an alternate. She was a two-time Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year (2009 and 2010) at Drake University.
Kristen Wagner, 34, of Minneapolis, won this year’s Minnesota Match Play Championship. She works in brand management for General Mills.
MISSISSIPPI
Renee Chastain, 44, of Brandon, is a high school teacher who was inducted into the Hinds Community College Hall of Fame in 2010.
Cissye Gallagher, 44, of Greenwood, is the wife of former PGA Tour and 1993 U.S. Ryder Cup participant Jim Gallagher Jr. She is an 11-time champion of the Mississippi Women’s Amateur.
Virginia Grimes, 47, of Meridian, served as the women’s golf coach at her alma mater, Auburn University, from 1991-94. She also won the 1998 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, has competed on three USA Curtis Cup Teams and helped Alabama to the 1997 USGA Women’s State Team title. She has also suffered from a variety of physical injuries, including rotator cuff surgery in 1988, the removal of a kidney in 1991, a degenerative disc in her back and nerve tissue surgery on both feet.
MISSOURI
Barbara Blankenship, 54, of Centertown, works as a cardio-vascular ultrasound technologist at Central Missouri Cardiology.
Janis Clemens, 55, of Sedalia, is a registered nurse who has produced a number of community theatre shows.
Stephany Powell, 49, of Springfield, grew up playing junior golf with the late two-time U.S. Open champion Payne Stewart and also once played with two-time U.S. Open champion Lee Trevino at her home course. The day (Oct. 25, 1999) Stewart’s plane tragically crashed happened to be eight years to the date that Powell lost her father. She won the Missouri Women’s Amateur four times in the 1980s. On March 7, 1980, she almost died in an automobile accident. She broke both ankles, punctured her liver, ruptured her spleen and received 176 stitches in her head. Six months earlier, she lost her best friend in a car accident. She also lost her father just before her 30th birthday and her daughter passed away at 10 months, 26 days on Nov. 4, 1995. Powell operates a carpenter’s saw shop. She has also served the Missouri Women’s Golf Association in a variety of capacities, including Rules director and vice president.
MONTANA
Sable Hamilton, 25, of Colstrip, won the Montana state Class A golf title as a junior in high school, becoming the first team from her high school to win a state championship.
Sue Matson, 60, of Laurel, has served as the girls’ and boys’ golf coach at Laurel High School the past nine years. She has been nominated for coach of the year honors in the state in 2009 and 2010. She also has won the Missouri State Senior Women’s Amateur title in 2008, 2009 and 2011.
Sue Peterson, 49, of Glendive, is a librarian at Dawson Community College.
NEBRASKA
Susan Marchese, 50, of Omaha, is the only golfer to have competed in all nine USGA Women’s State Team Championships. She is vice president of the Omaha Neon Sign Company. She has been inducted into the Nebraska Golf Hall of Fame and Omaha Sports Hall of Fame.
Jane Pohlman, 54, of Omaha, started a high school girls’ golf team in 1972 in Lincoln by attending school board meetings and writing letters. She also helped the University of Nebraska to a Big 8 Conference championship in 1976 and received her Big 8 title ring 30 years later.
J.C. Weaver, 23, of Grand Island, was named the Nebraska Women’s Player of the Year in 2007 and 2009.
NEVADA
Karen Hoppe, 48, of Carson City, is an accountant for the state of Nevada, who also serves on the USGA Regional Affairs Committee. She also won the Nevada Women’s State Amateur in 2010.
NEW JERSEY
Cindy Ha, 15, of Demarest, used to swim and play the cello before taking up golf. She was born in Korea and was runner-up at the 2009 U.S. Kids World Championship.
Scotland Preston, 17, of Mountainside, won this year’s New Jersey State Women’s Amateur. She played softball through her freshman year of high school – pitcher on undefeated junior varsity team – before turning her full attention to golf.
Kuriko Tsukiyama, 15, of Bogota, won the 2010 New Jersey State Women’s Amateur at the age of 14. She is a sophomore at Bogota High School.
NEW MEXICO
Shania Berger, 15, of Soccoro, was selected to participate in the 2011 Ryder Cup Junior Golf Academy in Port St. Lucie, Fla., where she met past U.S. Ryder Cup captain Lanny Wadkins and Dustin Johnson. She also claimed the New Mexico A-AAA state high school golf title this past spring.
Lara Davis, 40, of Albuquerque, had an unfortunate Rules incident when her husband, Dennis, a member of the USGA’s U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship Committee, penalized her four strokes for having 15 clubs in her bag, one of which was his driver that he had loaned to her. An attorney by trade, Davis also serves on the Board of the Central New Mexico affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer awareness. She is working hard for the upcoming Oct. 9 Race for the Cure charity race that will feature 6,000 participants.
Nancy Romero, 55, of Albuquerque, is the superintendent/director of Gilbert L. Sena Charter High School. She is a nine-time New Mexico State Women’s Amateur champion and had a 31-year span between her first and last win (1972 to 2003). The second day after competing at the AIAW Collegiate Championship in 1977, she caught a 525-pound marlin near Honolulu.
NEW YORK
Teresa Cleland, 52, is a teacher in the Syracuse School District. She won this year’s New York State Women’s Mid-Amateur and was the 2009 New York State Senior Women’s champion. She was inducted into the Niagara University Hall of Fame in 1996.
Danielle Fuss, 16, of Rochester, was the runner-up in the 2011 New York State Women’s Amateur, and the runner-up in the 2010 and 2011 New York State Girls’ Junior.
Annie Park, 16, of Levittown, advanced to the semifinals of the this year’s U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, defeating medalist Cheyenne Woods in the semifinals before losing to eventual champion Brianna Do.
NORTH CAROLINA
Debbie Adams, 44, of Asheville, won an individual and team gold medal representing the USA at the Maccabiah Games in Israel. She has also won the Carolinas Women’s Amateur and North Carolina Women’s Amateur. She owns a second degree Black belt in karate and a first degree Black belt in kubudo. She also serves a golf coach at the Carolina Day School.
Pat Brogden, 57, of Garner, is a retired middle-school and physical-education teacher. She won the Carolinas Senior Women’s Amateur in 2007 and North Carolina Senior Women’s Amateur in 2010.
Patty Moore, 61, of Charlotte, is a two-time USGA Senior Women’s Amateur semifinalist (2001 and 2010) who was inducted into the Carolinas Hall of Fame in 2009. She won the North Carolina Women’s Amateur in 2000 and 2003 and has won the Carolinas Senior Women’s Amateur nine times.
NORTH DAKOTA
Theresa Burns, 38, of Bismarck, was a member of two Division II national championship women’s basketball teams at North Dakota State in 1993 and 1994.
Sharon Lipsh, 37, of Grafton, is a superintendent of highways for the Walsh County Highway Department, the first and only female to serve in that capacity within the state. She just recently graduated from the University of North Dakota with a civil engineering degree.
OHIO
Cathy Jefferson, 59, of Centerville, is a retired teacher and computer consultant. She has won the Dayton District Women’s Championship 11 times and in four different decades. She was inducted into the Wright State University Hall of Fame for softball and the Dayton Amateur Golf Hall of Fame.
Suzi Spotleson, 44, of Canton, works as an outsourcing manager for GE Capital Retail Finance. She was an All-Big Ten softball player for Northwestern from 1986-89. She flies more than 100,000 miles a year managing credit card call centers in India, the Philippines, Guatemala, Canada and Puerto Rico. She also said she never misses doing the Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle.
Lynn Thompson, 53, of Cincinnati, helped Ohio win the 2003 USGA Women’s State Team title. She owns an award business, Thompson Gifts & Awards. Recognized as a Legend of Cincinnati Golf in 2010 and is a two-time winner of the Ohio Senior Women’s Amateur.
OKLAHOMA
Ellen Mueller, 22, of Bartlesville, reached the semifinals of the 2010 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links and was a quarterfinalist at the 2006 U.S. Girls’ Junior. Despite a decorated college career at University of Oklahoma, she has decided to pursue a doctorate degree in physical therapy instead of playing professionally. She loves to sew and this summer she made two dresses, a quilt and a tablecloth.
Kathy West, 58, of Tulsa, was the fifth-ranked tennis player nationally in the USTA’s Under-16 division in 1968.
OREGON
Brie Stone, 31, of Veneta, will celebrate her 31st birthday on the first day of the USGA Women’s State Team Championship. At the 1999 Oregon Women’s Amateur, she defeated past U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Mary Budke and seven-time state champion Marcia Fisher in the quarterfinals and semis, respectively, on the same day before losing in the finals.
Lara Tennant, 44, of Portland, was the 2011 Oregon Women’s Amateur runner-up. She is a two-time State Stroke Play champion and two-time Oregon Women’s Mid-Amateur champion. She was the co-medalist at the 2002 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur and has twice qualified for the U.S. Women’s Amateur, including 2000 when it was played in her backyard at Waverley C.C.
Monica Vaughn, 15, of Reedsport, became the youngest winner in the 101-year history of the Oregon Women’s Amateur when she took the title this summer at 15. She also was named the Oregon Golfer of the Year in 2010.
PENNSYLVANIA
Alexandra Frazier, 53, of Conshohocken, nearly became the first No. 64 seed to win a USGA championship in 2010 when she lost in the finals of the Senior Women’s Amateur to Mina Hardin. She currently serves as the executive director of the Valentine Foundation. She also founded a non-profit charity called Women Golfers Give Back that raises money for six girls’ golf programs in the Philadelphia area and to date, the charity has raised more than $250,000.
Lisa McGill, 52, of Philadelphia, was a semifinalist at the 2007 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur and in 1996 was the Women’s Metropolitan Golf Association’s Player of the Year. She won the 2010 Pennsylvania Senior Women’s Amateur.
Noreen Mohler, 57, of Bethlehem, was a member of the 1978 USA Curtis Cup Team and captained the USA to victory at the 2010 Curtis Cup Match at Essex County Club in her native state of Massachusetts. She and her husband, Jeff, own the Marblehead Chowder House restaurant. She is a four-time Massachusetts Women’s State Amateur champion and she won the 1977 Pennsylvania Women’s State Amateur. She was inducted into the Lehigh Valley (Pa.) Golf Hall of Fame in 2010.
PUERTO RICO
Rebekah Alfond, 31, of Dorado, is a graduate of Brown University in Providence, R.I., who is currently training for a half ironman triathlon event.
Paola Robles, 17, of Aguadilla, has won the past two Puerto Rico Amateur titles (2010 and 2011). She plans to attend the University of Central Florida in the fall of 2012.
RHODE ISLAND
Marisa White, 47, of Wakefield, is an assistant state court administrator for the Rhode Island Supreme Court. She won the 2010 Rhode Island Women’s State Amateur with her 86-year-old father in attendance. She was inducted into the Rhode Island College Hall of Fame for tennis. She was also inducted into the West Warwick High Hall of Fame for tennis, basketball and softball.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Dawn Woodard, 37, of Greer, is a three-time Tennessee State Women’s Amateur champion and two-time South Carolina Women’s Amateur champion. She was the stroke-play medalist at the 2007 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, losing to eventual champion Meghan Stasi in the quarterfinals.
Lea Venable, 38, of Simpsonville, is a financial advisor for Carolinas Wealth Management.
Lea Anne Brown, 52, of Mt. Pleasant, is the membership director at Bulls Bay Golf Club and realtor for Summerhouse Creek Properties , LLC. Most memorable in golf came at 2004 South Carolina Women’s Amateur when she rallied from three strokes down over the final three holes at the Dunes Club in Myrtle Beach, including a clutch up and down from a greenside bunker on the last hole in 100-degree heat. She also serves on the advisory board for The First Tee of Greater Charleston. In January, she will be inducted into the South Carolina Golf Hall of Fame.
SOUTH DAKOTA
Julie Jansa, 38, of Sioux Falls, is the executive director of The First Tee of South Dakota and is the junior golf director for the South Dakota Golf Association. Along with husband, Ryan, the two have six South Dakota Golf Association Husband/Wife Championships, winning the first year by 19 strokes in an alternate-shot format.
Maggie Murphy, 24, of Sioux Falls, won the 2007 South Dakota Women’s Amateur and was runner-up this year. She was a four-time All-Western Athletic Conference academic performer at New Mexico State (2007-2010).
Karla Murra, 26, of Sioux Falls, is a senior relationship manager for Meta Payment Systems. She also won the 2008 South Dakota Women’s Amateur and the 2010 Minnesota State Open. This past May, she ran her first half-marathon in Yankton, S.D.
TENNESSEE
Jennifer Lucas, 30, of Knoxville, is an industrial adhesive and tape specialist for the 3M Corporation. She was the stroke-play quad-medalist at the 2009 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur.
Calle Nielson, 23, of Nashville, won the 2011 Women’s Southern Amateur at Capital City Club in Atlanta. The 2011 University of Virginia graduate was named the Tennessee Women’s Player of the Year for 2008, 2009 and 2010. In high school, Nielson would play for the girls’ basketball team and then go play the saxophone in the pep band for the boys’ games. Last week, she advanced to the final stage of LPGA Tour Q-School, where she is competing as an amateur.
Maggie Scott, 62, of Charlesron, is a retired teacher. She is a 10-time Tennessee Senior Player of the Year who was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.
TEXAS
Robin Burke, 49, of Houston, is married to former Masters champion Jackie Burke Jr., and is currently the vice president of Champions Golf Club, Inc. She was the runner-up in the 1997 U.S. Women’s Amateur and a member of the 1998 USA Curtis Cup Team. She enjoys painting and just finished a work entitled The Last Caddie, as a tribute to the last caddie at Champions Golf Club and as a fund-raiser for him.
Mina Hardin, 51, of Fort Worth, became the first Mexican-born golfer to win a USGA title when she claimed the 2010 USGA Senior Women’s Amateur. She was the runner-up in the same championship last month. She won the Texas State Open in 2004 and is a five-time champion of the Texas Women’s Amateur.
Anna Schultz, 56, of Rockwall, won the 2007 USGA Senior Women’s Amateur and was a runner-up to Ellen Port at the 2000 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur. All three of her sons played Division I golf: Mark and David for Texas A&M and Kevin for the University of Texas. She is a self-employed certified public accountant (CPA). Both of her parents were born in Poland and survived Nazi concentration camps before emigrating to the U.S. and starting a machining business, which is currently be run by her brother.
UTAH
Annette Gaiotti, 58, of Holladay, was a semifinalist at the 2005 USGA Senior Women’s Amateur and Utah’s Player of the Year in 2007. She won the New England Senior Women’s Amateur in 2003 and 2009.
Lea Garner, 17, of Washington Terrace, won the 2011 Mary Lou Baker Open. She has been a first-team all-state performer the past three years and is currently a senior at Bonneville High. Her favorite place to practice is on her uncle’s dairy farm in Idaho.
Julie McMullin, 44, of Park City, owns and operates Mountain Homes Concierge, Inc., in Park City. She won the 2011 Utah Women’s Amateur. She didn’t take up the game until she was 27, but has done many other activities such as hiking and skiing.
VERMONT
Holly Reynolds, 39, of Morrisville, was the runner-up to Connie Masterson at the 1993 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links held in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Reynolds shared medalist honors at the championship with future U.S. Women’s Open champion Cristie Kerr and Carri Wood.
Shelly Yusko, 50, of Quechee, is a licensed massage therapist, but originally moved to Vermont to teach tennis.
VIRGINIA
Shelley Savage, 57, of Alexandria, works as a registered nurse at Virginia Hospital Center. She spent 26 years on active duty in the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps before retiring as a captain in 2003. She served on board the USNS Comfort during Desert Shield/Desert Storm and had an eight-month deployment to the Persian Gulf.
WASHINGTON
Anne Carr, 67, of Renton, is a retired website developer for Boeing. She was the runner-up to Carol Semple Thompson at the 2001 USGA Senior Women’s Amateur. She now spends the winter months with her husband in New Zealand, where they play golf, hike and paint. She used to race cars in Europe (Lotus) and has served on the National Ski Patrol. She also has backpacked through the Rockies in Colorado and Wyoming and hitch-hiked for six weeks by herself in Europe, during which she hiked 100 miles along the south coast of England. She spent six years working in Germany and speaks fluent German.
Leslie Folsom, 44 of Seattle, won the 2006 Seattle Women’s Golf Championship after getting a pep talk from past USGA Senior Women’s Amateur champion Edean Ihlanfeldt as she swam laps. She is currently serving her second term on the board of directors (club secretary) at Rainier Golf & C.C. in Seattle.
Denise Kieffer, 51, of University Place, is a police sergeant for the city of Tacoma. She also won the 2006 Washington State Women’s Golf Association Amateur.
WISCONSIN
Katie Falk, 65, of Milwaukee, won the 1973 Women’s Western Amateur, defeating Nancy Lopez in the semifinals. She was inducted into the Wisconsin State Golf Hall of Fame in 1993, and she was on the board of directors for the now-defunct Greater Milwaukee Open on the PGA Tour from 1988-1999.
Maggie Leef, 51 of Brookfield, traveled to Red Hills, South Africa in 2010 to work with Living Hope, a ministry striving to end the spread of HIV/AIDS in the townships outside of Cape Town.
Rheba Mabie, 34, of Wausau, is a science and agriculture teacher at Wausau West High School. She also is a professional clown who has performed for kids since 2000.
WEST VIRGINIA
Kimberly Eaton, 22, of Shepherdstown, was a four-time NCAA Division III All-American at Wellesley College. After being initially denied the chance to play on her high school boys’ golf team, she went out and became a three-time MVP and three-year captain of the squad.
Nicolle Flood-Sawczyszyn, 35, of Morgantown, won three consecutive West Virginia Women’s Amateur titles (2008-2010). She also enjoys hunting (bow and gun), fly fishing and alpine skiing.
Caroline Ramsey, 64, of Bridgeport, is a four-time West Virginia Women’s Amateur champion and an 11-time West Virginia Senior Women’s Amateur champion.
WYOMING
Miranda Bandemer, 34, of Laramie, is a sales director for Mary Kay. She won the 2010 Wyoming Women’s State Amateur and was the runner-up in the event this year.
Sarah Bowman, 52, of Parkman, is a cattle rancher who has won four Wyoming Women’s Mid-Amateur titles and is representing Wyoming at the Women’s State Team Championship for a fifth time.
Mary Smith, 63, of Sheridan, played competitive tennis for 20 years.
David Shefter is a senior staff writer for the USGA. E-mail him at dshefter@usga.org.