First golfer commits to UHV
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| Whitley Patterson |
The University of Houston-Victoria’s new golf program has its first golfer.
Whitley Patterson, golf team captain at McLennan Community College in Waco, has signed a letter of intent to join the Jaguars women’s golf team for its inaugural season in the fall.
Patterson is one of the top junior college players in the country, currently ranked 19th in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), and is the 2010 NJCAA Region 5 champion, having won the regional tournament this past weekend to advance to the national championship in May.
UHV head golf coach Whitney Stromgren said she is ecstatic to bring in the graduate of Glen Rose High School.
“She will be an immediate leader for the team and for the first class of incoming freshmen at UHV,” she said. “Being a new program, having a leader like her for the first two years will be a vital part of our success.”
As a freshman, Patterson helped the Highlassies to a fourth-place finish at the 2009 NJCAA National Championship. Patterson finished tied for third at the 2009 NJCAA Region V Championship.
“She’s as good in the classroom as she is on the course,” UHV Athletics Director Ashley Walyuchow said of the marketing major.
Patterson is looking forward to coming to UHV.
“I’m really excited,” Patterson said. “I came here looking for a new challenge, and I like what the future holds at UHV.”
Patterson finished second in the 2007 UIL state golf tournament while competing for Class 3A Glen Rose High School and was named the GRHS Women’s Golf Most Valuable Player three times. Patterson graduated with honors in 2007. Patterson also was a two-time state cross country qualifier and was twice selected all-district in basketball while she was in high school.
Patterson is the daughter of Damon and Nancy Patterson, and has one brother named D.J.
The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 80 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.
