Golfer MacKenzie Cunningham Talks About Golf, School and the Balance Between the Two
Senior MacKenzie Cunningham has only played golf at University for three seasons. That's because University has only had a golf team since the fall of 2009, and she was instrumental in getting it started after transferring to University in her freshman year. Almost immediately after transferring from Carmel High School, where she played on the Carmel JV team, she talked to John Walls about starting a girls golf team, and quickly became a leader of the program. They were barely a team at half a dozen players. Even so, under coach Mike Syrek, MacKenzie made it to regionals and in the team's third year, she and Kaitlin Padrick both went to regionals.
Though academics was the reason for her transfer to University, the inclusive athletic program was a significant side benefit, giving MacKenzie an opportunity to be a leader in golf. "At Carmel I probably wouldn't have ever been on the varsity team, even though I shot my lowest score ever last year, a 78." Another benefit University's program affords students is the ability to have meaningful experiences in a second-tier (for them) sport. "I actually got to play basketball at University," MacKenzie notes, "and I couldn't have even been JV at Carmel!"
MacKenzie feels that the girls golf team didn't start playing really competitive teams until this year. "But you can always create challenges for yourself," she maintains. And MacKenzie keeps herself busy doing just that. This past summer she played in the Mid-American Junior Golf Tour to push herself and keep her skills fresh. "We played the Kampen Course at Purdue, one of the hardest I've ever played, and the heat and humidity were horrible," she recalls. One reason MacKenzie loves golf is that it's about competing with oneself. "You can't make excuses or blame somebody else when things don't go well. But then when I've had a bad day, there's nothing like going out and hitting golf balls to make me feel better," MacKenzie adds.
MacKenzie will play in college, but it's not her reason for picking a school. As a quiet person, athletics is a great way to deal with emotions and express herself, but it's not the most important thing to her. "It's definitely below school and family. I want to be a balanced person. If I couldn't play golf in college, it wouldn't kill me." It's that kind of sense of balance that she is seeking in a college athletic experience. She hopes to attend Embry-Riddle, for aeronautical engineering, and it's an added bonus that the golf program there is good. She also knows the coach. "Her whole team is like a family. She wouldn't just make me a better golfer, but a better person." She likens it to the UHS culture, in that teachers and coaches understand if you have problems outside of their class, subject or sport. "And you can always talk to the athletic director about anything," she adds. "I love it here."
MacKenzie's dream career would be to work at Lockheed Martin designing and building fighter jets. "Top Gun" remains her favorite movie!
Competitive Basketball Player Stephen Sponseller Weighs in on Sports and School Culture
Stephen Sponseller, one of only two seniors on the University High School varsity basketball team, was recently honored at senior night, along with fellow senior Josh Matthews. The team played very well that night until the last four minutes when their opponents went on a run. "While it would have been great to finish it out with a win," Sponseller says of his last game of the regular season, "it was good to just play that well."
Sponseller, the team's leading scorer who averages 15.3 points per game, transferred to University from Zionsville as a junior. His motivation was academics; he wanted smaller class sizes and more one-to-one connection with teachers. "It's definitely a lot more challenging academically, but more rewarding in the long run," he says of adjusting to University. "These two years have really gotten me ready for college."
While Sponseller sought a more intimate academic environment for himself, he has realized some real pay-offs athletically as well. On junior varsity as a sophomore at Zionsville, he knew he wouldn't get a lot of playing time as an upperclassman because the varsity team was so senior heavy. He felt that University would give him a better opportunity to prove himself, more meaningful participation, and he has been pleased with the transition.
Unlike many high school athletes, Sponseller says that while he would like to play basketball in college, it isn't an "absolute necessity" for him. He is focused on majoring in business, hopefully with an entrepreneurship component. He recently finished an internship at Wells Fargo Advisors during this last January Term, and it cemented his goal of someday running his own business. Last January, Sponseller enjoyed an equally meaningful January Term class, World of Golf. Sponseller played golf at Zionsville and is now on the University team. He plays quite a bit all summer, but notes that getting his clubs out and hitting balls during the middle of winter "kept the flow of his game going." He thoroughly enjoyed the class time at Golf Solutions 360 and getting to work with pros and the simulators. But, by far, the highlight of the class for Sponseller was meeting Pete Dye at the Pete and Alice Dye course at Port St. Lucie in Florida. The class played that course and the Tom Fazio course, as well as other top-ranked courses. "The courses we played on down there were super nice, and Pete Dye was so gracious and took such an interest in us!"
At the posting of this profile, the University varsity basketball team has won its first sectional game against Crispus Attucks. Sponseller is optimistic for the coming contests, even though it hasn't been the best season, contending with a young team and a new mix with transfer students. "The past few games we've put together a string of 3-4 good games in a row. If we can just keep up this momentum into sectionals, we could go deep," Sponseller predicts. "All season I've felt that, every day, if I just bring my all to the team, the team will become better and it will show this week during sectionals."
