By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
Vanessa Campos has been working half her life toward a long and successful golf career. It started with the goal of beating her father when she was 9 years old, and now she dreams of being the best player on the LPGA Tour.
She’ll continue to chase the latter as a player at Western Carolina University, an NCAA Division I program in Cullowhee, N.C. Campos signed her letter of intent to play for coach Courtney Gunter on Monday and is receiving a full-ride scholarship.
“This is a stepping stone to my major goal, and that’s why I’m so honored to be a part of an amazing team with Western Carolina,” Campos said. “It’s an amazing accomplishment to be able to represent the Rio Grande Valley. I am so proud to be where I am today and so blessed through the name of Jesus Christ, and believe everything is going to come together.”
Campos and her dad, Rick, credited Gunter as the biggest influence in the process of choosing the right school. She had offers from other DI programs closer to home, but Campos said Gunter is a young coach who is well-respected by her players and appreciates the belief Gunter has in her ability to have a professional career.
Western Carolina was the first official visit Campos took, and Gunter offered her a scholarship at that time but gave her a few weeks to look into other offers. Researching coaches and programs was a family affair, and the Camposes did their due diligence before deciding that becoming a Catamount was the best decision.
“My family has been through it every step of the way. I’m so grateful for their help and it’s just been a whirlwind coming together,” Campos said. “I sent out a total of 125 emails to coaches, my dad would be up studying schools for me while I did homework. My sister is like my manager, she’s amazing and does everything, and my mom is so creative, so it was a whole family effort.”
The effort put in to choosing a school is on brand for Campos, who prides herself on a strong work ethic. Long before she joined the Lady Falcons, coach Luis Gonzalez already knew about Campos because of the extensive training she’s been doing from a young age.
During the ceremony, Gonzalez talked about seeing Campos as a child at Fort Brown Memorial golf course in Brownsville, waiting for his golfers to finish on the course so she could practice. Los Fresnos athletic director Patrick Brown recalled a story told to him about Campos being out on the putting green early in the morning in 50-degree weather working on her game.
Campos attended Brownsville Veterans Memorial as a freshman, then was home-schooled as a sophomore. She started school at Los Fresnos last year but was unable to play varsity golf because of UIL transfer rules. Though this is the only season she’ll compete as a Lady Falcons golfer, Gonzalez has booked four tournaments outside of the Rio Grande Valley to face the toughest competition in the state to help Campos succeed.
“I’m very happy our players are learning from her. She’s a phenomenal player, she’s a great leader and motivator, and at the same time she does not accept defeat,” Gonzalez said. “We’re able to play against national caliber teams and play them shot for shot without fear, and Vanessa helps a lot. She has the leadership it takes to approach this game the way you need to.”
Rick Campos got emotional as he spoke about his daughter during the ceremony. He put in a lot of hours to help his daughter reach this milestone, including driving her overnight to tournaments in Houston every weekend for nine weeks to qualify for bigger events. Campos said she couldn’t have done this without her dad’s support and the help of her entire family.
“It’s been a dream of hers to be a Division I athlete, so to see this as a culmination, that’s what brought on the tears,” Rick Campos said. “She talked to a lot of coaches … and she would tell them she just wants to play for somebody that will believe in her and her dreams. It takes a village … and it takes an individual with a dream and the desire to work hard, and that’s Vanessa.”