Golden Eagle turned Cowgirl enjoy college student athleticism
By RICHIE HALL
sports@readthereporter.com
Angelica Pfefferkorn will tell you right away that it is hard work being a college student-athlete.
A typical day for Pfefferkorn at Oklahoma State involves classes, golf practice and studying – on a Pre-Med track, no less. But the hard work is resulting in great rewards, such as good grades, success on the golf course, and a chance to caddy for one of her teammates at the U.S. Women’s Open.
Pfefferkorn just completed her sophomore year for OSU, this after a highly successful career at Guerin Catholic where she was a state qualifier and a mainstay of the Golden Eagles team. She began her career at Oklahoma State as a preferred walk-on, but was still able to play in four tournaments for the Cowgirls during the fall portion of the 2020-21 season.
Pfefferkorn performed steady at all four tournaments, including a tie for 31st out of 51 golfers at the Cowgirl Classic. As a result, her coaches awarded Pfefferkorn an athletic scholarship beginning with her sophomore year.
“I really think I’m in the right place and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” said Pfefferkorn. She has gotten support from her teammates, coaches and her family.
“It has made the experience so great,” said Pfefferkorn. “I love it and it has helped me grow so much in golf and school and as a person.”
The Cowgirls had a fantastic 2020-21 season, winning the Big 12 championship and finishing third at the NCAA regional at Stanford. That qualified OSU for the national tournament at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., and it placed third in stroke play to advance to the match play portion. The Cowgirls went all the way to the championship match before falling to Ole Miss 4-1.
In the 2021-22 season, Oklahoma State began by winning three tournaments in the fall, then had a steady spring season. The Cowgirls placed second in the Big 12 and third at the regional to again qualify for nationals, where they placed 19th out of 24 teams.
“It’s a really competitive team and driven team,” said Pfefferkorn. “It’s been really cool to be a part of.”
Pfefferkorn played in three tournaments for OSU during her sophomore year. She placed 32nd out of 62 golfers at the Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational in September, played in two matches at the Texas Tech Red Raider Match Play event in April 3 and 4, then had her best career finish the next week, April 11 and 12 at the ORU Spring Invite in Tulsa, Okla. Pfefferkorn placed 11th out of 62 players in that tournament. She also traveled with the Cowgirls team to the national tournament as an alternate.
“The girls on the team, they’re great,” said Pfefferkorn. “We’re all best friends and family.” Pfefferkorn said the team does “everything together” off the golf course as well.
On the academic side, Pfefferkorn is majoring in nutritional sciences and is on a Pre-Med track. She was a straight A student during her sophomore year.
“I am in a lot of STEM courses right now, so I had to get through organic chemistry and quite a few match courses and biology, and those were all a big load,” said Pfefferkorn.
Since Pfefferkorn is involved in both high-level academics and athletics, time management is definitely a priority. She described a typical day, starting with making plans for her day when she wakes up in the morning.
“Then I go to workouts, then I have class until about noon,” said Pfefferkorn. After that, she heads to the course, and is usually there until 6 to 7 p.m. “Then I go home, eat dinner, then I study as much as I can,” she said.
Much of Pfefferkorn’s time management plans come down to what aspect of college needs to be given the most time on a certain day.
“Sometime I have more time to practice, so I do that, whereas other days, I have a big exam or a big assignment coming up, so I need to spend a little more time off the golf course than I’d like,” said Pfefferkorn.
In addition to attending the NCAA championships with her team, Pfefferkorn got another nice opportunity when she was a caddy for one of her teammates, Maja Stark, at the U.S. Women’s Open the past two years.
“This was her rookie season,” said Pfefferkorn. “Last year she played in it as an amateur.” Stark tied for 17th last year and made the cut again this year.
“She’s had a really successful first season as a professional,” said Pfefferkorn.
Stark is from Sweden, so that gave Pfefferkorn the opportunity to learn more about that country.
“I feel like I’ve really been thrown into the Swedish culture at the U.S. Open,” said Pfefferkorn. “She has a whole Swedish entourage.”
And Pfefferkorn has picked up a little Swedish along the way.
“I know how to say, “Do you want candy?’,” she said. “I’d always keep some in my caddy bag to offer it.” (In Swedish, it’s “Vill du ha godis?”)
Oklahoma State has an international flavor to its team. Pfefferkorn’s teammates include players from England, Australia, France, Thailand and Taiwan.
“I think it was really great, especially since our team is very international, so I get to experience different foods, different dialects, and they tell me different stories about how they grew up,” said Pfefferkorn.
So, it’s been a great experience at OSU so far for Pfefferkorn. She still has a couple more years to play for the Cowgirls, then has plans for the future after that.
“I would like to go to medical school,” said Pfefferkorn. “It’s pretty early. I’ll be taking the MCAT exam in the spring, and then applying by next fall.”