Early in the morning, when the typical college student is still fast asleep, sophomore Virginia golfer Leah Wigger can be found walking the greens of Birdwood Golf Course with her eyes closed. No, she's not sleep walking -- like many of us, Leah is just not a morning person.Since coming to Virginia, this trait has earned her the nickname "Seabiscuit" from Virginia women's golf coach Jan Mann.
For those of you who have not seen the movie, Seabiscuit is the winning race horse that is often caught sleeping and only turns on the speed when it's necessary. Despite some groggy morning workouts, its clear Wigger really knows how to come through. Wigger is Virginia's top golfer with a 74.21 average after 34 rounds. Her second place finish in the NCAA Women's Golf National Championship led Virginia to a 13th-place finish in its first-ever national tournament.
The All-ACC honoree started all 11 tournaments, and was Virginia's top finisher in 10 of them. During her short two-year collegiate career, the sophomore has eight Top 10 finishes. This season the accolades just keep coming for Wigger. She was named Virginia's Golfer of the Year, earned Honorable Mention All-America honors from the National Golf Coaches Association, and is a nominee for the prestigious Honda Sports Award given to the nation's top golfer.
With all of this success, Wigger has rapidly risen to compete with the top collegiate women golfers. For Wigger though, it does not seem so sudden.
Wigger attributes her love of the game to her father, who is an avid golfer and taught Wigger and her twin brother to play golf in her native Louisville, Ky. when they were only four years old.
"Our Country Club had a junior golf program in the summer; after that I started playing local tournaments and then began to win junior tournaments around the state," Wigger said."Despite starting a little late for a junior player (the summer after her sophomore year of high school), Wigger played well enough in many AGJA events to receive invites to national tournaments.
During her amateur career, Wigger was the 2002 Kentucky state champion, and the 2003 Joanne Winter Arizona Silver Belle champion. During the state meet, the four-time all-state honoree set the state record with a 139 (-5), with rounds of 69 and 70.Wigger still looks back on the feat as one of her greatest accomplishments.
"Becoming Kentucky state champion my senior year of high school was a great aesthetic goal, that showed me if you set [goals] and work hard, you can reach them," Wigger said.
This is something that has stuck with Wigger throughout her career.
"Leah is very driven," sophomore teammate and co-captain Sally Shonk said. "She has goals posted up of what she wants to achieve for the season or the year; she knows what she wants and goes for it."
It was this dedication that got the attention of Mann when she began recruiting the first ever women's golf team at Virginia for fall 2003. "When I started the program she was the first ever to commit," said Mann. "I was looking for someone with her athletic ability, determination, and personality."
Wigger recalls choosing Virginia for two reasons: the school's academic excellence and newly appointed coach Mann.
"She is a great coach, and we get along really well," Wigger said.
Once at Virginia, Wigger's work ethic was apparent in everything she did.
"Leah is extremely coachable,: Mann said. "She has a real willingness to learn and work hard, not only in golf but also academically."
As a true freshman, Wigger earned All-ACC, NGCA All-American Scholar, Academic All-ACC, and Virginia's Golfer of the Year honors in 2004. What really drew attention to the first year, however, was her first career hole-in-one during the final round of the SunTrust Lady Gator Invitational.
This season, Wigger paced Virginia with two key second-place finishes. She fired a career-low round of 67 (-3) to seal the No. 2 spot at the NCAA East Regional. On the final day of the national championship, Wigger fired a two-under 69 for a 287 (+3), edged out of medalist honors by just one stroke to Duke's Anna Grzebien.
"Her mental game has been her strength, and her willingness to work on her short game," Mann said. "She has a great touch around the greens and good imagination, she's not afraid to hit different shots."
These were the main areas Wigger and Mann focused on improving at end of last season, but one can't help but wonder if something else had to contribute to Wigger shooting to the top of the ACC this season.
"She's learned with time that golf is a game, and she has learned to accept what comes her way," Mann said. "She has high expectations, but when she's playing golf she has learned to stay in the process and not worry about the past."
At the 2005 ACC Championship, Wigger claimed 12th while helping the Cavaliers finish third in just their second season. In 2004, the team finished seventh of seven.
"Last year we pretty much finished last a lot so we knew there was no where to go but up, that really motivated us," Wigger said.
As a co-captain, Wigger leads by example.
"She is not one to be very vocal most of the time, but I think the confidence that she's gained this season will put her there in that leadership role even more than before," Mann said.
Looking towards next year, Wigger is optimistic.
"Next season I really want a win, I would love a team win too," Wigger said. "We've had the opportunity and we've been really close, so we'll see."
With renewed motivation from the success and experience she gained this season, next year Wigger may outgrow her nickname -- at least the underdog part.
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