On Thursday Sept. 29, the women's golf team participated in the \Light the Night"" walk to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. This walk hit close to home for the Badgers, especially assistant coach Lori Murphy. Murphy's son, Sean, and one of her close friends, Val Simpson, are both survivors of Lymphoma and were honored at the walk Thursday.
""The fact that Lori's son had lymphoma a few years ago is our connection to the Leukemia and Lymphoma society,"" said head coach Todd Oehrlein. ""Also in honor of what they went through and what Sean went through is something that we felt really honored to be a part of.""
The walk, which raised about $2,300 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, involved nine golfers, both coaches Oehrlein and Murphy, and their families. The golf team had a total of 27 people in attendance. While the team took no part in organizing the event, their presence was surely felt. The walk started off with speeches from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and also from survivors. Once dark fell, the walk was flooded with lights and balloons.
People walked, not only for personal reasons, but also for community service for the CHAMPS Program. This is a nationwide program involving all university varsity teams in which each club competes in academic achievement, athletic achievement, personal enhancement, community involvement, Badger pride and Student-Athlete Advisory Council participation. The CHAMPS Program was created by the NCAA to allow student-athletes to take initiative within their club and enhance the quality of the student-athlete experience within the university.
Community service is a constant theme for the women's golf team. During the holidays, they volunteer at the Children's Hospital by making Christmas cookies. They also help out at different schools through the Bucky's Books program. The Lady Badgers also get involved during the summer. Through cooperation with the Wisconsin Department of Tourism, the Badgers have held free golf clinics. Last summer they held clinics in Beloit, Milwaukee, and twice in Madison. Each free clinic brought in over 100 participants an impressive statistic.
""When you have an opportunity to give back and help out the community that is something that we need to be a part of,"" Oehrlein said.
The women's golf team finishes up the season with the Lady Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas October 16-18, and then the Palmetto Intercollegiate in South Carolina Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.
