Emmaus High School graduate Michelle Cox just completed her junior season on the womens golf team at Penn State University. It was not only one of the more successful seasons of her career, but also one of the most enjoyable she’s had in college so far.

“This past year was the most fun I have had in college golf,” said Cox. “My first six events from September through February went very well and I was playing some of my best golf up until that point. I was playing very well as were some of my teammates, so it was a lot of fun at tournaments, especially getting to know our new head coach, Kristen Simpson, who is wonderful.

“I ended the year well at the Big Ten Tournament, but there was some disappointment being so close to postseason and coming up just short. I am looking forward to tightening up some mistakes for the future and hopefully having an even better year next season. I am especially excited to return with some close teammates and I look forward to what Coach has planned.”

Cox tied for 23rd at the Big Ten Championship, leading her team with a 3-over par 219 over three days at Bulle Rock Golf Course in Havre de Grace, MD. She opened with a 7-over par 79 then shot up the leaderboard with two under par rounds, including a 1-under 71 in the second round before finishing with a 3-under 69.

Coming out of Emmaus three years ago, it wasn’t a very difficult decision as to where she wanted to continue her athletic and academic career.

“I always knew Penn State was special,” Cox said. “Growing up in a Nittany Lion family, but going there myself, I saw that Penn State is an amazing place to be a student athlete. The growth in athletics has been remarkable in the three years that I have been there, which is a tribute to how driven and committed those working within athletics are to making PSU the best it can be. The support these people give to us is amazing.”

She won the Columbia Classic in February to help Penn State to a runner-up finish, earning Big Ten Womens Golfer of the Week honors for her performance. She shot 9-under par 207 at the event, carding rounds of 69, 67 and 71 to win by four strokes over Yale’s Alexis Kim and help PSU take second place as a team.

Cox competed in all 29 rounds for the Nittany Lions this past season and led the team with a 73.07 average. Her career average is 74.64 in 70 rounds.

She will be back for one more year this fall.

“I am going to be a senior this fall,” said Cox. “I am excited to play my last fall and spring seasons with my teammates and complete my degree. After that, I am not sure what will come next May.”

Her time at Emmaus High School was very beneficial to her career growth in both the classroom and on the course.

“Golf can be a very individual sport, so I am happy to say Emmaus was the first team-golf atmosphere I ever had,” Cox said. “Emmaus taught me how to be a teammate in what can be a very solo sport, and that has served me well with my teammates at Penn State. Emmaus golf was a lot of fun. We were a really good team and it was fun to win as much as we did. Mo Bryan was an amazing coach, and I think we all had a lot of fun.

“Division I golf is a team sport. Golf can be very individual at times, and it is important to have experiences that are team oriented. Playing for Emmaus taught me the team side of golf and how exciting it can be. Simply playing junior tournaments does nothing for the team aspect of golf and that is one of the most important things about being on my team at Penn State now. I will always be thankful for Emmaus for teaching me how to be a teammate. Emmaus is a really special place. There’s a lot of times when I am home on breaks from PSU that I run into high school teachers or people associated with Emmaus and they ask me how golf is going. The kind of support from Emmaus is unmatched.”