Student Spotlight: Ana Sanjuan
3/27/2017 8:51:00 AM | General, Women's Golf, Student-Athlete Services
By: Elias Arnett
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Imagine this, you are sitting on a plane that is gliding 30,000 feet in the air. The realization and excitement of traveling to a new country, a new continent for that matter, tends to be the only capable thought. Finally one lands, standing with rather wobbly legs, and makes their way through the slithering, lingering lines of border patrol. One's excitement is quite robust, until the first words come spattering out of someone else's rigid mouth. The eagerness quickly vanishes and a puzzled, pale look slowly overcomes one's face.
"What in the world is this person trying to say to me?"
The specific thought might have come to mind for senior Ana Sanjuan, a member of the women's golf team. Sanjuan was born in Aviles, Spain, which is located on the northern edge of the beautiful country, adjacent to the Bay of Biscay. Sanjuan came to the United States her freshman year, when she decided to move to Bloomington and live in an entirely different nation.
"The language was the biggest adjustment. I thought I knew (English), but when I came here I didn't understand a word," Sanjuan said. "It was very overwhelming because I was like 'Oh my god, I don't understand anything.'"
She said this laughing, speaking near-perfect English.
Sanjuan, a SPEA management major, started playing golf when she was just five years old. She played tennis when she was growing up as well, as her father was a tennis player, and mentioned that a tennis racket was one of the first things she touched in her life. However, her father injured his knee and started to focus more on golf, which brought Sanjuan's sole attention to the sport as well.
"I didn't have the choice," Sanjuan said as she explained why she chose golf over tennis. "I think it was just the situation that my father was very into golf and I had been practicing almost every day since I was seven. I don't think there was something that made me stop playing tennis, it was just the situation that my father was more into golf."
She had been attending a high school in Madrid called Blume. The website explains Blume as "suitable for elite, international, Olympic, or Paralympic athletes." It houses roughly 33 different sports, from Taekwondo and Karate all the way to Table Tennis.
Sanjuan was not always certain that coming to the United States after high school was what she wanted to do.
"My decision to come to the U.S. came only a semester before graduating (high school)," Sanjuan said. "Before that I was not sure about coming to the Unites States. Suddenly it was Christmas and I was with my father and I said you know what, I'm not going to lose this opportunity, so I decided to begin the process of recruiting."
The opportunity she just mentioned related specifically to playing collegiate golf. Sanjuan stated that playing collegiate golf in Europe or Spain specifically is nearly impossible. She continued to explain that the mindset of Universities in Europe is if you miss class, that's your problem, and they aren't going to give you much leeway. While here in the United States and at Indiana University, assistance and understanding is given to athletes competing collegiately.
Since coming to campus four years ago, Sanjuan has seen constant improvement. She currently leads the Hoosiers with a 73.18 average, has had three top-ten finishes in her senior campaign and is looking to make her second straight NCAA Regionals appearance. Last season Indiana finished 15th at the regionals, as Sanjuan shot a +9 and finished 50th on the individual leaderboard.
"Making it to the regionals last year, that was awesome. When we were watching the TV and they told us that we made it, it was truly awesome because we practiced and worked so hard to make it…all of us were screaming because we were one of the last one's to make it. It was very nerve-racking and exciting," Sanjuan said.
A key to any athlete's success, Sanjuan understands both her strengths and weaknesses. She believes that the best part of her game is her iron play, admitting that she doesn't necessarily hit the ball as far as most of her teammates, but she believes her long irons are very consistent. In order to have continued success in their final three matches and the postseason, she admits that her short game needs improvement.
She also talks about how her mental toughness needs to be strong if she wants to make a run in the NCAA Regionals.
"I need to believe in myself, and I think that will be extremely important (for the postseason). Sometimes I feel that my coaches believe in me more than I believe in myself, so I need to improve on that," Sanjuan said.
Sanjuan contributes everything to golf. She understands that she wouldn't be where she was today if it wasn't for the game.
"I owe everything to golf. I came to the U.S., I have a full scholarship, and that is all because of golf," Sanjuan said.
The team has three more tournaments before postseason play. They go to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for the Hawkeye 'EL Tigre' Invitational. That is followed by the IU Spring Invitational in Bloomington and then the Lady Buckeye Invitational in Columbus, Ohio. The Big Ten Championships begin on April 21, and is being held at TPC River's Bend in Maineville, Ohio.
Sanjuan plans to play professional golf next year, as she will try to qualify for the European Tour.
"Right now I'm just very committed and I've been training very hard….I just want to (stay focused) on the present, to hit the best shot I can in every moment, and we'll see how it goes, but I'm practicing very hard," Sanjuan said.
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Imagine this, you are sitting on a plane that is gliding 30,000 feet in the air. The realization and excitement of traveling to a new country, a new continent for that matter, tends to be the only capable thought. Finally one lands, standing with rather wobbly legs, and makes their way through the slithering, lingering lines of border patrol. One's excitement is quite robust, until the first words come spattering out of someone else's rigid mouth. The eagerness quickly vanishes and a puzzled, pale look slowly overcomes one's face.
"What in the world is this person trying to say to me?"
The specific thought might have come to mind for senior Ana Sanjuan, a member of the women's golf team. Sanjuan was born in Aviles, Spain, which is located on the northern edge of the beautiful country, adjacent to the Bay of Biscay. Sanjuan came to the United States her freshman year, when she decided to move to Bloomington and live in an entirely different nation.
"The language was the biggest adjustment. I thought I knew (English), but when I came here I didn't understand a word," Sanjuan said. "It was very overwhelming because I was like 'Oh my god, I don't understand anything.'"
She said this laughing, speaking near-perfect English.
Sanjuan, a SPEA management major, started playing golf when she was just five years old. She played tennis when she was growing up as well, as her father was a tennis player, and mentioned that a tennis racket was one of the first things she touched in her life. However, her father injured his knee and started to focus more on golf, which brought Sanjuan's sole attention to the sport as well.
"I didn't have the choice," Sanjuan said as she explained why she chose golf over tennis. "I think it was just the situation that my father was very into golf and I had been practicing almost every day since I was seven. I don't think there was something that made me stop playing tennis, it was just the situation that my father was more into golf."
She had been attending a high school in Madrid called Blume. The website explains Blume as "suitable for elite, international, Olympic, or Paralympic athletes." It houses roughly 33 different sports, from Taekwondo and Karate all the way to Table Tennis.
Sanjuan was not always certain that coming to the United States after high school was what she wanted to do.
"My decision to come to the U.S. came only a semester before graduating (high school)," Sanjuan said. "Before that I was not sure about coming to the Unites States. Suddenly it was Christmas and I was with my father and I said you know what, I'm not going to lose this opportunity, so I decided to begin the process of recruiting."
The opportunity she just mentioned related specifically to playing collegiate golf. Sanjuan stated that playing collegiate golf in Europe or Spain specifically is nearly impossible. She continued to explain that the mindset of Universities in Europe is if you miss class, that's your problem, and they aren't going to give you much leeway. While here in the United States and at Indiana University, assistance and understanding is given to athletes competing collegiately.
Since coming to campus four years ago, Sanjuan has seen constant improvement. She currently leads the Hoosiers with a 73.18 average, has had three top-ten finishes in her senior campaign and is looking to make her second straight NCAA Regionals appearance. Last season Indiana finished 15th at the regionals, as Sanjuan shot a +9 and finished 50th on the individual leaderboard.
"Making it to the regionals last year, that was awesome. When we were watching the TV and they told us that we made it, it was truly awesome because we practiced and worked so hard to make it…all of us were screaming because we were one of the last one's to make it. It was very nerve-racking and exciting," Sanjuan said.
A key to any athlete's success, Sanjuan understands both her strengths and weaknesses. She believes that the best part of her game is her iron play, admitting that she doesn't necessarily hit the ball as far as most of her teammates, but she believes her long irons are very consistent. In order to have continued success in their final three matches and the postseason, she admits that her short game needs improvement.
She also talks about how her mental toughness needs to be strong if she wants to make a run in the NCAA Regionals.
"I need to believe in myself, and I think that will be extremely important (for the postseason). Sometimes I feel that my coaches believe in me more than I believe in myself, so I need to improve on that," Sanjuan said.
Sanjuan contributes everything to golf. She understands that she wouldn't be where she was today if it wasn't for the game.
"I owe everything to golf. I came to the U.S., I have a full scholarship, and that is all because of golf," Sanjuan said.
The team has three more tournaments before postseason play. They go to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for the Hawkeye 'EL Tigre' Invitational. That is followed by the IU Spring Invitational in Bloomington and then the Lady Buckeye Invitational in Columbus, Ohio. The Big Ten Championships begin on April 21, and is being held at TPC River's Bend in Maineville, Ohio.
Sanjuan plans to play professional golf next year, as she will try to qualify for the European Tour.
"Right now I'm just very committed and I've been training very hard….I just want to (stay focused) on the present, to hit the best shot I can in every moment, and we'll see how it goes, but I'm practicing very hard," Sanjuan said.
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