Maryland women’s golf boasts nine players from five different countries: the United States, Mexico, Taiwan, Thailand and France.
Unlike most other Division 1 sports, golf recruiting has become predominantly international, coach Kelly Hovland said. Hovland spent parts of her summer in Europe and Thailand scouting talent for Maryland.
“Fortunately, the University of Maryland is a very diverse campus,” Hovland said. “It’s a very attractive location and kind of has that diverse background that is attractive to international players.”
Transitioning to college brings its own difficulties. Coming to a country with a different culture adds another element to that.
Maryland’s coaching and support staff help the players adapt. They celebrate players’ birthdays and take them to international grocery stores such as H Mart to help them enjoy foods they had at home.
“We do all of those things to make sure that they’re in an environment and a situation that they can then come play good golf, because the other things are taken care of,” Hovland said.
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While food differences and language barriers are expected, differences in cultural norms sometimes catch players by surprise.
Junior Nicha Kanpai is from Chiang Rai, Thailand, where physical contact is less common. Kanpai and her other Thai teammates quickly experienced her first culture shock on the course after she joined the team as a freshman, when the roster was more European.
“They were like hugging and getting close,” Kanpai said. “We were like, ‘Oh no!’”
Team bonding activities help players experience each others’ cultures. Panassaya Somchit, a senior from Bangkok, Thailand, said she has enjoyed experiencing U.S. traditions with her teammates.
The team goes to sporting events, especially Terps football games, to introduce international members to American traditions. While sophomore Julia Garcia is from the U.S., she enjoys going to events as a team and seeing the others experience things for the first time.
“If one of us is going to a game, everyone is going,” Garcia said.
Outside of school activities, the team does everyday things together. Some of their favorite activities include getting ramen and playing Nintendo at someone’s house, Setzer said.
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International players from all Maryland teams also gather to plan events, share cultures and celebrate holidays through WorldWide Terps, a student-run organization. While the women’s golf program has built a strong internal bond, Worldwide Terps allows all the international athletes to form that connection.
Graduate student Karla Elena Vázquez Setzer, who is from Mexico and is WorldWide Terps’ vice president, noted that the organization’s Thanksgiving dinner helped athletes meet different people and feel less homesick during holidays. The group plans to host its third college athlete holiday dinner this year.
The international students eat dinner together and become accustomed to different traditions, such as Thanksgiving, while interacting with players in different sports, Vázquez Setzer said.
“That’s the beauty of golf,” Vázquez Setzer said. “We could be from one side of the world or the other, but golf brings us together and helps us build lifelong relationships.”
