Scholar Stories: How Ghelfi’s Hard Work Has Led To Countless Achievements
12/11/2019 12:16:00 PM | Women's Golf, Features
Continuing the series that began in 2016-17, each Wednesday MGoBlue.com will highlight a Michigan student-athlete and their academic pursuits. These are our Scholar-Athlete Stories, presented by Prairie Farms.
By Jonah Wolf
For Hannah Ghelfi, the captain of the 2019-20 women's golf team, the University of Michigan was not on her radar for universities she was looking to attend. The Falmouth, Massachusetts, native was looking at staying closer to home along the northeast.
That was until head coach Jan Dowling made her an offer she couldn't refuse.
"Coach saw me play in a tournament and sent an offer," she said. "The campus and program made it an easy choice. Seeing the campus, it was one of those 'Aha!' moments."
From the moment she stepped foot on campus, Ghelfi instantly fell in love. Now in her senior season, Ghelfi has worked hard to earn her spot, but not without having to make plenty of adjustments.
Growing up, Ghelfi was a dual-sport athlete playing both golf and hockey. In her final years of high school, she was winning individual championships playing golf over the summer while also winning state and national titles playing hockey during the winter.
Ghelfi was raised to play hockey, taking after both her brother and father who also played. While beginning to turn her focus towards golf in her junior and senior years, she had to adjust from winning titles to not cracking the lineup card her first year at Michigan.
"That was the hardest thing," she explained. "It was definitely the most difficult adjustment starting at Michigan, going from winning to having to wait for the future. I knew going in that I would have to work my way up. I just tried to practice every minute I could."
The hard work paid off. Ghelfi progressed from making five total starts in her sophomore season to appearing in 10 events (nine starts) in her junior season. Ghelfi tallied career-best rounds in multiple events last season, and led U-M in the Windy City Classic and the Westbrook Spring Invitational. From the beginning of her sophomore year to the end of her junior year, Ghelfi went from making her first competitive starts to winning Team MVP and Most Improved honors.
"It was surprising," she said of receiving the awards. "Even without playing much freshman year, it is great to see that I was making an impact on the team, and that my teammates were appreciative of that."
Ghelfi's hard work translates to her academic success as well. As a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree (2018, 2019) and a three time U-M Athletic Academic Achievement award winner (2017, 2018, 2019), Ghelfi has made sure to focus on balancing her time as a student-athlete. Ghelfi is a business administration major in the Ross School of Business, and often has encountered difficulties in finding time to meet for her group projects or presentations due to constant traveling during the season.
"The athletics program is great in providing resources, but the toughest thing is the group work," she said. "I make sure to stay on top of things early, mapping out my week on Sunday nights and communicating early on with the people I am working with."
When she is not practicing or studying for exams, Ghelfi and her teammates enjoy weekly volunteer visits at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital.
"It is a great experience to go as a team and visit the hospital and the athletic department is really supportive in helping us sign up to volunteer."
Ghelfi knows that her schedule and work ethic is different compared to most, and is thankful for the resources this school has to offer to help her out. While she is unsure of what career she wants to pursue after graduation, Ghelfi now has her mind set on helping the team achieve two considerable goals in her final season.
One is to win the Big Ten championship. The other is to qualify for the NCAA Championships.
Ghelfi understands just how challenging achieving those goals will be. The Wolverines have never won a Big Ten team championship and last made the NCAA Championships as a team in 2017. But as a captain -- the program's first in at least a decade -- she's doing all she can to help those dreams become reality.
Serving as captain was something she didn't expect.
"The team grew from seven to nine players from last season, so coach wanted to add a captain. I definitely did not anticipate being chosen."
Ghelfi remains thankful for the opportunity and is aware of the importance of leadership, especially with a young team. With two-thirds of the team being underclassmen, Ghelfi must also take on a mentorship role as captain.
"Just trying to help out the younger girls wherever I can, helping out with the campus and those types of things," she said. "Everyone is great, plus the team is great which makes my job easier."
With Ghelfi being a team leader both on and off the course, she looks forward to her final season and knows the winning mentality and right mindset starts with her. Being a student-athlete studying business is no easy task, but Ghelfi is grateful for every opportunity the school has offered.
"The student-athlete life at Michigan has been an extremely incredible experience," she said. "I'm able to get a world-class education while playing the sport that I love alongside some of my best friends. Being a Michigan student-athlete is an incomparable adventure that has allowed me to grow in an environment like no other."
Players Mentioned
