TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Hernando Today

Allen: A Major Player at Embry-Riddle

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Ex-Leopard Tara Allen

ADVERTISEMENT

By MARTY MILLER

Hernando Today correspondent

Published: February 3, 2009

It just seems that for former Hernando High golfer Tara Allen, her career as a collegiate golfer gets better with each passing season.
This past fall the Brooksville junior won her third tournament of her college career and with one year remaining of eligibility at Embry-Riddle University in Daytona Beach, she still has some goals to accomplish.
The past fall, Allen won the Flagler Fall Slam tournament, shooting 18-hole rounds of 71-73--144.
That concluded a fall season that had the three-year starter finish in the Top 8 of all four events she played in.
Now Allen begins to prepare for her final season at ERU and is looking forward to having a real choice of careers when she graduates.
Last year Allen finished third in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Women's Golf Championship after leading the tournament following the third round. She was also named first team All-America for the second time along with being named to the first team All-Academic team, also for the second time.
With one year left, Allen has at least two choices about what kind of career she wants to take up after graduating.
"I've already gotten my Bachelor's degree and I have one year left of school for my Master's," said Allen. "But deciding on what kind of career I want, that's still down the road."
Besides her golf, Allen spent the past summer working as an intern at 4Frontiers, a design company in New Port Richey that is working on designing living quarters for a future Mars expedition.
"I really enjoyed working there and it's something I could find myself doing for a career," Allen said.
Allen is also thinking about trying to qualify for the LPGA or Futures Tour this fall.
With the Q-School being played at the Embry-Riddle home golf course of LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Allen admits she has thought about being a pro golfer.
"I'm still considering playing in the Q-School tournament this year, but my first priority is schools," she said. "I'm not really concerned about making the LPGA Tour, but I might like to try the Futures Tour, play some tournaments in the area, and concentrate on graduating in 2010."
"There's no reason I can't earn my playing card and still not go to school. I've made a lot of friends here and I really want to graduate before making my mind up about anything," said the ERU senior.
One thing that concerned Allen going into this year was the condition of her back. At 5-foot-2, making a solid golf swing can cause all sorts of trouble with a person's back.
"It was alright this year," she said. "I spent a lot of time working on exercises to strengthen it and it held up pretty well."
The choices she faces may end being tough, but Allen says she wants to take her time and make the right one.
"Having school and something else to choose from takes the pressure off me," she added. "It makes the choice more of a personal option; I can follow my heart and make the choice that's best for me."

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT