Kim Lewellen, who assumed the role of Virginia women's golf coach in July, is no stranger to success and celebrity.
Lewellen, however, will have some fairly big shoes to fill, as former Virginia women's golf coach Jan Mann's career included NCAA Regional Championship berths the last three years and a 13th-place finish at the 2005 NCAA Championships. Now, after Mann's retirement, Lewellen will face the challenge of picking up where the former coach left off, relying on her previous experiences as a player, coach and reality TV star.
Prior to coming to Charlottesville, Lewellen coached men's and women's golf at The Citadel during the 2003-2004 season and then stepped in as coach at East Carolina University after the previous coach quit during the middle of the 2006 season, Lewellen filled the role seamlessly, leading ECU to its first Conference USA Championship. In addition to the conference championship, the team qualified for the NCAA Regional Championship.
"I just took it all in and tried to get to know the girls as best as I could," Lewellen said in reference to the ECU players. "We ended up winning the first conference championship in school history, so I'd say our season was pretty successful."
Lewellen said she is hoping to build on the success of her predecessor at Virginia, who left a team that enters this season ranked 28th nationally and that features strong recruits in the incoming class. Ultimately, the goal is to win a national championship.
"I think she's going to be really good for the team," sophomore Carly Truitt said. "I know the weaknesses in my game, but she has encouraged me to practice and play with a purpose."
As a player on the North Carolina women's golf team from 1990 to 1993, Lewellen faced many of the challenges and pressures through which she now coaches her own players. The time she spent at UNC helps her to relate academically and athletically to Virginia athletes because both are demanding ACC schools, Lewellen said. In her senior year, Lewellen earned first-team All-American honors and led the Tar Heels to an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Championships.
After graduation, Lewellen spent a year playing in Europe before earning a spot in the Future's Professional Golf Tour, on which she competed from 1997 through 1999.
Lewellen's career has also led her to less traditional golf competition. For any sports reality TV aficionados, Lewellen may look familiar, and indeed, she is the same Kim Lewellen who took part in The Golf Channel's "Big Break V: Hawaii." On the show she competed against 11 other aspiring golf professionals for exemptions in major tour events, among other prizes. Lewellen lasted until the 10th of 12 weeks.
The Golf Channel asked Lewellen back for "Big Break VII" and gave her a chance to compete on "Fore Inventors Only," which showcases ambitious inventions in the golf world.
"It's led to some great opportunities," Lewellen said. "For instance, I wore my U.Va. gear at the last show I did.It was a great way to get our team the exposure and get the word out about Virginia golf."
Such enthusiasm for the Virginia program is one of the most important things Lewellen brings, Truitt said.
And as a relatively unheralded sport in college athletics, Virginia women's golf may not afford Lewellen and her players the exposure -- and pressure -- of cable TV. Nevertheless, Cavalier fans have high expectations for her future success on and off the course and hope to see similar success from the players on the Virginia women's golf team.
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