Featured Senior: Lexi Towner

What was your most memorable moment throughout your career at Willamette?

There are too many memorable moments for me to pick just one so I will talk about two. For me personally, my most memorable moment was when I realized I was playing towards a personal best this past fall at Willamette Valley Country Club. I shot a 78 that day, and it truly hit me when I was on the 17th hole and my approach shot to the green was the purest and most solid shot I had ever hit in my life. It landed two feet from the pin and I made a birdie on that hole. I felt absolutely invincible after that shot and I knew I was going for the best score of my college career. My other most memorable moment from my college career is when Sam Hinton won the individual title at the NWC Tournament my sophomore year. I had never felt such pride for my team and program as I did that day. Watching him sink a 20-foot birdie putt to take it all was absolutely incredible. We all stormed the green and hugged him, and every one of us, regardless of how good or bad our day was, was so proud of him and everything he did. That was a magical moment for me.

Describe your feelings when you found out the season was canceled.

When I initially found out about the season being over, I am not sure I processed it completely. I was sad for sure, but I wasn't as heart broken as some of my other senior athlete friends because with my sport specifically, I will have it for the rest of my life. I will be able to play golf until I am old, so I did not feel like I was losing a significant part of myself. It wasn't until one of my old teammates who had graduated, messaged me to extend support that it truly hit me what I was losing. Everything I had worked for and everything that I still had left were stripped away in a matter of hours, and I lost everything I deserved to experience as a senior athlete. My last conference matches were gone and my last chance at accomplishing my goals were gone. I was devastated and heartbroken and so incredibly sad.

How have you been handling life in quarantine? Are you home or on campus? What's it like learning online and not having practice?

I am handling quarantine life as best as I can. I am still in Salem and trying to keep myself occupied and busy with a bunch of little things. It was very weird initially to not go to practice or physically go to school, but I think I have gotten used to online school and having more free time. It is still weird to not physically be in class, but Zoom itself does not feel like an abstract and strange experience. Zoom is actually pretty incredible to be able to connect us in the way that it does. I still wish I was in class, but I have made my peace with being online for the rest of the semester.

What has your experience as a Bearcat taught you?

My experience as a Bearcat athlete has taught me how to deal with all of the stresses that life can throw at you. Being a student-athlete has really taught me time management and being accountable to the goals and requirements I set for myself. I feel like I know how to be a productive human because of my experience being a student-athlete.

If you could leave one piece of advice for future Bearcats, what would it be?

Enjoy your sport and everything it has to offer you. There are so many memories you are going to make being a Bearcat and they will be some of your most cherishes memories. From travel to competition and what happens at practice. Enjoy it all and really live for it.

What are your future plans following graduation?

I plan on enrolling in an online master's program for Sport Psychology through the University of Western States. I plan on getting a job either at a golf course or in a gym to start down my path of becoming a coach. I want to work with athletes for my first career and I want to help them improve their game and their skills.

From their teammates

What was your most memorable moment of Lexi?

Kiki Fierstos: I will never forget the phrase, "good for you" in response to a debate in the car on the way to a tournament. Also, Lexi winning the whole tournament, that was so cool and she really deserved it.

Meghan Hook: Lexi won a whole tournament and still acted as if nothing had happened afterward. This humble attitude is both inspiring and hilarious.

Kristen Barclay: When she forgot her golf shoes the first day of a tournament and had to use my running shoes instead and completely destroyed them on the course.

How has Lexi impacted you in your sport or in life?

Kiki Fierstos: Lexi not only helped me whenever I needed it, but always made playing feel a little less stressful. What I mean by this is, if my shots were trash that day and I ended up in the river or long grass or even lost my ball, she'd never judge me or make fun of me. She understood that golf was new to many of us on the team and would always make sure we knew that it was okay to mess up. Lexi was such a supportive teammate and that impacted my outlook on golf because sometimes it was really hard to to keep my own chin up. I wasn't the only one that believed in me because Lexi did too.

Kristen Barclay: I refer to her as coach Lexi because she is constantly teaching me tricks to be a better golfer

Analyssa Ruiz: She is one of the reason I have succeeded in golf, she is always there for me when I have questions and have literally know idea what I am doing I know I can always count on Lexi to be there.

What makes Lexi special?

Kiki Fierstos: Lexi is smart, amazing at golf, caring, and a hard worker. She has so many great qualities it is really hard to pick one. Just to elaborate on one though, is Lexi's sense of work ethic. Lexi is good at so many things and that is because she is a hard worker. Lexi is already naturally good at a lot of things, but her work ethic is what sets her apart. She has great grades, is an amazing golfer and maintains a job all throughout the school year, and I think that that's really admirable.

Kristen Barclay: She's always willing to help a teammate who is struggling on their game, even when she is trying to work on her own game. She would always stop to help us figure out our problem first.

Analyssa Ruiz: She is actually really good. What makes her special is that she didn't care if we were good or not. She was just thankful that for her final season she got to be a part of a full golf team. She always tried to help us be better and helped us love the sport.

Is there anything Lexi brought to the program that will have a lasting impact?

Kiki Fierstos: Lexi is always the first person to congratulate us on our successes, big or small. I will never forget her celebrating others, even though she was the best of all of us. I'm going to miss having her as my "mom" on the golf team and miss asking her for help and advice. We will never have somebody replace the support and sass that Lexi brought to our team. In the end, I'm just really thankful to call Lexi a friend and I will always cherish our jokes, her happiness and when she roasts people.

Meghan Hook: We will miss having Lexi to keep the rest of us in line. Without her we won't have anyone to tell us to be quiet in public.

Kristen Barclay: Her clear love of the sport of golf was very evident throughout my years of playing golf with her. She showed the rest of the team how a true golfer competes and has helped every single player improve their game. We went from not having a full team to having more than that, and that is mainly because of her. She makes people love the sport so much. She is such a great leader for the women's golf program.