Senior Circuit: Erin Wells
Wofford senior Erin Wells hails from the land of bourbon, basketball and beautiful horse farms. Almost everyone knows that Louisville is home to the Kentucky Derby, but only natives know that the area also features Fort Knox, famous baseball bats (Louisville Slugger), and fireworks (Thunder over Louisville, one of the largest displays in the country leading up to the Derby).
While graduating from Jeffersontown High School in Louisville, Wells was looking for a college where she could pursue both birdies and biology.
An avid golfer, Wells took a long drive to Wofford and decided the campus suited her to a tee. While her hometown prepares to host the Ryder Cup, she is concentrating on her senior year in Spartanburg, S.C.
“I picked Wofford because of the location, the size, and most of all to play golf,” says Wells. “When I came to Wofford I had intentions of being a biology major and considered going to medical school. I have definitely changed gears, though, switching to finance my sophomore year. I felt like it would give me more options and free up my schedule a little more to accommodate my golf schedule.”
Golf has been quite accommodating for Wells, the first Wofford women’s golfer to be named All Southern Conference in 2006-07. She had a pretty good month in March of ’07, winning Player of the Week and Player of the Month honors. She also won the Diet Coke Intercollegiate Tournament last year, the first Wofford women’s golfer to win an individual title.
While success has been par for the course for Wells, it hasn’t come easy. She has a recurring injury for which she has had surgery twice.
“I have come to be known as ‘Gimpy’ on my team,” she says. “Most of my time at Wofford I have either been in a great deal of pain or recovering from surgery, so the nickname has never left me.”
It doesn’t stop her from being active off the course or on campus. Wells is a volunteer firefighter who also works part time at the fire department. It’s something she’s done for three years now.
When she graduates from Wofford, she says, don’t be surprised if her life takes yet another dogleg turn. She’ll always have her old Kentucky home, but it sounds like she is pretty happy here in the Upstate now.
“I haven’t totally decided yet, but I have an interest in real estate and would like to pursue a career with that and see where it takes me,” she says. “I also plan on staying around Spartanburg or at least in the general area.”