When Taylor Collins was growing up, she never thought she would star at the university down the street from her Davie residence.
Collins, 30, who now lives in Fort Lauderdale and is the second assistant pro and assistant merchandiser at Coral Ridge Country Club in Fort Lauderdale, is headed to the Nova Southeastern University Hall of Fame.
“I honestly didn’t think it was an option until after I graduated and one of our other players on the team was inducted in the Hall of Fame,” Taylor said, referring to current LPGA member Sandra Changkija. “I was just hopeful that I would be, too. I think it is a good way to cap off everything I did at Nova.
“I think it is pretty awesome to be in the Hall of Fame,” Collins said. “As an athlete, you want to reach the highest point that you can where you are and I am glad I reached it.”
Collins joins St. Louis Cardinals star pitcher Miles Mikolas, former swimmers Erin Black, Oskar Nordstrand and program-launching rowing coach John Gartin to make up the 12th NSU Athletics Hall of Fame Class.
The Class of 2019 will be inducted into the NSU Athletics Hall of Fame during a gala banquet ceremony on Nov. 5 in the Rick Case Arena at the Don Taft University Center in Davie.
Collins was a St. Thomas Aquinas High School 2007 graduate and competed for NSU from 2007 to 2011. She proved to be a key leader for a Nova Southeastern women’s golf team that delivered a historic championship trifecta by winning NCAA Division II National Championships in 2009, 2010 and 2011.
The 2009 title marked the first ever by a Sharks team across all sports, raising the standard for what has since become one of the nation’s premier programs. Collins set the tone as a freshman with the first of her eventual three All-America honors, leading the women’s golf team to its very first Sunshine State Conference Championship.
Another national title as a sophomore, followed by SSC and a National Championship as a junior ensued, yet it was her senior season that proved to be unrivaled.
Not only did the Sharks collect another SSC title in 2011, but Collins made sure to keep the national championship streak intact by producing one of the most memorable performances on the grandest stage of DII women’s golf.
On day three of the 2011 NCAA Division II National Championship, she posted the lowest round in program history of (-6) 66, which also set the DII record at a national tournament for the lowest single round in relation to par. Collins’ efforts eventually propelled her to become the 2011 individual national champion as well, as her score of 10-under par set the new national championship, 72-hole record.
In all, Collins closed her illustrious NSU career as the No. 3-ranked player in Division II, and still to this day holds five career records. She finished with four career individual medalist honors, including three as a senior, and just two years removed from NSU, was chosen as the winner of Big Break Mexico, earning entry into the LPGA’s Lorena Ochoa Invitational.
“We knew we were a strong team and a good team,” Collins said. “I don’t think we really realized what we were doing and that we were breaking any records. As a team, we got along really well, had a good time and I think we each pushed each other to be better…I guess with hard work, good things come.
“My fondest memories when I look back at that time is the friendships on the golf team and having Amanda (Brown) as our coach,” Collins said. “I loved working out and we had some great strength and conditioning coaches and trainers. You learned a lot and it taught you to work hard outside of golf.”
Collins earned her undergraduate degree in Sport and Recreation Management from NSU in 2011. After winning the Big Break, Collins played on the Symetra Tour before finding out she has rheumatoid arthritis, which also curtailed her professional aspirations.
Now, with no regrets, she takes pride in working with the junior golfers at Coral Ridge Country Club. She estimated that about 70 percent of her clinics are with junior golfers.
“I love working with juniors,” said Collins, who is US Kid’s certified. “That is the favorite part of my job and why I will continue to do it and not stop. I like forming them when they are young so they have good habits and don’t develop many bad habits. I think since I’m still young and played all of my life that I have a lot that I can share with them and keep it fun for them and create good golfers that can play the rest of their life.”
Gary Curreri is a South Florida Community News correspondent.