This year's Lehigh Invitational (October 21-22) will be extra meaningful for the Lehigh women's golf program.
"Our tournament always takes place in October during Breast Cancer Awareness Month," said head coach Mary Kate Lynch. "With that in mind, we have decided to take pledges for birdies (one stroke under par). I'm hoping every year, we can continue to make a difference."
Having taken part in Brown University's Tournament in the past (and with the event not happening this year), Lynch and the Mountain Hawks thought it was the right time to pull the trigger on birdies for breast cancer.
Unfortunately, breast cancer has hit close to home for the Lehigh women's golf program.
"This year, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer so I was really inspired to make an impact," said Lynch. "Then three days before October, my sister announced she was diagnosed with breast cancer, which further made me realize I was in the right place and this was the right time and situation to try and make an impact."
In a moment of extreme sadness, anger and frustration, the Mountain Hawks are turning negative emotions into something positive.
"I threw all my frustration and sadness into this tournament," said Lynch. "It's really made me realize how important this event is for us.
"When I told the players about this event, we used the slogan, 'no one in our family fights alone.'"
The tournament is extra important considering multiple loved ones from the Lehigh women's golf family are battling, or battled, the terrible disease.
Freshman Iris Shin's mother received a diagnosis two decades ago.
"My mother was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer 22 years ago when she was in her 30s," said Shin. "She happened to find a lump in her chest one day and got it biopsied immediately. She thankfully caught the cancer fairly early and was treated with chemotherapy and radiation for about a year. Although many harsh side effects were brought on, she was lucky the treatments were less severe because of the early diagnosis."
The leader of the women's golf program, Lynch's family has been through a lot, all coming in the past year.
Coach Lynch and her mom
"My mom (Jane Williams) was diagnosed last January," she said. "She had just recovered and gotten over kidney cancer the prior year. We went through that, she battled and got a clean bill of health.
"Then January hit."
A little less than 10 months later, Jane is on a positive track so far.
"She's been through treatment and is doing well currently," said Lynch. "She's back to playing golf and just waiting to get that clean bill of health on her next mammogram."
When things were looking up for Jane, the family was hit with tough news about Mary Kate's sister Kim Williams Robb.
"She's still going through the diagnosis stage," said Lynch. "She's a lot younger, so it's even scarier. She was also a great athlete, competing in gymnastics and track and field at East Stroudsburg University. She was a gymnastics coach as well. She's a strong human being and I know she'll be okay.
"Obviously having both of them impacted this year has taken my breath away," Lynch continued. "It's frightening. Now, I feel like whatever I can do to make an impact is really going to help my family and a lot of families."
Next Monday and Tuesday, the Mountain Hawks will be focused on helping and honoring those from the past, present and future who fought, are fighting or will be fighting breast cancer.
"Our players have said it's going to be fun to focus on birdies for breast cancer, not really how they're playing," said Mary Kate. "It will be one hole at a time, which is what we always try to do. If they're not playing well, they know they can still make an impact on a given hole if they make a birdie."
The impact includes both funds and awareness through telling their stories.
"I am excited to raise funds to find a cure for this horrible disease," said senior Rebecca Markunas, whose grandmother battled breast cancer, but later lost her battle to pancreatic cancer. "It will definitely make putting for the tournament more exciting and will serve as extra motivation to drain putts."
Rebecca Markunas
Monday is going to be Wear Pink Day.
"We're going to have items at the invitational for all participating teams – wristbands, ribbons, hair ribbons and things like that," said Lynch. "Teams are asked to wear a pink uniform piece as well."
The Lehigh Invitational, and how the program is now thinking about the tournament (fighting cancer), brings life into perspective.
"I can sit here being upset," said Lynch. "Why is this happening, why is this going on? But I don't really have time to be upset, so I'm going to channel all those emotions into something I can control.
"A lot of my players are going through things in life as well," she continued. "All this has really changed my perspective as a coach. There are all these elements to our lives, not just the sport we're playing. I need to be cognizant of that fact and be aware of what's going on in all their lives."
The beauty of this year's tournament is that the fight against breast cancer, and winning, go hand-in-hand. The more birdies the Mountain Hawks make, the better they will perform.
"Obviously winning is always important, but I want to make sure this team leaves Lehigh making an impact in their communities and whatever they want to do," said Lynch. "We want to be great golfers, but we can use golf in a way to also help others.
"They're all amazing leaders already and I really want this to inspire them and show that if something impacts them in this way, they can make a difference whenever they're faced with this kind of adversity in their lives."
