Todd Alan McDonald, men’s golf

Todd Alan McDonald, ’17, started playing golf when his dad introduced him to the game at the age of four. Since, McDonald’s game has transformed from a way to bond with his dad to now competing as a collegiate athlete.

“It was just a fun way to kind of start hanging out with him at first and then it kind of evolved to me wanting to beat him,” McDonald said. “Now he just kind of follows me around and says he likes to watch me play more than him playing himself.”

When McDonald thought about playing golf in college, a close friend advised him to find the best school he could and then “if you can play golf there, great, but if not there are tons of other opportunities to play golf.” Fortunately, this advice led him to Washington and Lee.

As a senior captain, McDonald is working hard to implement what his head coach is teaching. A major goal for the team this season is to focus on the positives and to let the negatives go. McDonald helps “set the tone” for this positivity on and of the golf course. “I’ve probably had more fun this season than I have in past seasons and that’s pretty cool to me,” Mc-

Donald said. Not only does he want to focus on having fun, but he also wants to help “pass on the torch” to next

year’s captains. According to McDonald, there are great upcoming seniors that will make strong leaders for the team next year.

In the short-term, McDonald is focusing on his game and finishing his season strong. However, after college he plans to work at United Bank in Washington D.C.

Brooke Donnelly, women’s tennis

Women’s tennis captain Brooke Donnelly, ’17, has been playing tennis for 14 years, but she knows that this year will be her last year of competing at this level.

A two-time ITA All-American, Donnelly has also earned the Elite 90 award for Division III Women’s Tennis and ODAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year accolades.

Donnelly has had an extremely successful collegiate career thus far, but this year she wants to focus on enjoying her senior season and having fun with her teammates.

“I feel very lucky to play with so many talented, fun, and sincere people for my final season,” Donnelly said.

A major goal that she hopes to see her team achieve is winning the region and making it to nationals in Tennessee. According to Donnelly, the entire team has “a positive outlook for the rest of season.”

Since her time as a college athlete, Donnelly says her favorite memory came this year over Washington and Lee’s February Break.

“We didn’t have as many matches or have to travel as much this year, Donnelly said, “so we were able to take advantage of having some time off and had a lot of fun.”

Once she finishes out her senior season and graduates in the spring, Donnelly will continue on to work at an investment bank in New York City.