Bridgewater hires first women’s golf coach

Bridgewater College President George Cornelius and director of athletics Curt Kendall have announced the hiring of Tarah Miller as the college’s first head coach for women’s golf, a program that will begin play in the fall of 2012.

Miller is currently an apprentice in the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) and is expected to receive full membership in the Association this coming November. She is also a certified member of the United States Golf Teachers Federation (USGTF).

“Tarah has a very good background in the sport both as a player and as an instructor,” Kendall stated. “She comes to us from Northern Virginia, an area that we can certainly recruit when we begin the program. Women’s golf is a sport that is just beginning to grow in Division III so we are getting in at the ground level. Tarah will be able to recruit and develop young players as we move the program forward.”

Miller began her collegiate playing career at Wake Forest University before moving on to Saint Francis University where she played her final three years. While at Saint Francis, she qualified twice for the NCAA Division I Regionals and finished in the top five at the North East Conference (NEC) Championships in each of her three years. She won four collegiate tournaments during her career, was named NEC Golfer of the Week four times and was a Saint Francis Academic-Athletic All-American.

Prior to her collegiate career, Miller was a standout on the junior golf circuit where she played in many national tournaments. She won the Pennsylvania Girls’ State Amateur title and won the regional qualifier for the USGA Girls’ Amateur. As a high-school senior she posted a 78.4 scoring average and placed fourth in the conference.

Miller is a lead staff instructor at The Everybody Golf School in Alexandria, Va., where she conducts lessons for golfers of all abilities at the Pinecrest Golf Course and Oak Marr Golf Complex. She is also involved in the EAGLE Junior Golf program in Arlington, Va., and provides golf instruction in after-school enrichment programs to elementary-aged children.

This past year, Miller coached the girls’ varsity golf team at Westfield High School in Chantilly, Va. One of her players, Division I signee Shabril Brewer, placed fourth at the Virginia High School League’s 2010 Girls State Championship.

Miller graduated from Saint Francis University with a bachelor’s degree in computer science with concentrations in programming languages and information systems, and a minor in mathematics. She was a member of Kappa Mu Epsilon, a mathematics honor society.

It was announced in April, following the approval of the board of trustees, that women’s golf and men’s lacrosse would be added to the Eagles’ roster of NCAA Division III sports teams. The Eagles join Hollins University and Washington and Lee University as Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) schools sponsoring women’s varsity golf.