Girls golf: Camas senior Emma Cox took college hunt into own hands

“I found the school online, found the coach and emailed her saying this is who I am and this is what I’ve been doing and if you’re interested, I’d love to talk to you,” Cox said. “Within 30 minutes she responded to me, and within 20 minutes of that, I was on the phone talking to her. We had a really great conversation, and after a lot of calls and emails, I went out and visited the school and I just really fell in love with it.”

Cox committed to Towson last fall, setting her mind at ease and allowing her to focus all her efforts on a bounce-back year with the Papermakers.

Cox has qualified for state in each of her first three years at Camas, helping the Papermakers earn runner-up finishes in the team standings every season.

As a sophomore in 2017, Cox placed tied for third at the Class 4A state tournament and was selected as The Columbian’s All-Region player of the year.

Last year, Cox placed 15th at state.

“Last golf season, I felt like I went backwards in my progress,” Cox said. “So I’ve really been working on maintaining my posture in my golf swing, getting stronger, compressing the ball, and really honing in on my short game skills.”

And working on your golf game over the winter in Southwest Washington can be a challenge. Sometimes, Cox has had to improvise.

“A lot of courses don’t have indoor facilities in Southwest Washington, so I’ve had to create my own space at my home,” Cox said. “I set up a mirror in my room, and I have this space where I do all my drills. I just do that in my room. Sometimes I hit a few (plastic) balls and hope they don’t ricochet around my room. That’s all you can do sometimes when it’s snowing and freezing.”

Cox returns for the Papermakers along with fellow state qualifier Ashley Clark and varsity returnee Wenny Cai. But this year’s squad will be younger.

“I’m really excited about our team,” Cox said. “I really love the girls on this team. We have a lot of sophomores and freshmen who I think are going to be a big focus for the team this year. We have just a handful of seniors returning. It’s not going to be quite the same team as last year, but I’m just really hoping that everyone will have fun and we’ll just try our best, qualify for state and do our best up there.”

Cox said it would be great to cap her high school career by finally getting past Bellarmine Prep at state. But she’s also learned from past experience that there are dangers in putting too much pressure on yourself.

“I’d love to get first this year,” Cox said of the Papermakers. “I’d love to get second. But really I just want the girls to have a really fun time and do our best.”