Saginaw Valley State University Athletics will be releasing a series of student-athlete spotlights, which will feature some of our Cardinal senior student-athletes from the 2019-20 academic year. Stay tuned to www.svsucardinals.com over the next few weeks to get to know our SVSU seniors a bit more.
Our next Cardinal to be featured is Mitch Hughes, who is a Men's Golf student-athlete. Mitch is a native of Davisburg, Michigan and has been a member of the team since the 2015-16 season. He competed in two of those seasons and ranks second all-time in program history for two-year careers with a stroke average of 76.6.
His favorite spot on campus is the walking trail that goes behind the Health and Human Services Building.
Mitch's favorite memory while competing for the Cardinals was his round at the 2019 GLIAC North Invitational, hosted by Ferris State, where he started with three straight birdies and had seven total in the round with eight bogeys and three pars for a one-over 72. It was the biggest rollercoaster of a round he's ever been on with a swing of emotions the entire time.
Hughes is set to graduate in May 2020 with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. He has secured a full-time mechanical engineering position with B&P Littleford in Saginaw, Michigan once he has completed school.
Mitch reflects on a couple of his favorite road trips at SVSU...
"The first was the last tournament of the fall. The practice round for that tournament was by far the most fun I've ever had on a golf course, just laughing the whole time, pretty sure everyone on the course could hear us. Shout out to Jared for shattering the net course record that day. Then we went on to have our best team performance of the year for the actual tournament. The second was this year's spring trip. It was a really nice time with great weather, played some good golf and got to watch and cheer on coach as he made his final walk up 18 for the team spring trips. The last day we went to Bay Hill to watch the PGA tour and that was a great experience to watch all professionals play up close and realize that they hit just as many bad shots as we do. It was a great day to relax from the trip and hangout with my friends"
Mitch Hughes on his experience as an SVSU Student-Athlete...
"So I've been on this team for five years and this was my first year I have ever competed in the lineup, having only played in one road tournament as an individual before the fall season started. I worked extremely hard over the summer to improve my game and it paid-off. Competing in these tournaments and going on these road trips made me realize how great sports are with the nerves, the excitement, the competition, the ups and downs. It was all just a great experience. I would have preferred it wasn't as a fifth year rookie but this fall season was probably the most fun I've had in a long time. I was really looking forward to the spring season and was playing well during our spring trip then all this happened. I am just happy I had the fall to see what college athletics was all about!"
SVSU Men's Golf Head Coach Joe Vogl on Mitch Hughes...
"Mitch is one of those guys that kept hanging around year after year, determined to make it into the lineup. This fall he finally made the lineup in the #3 position and averaged 76 for this past fall season. It's a shame his senior year was cut short, and I feel so bad for him, particularly because he waited so long and worked so hard to get into the lineup. Mitch maintained a high GPA in completing his engineering degree and will no doubt be an alum SVSU will be proud of."
