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.

Next up in our series is Women's Golf student-athlete, Emily Barker. Emily is a native of Lake Odessa, Michigan and was a member of the program's first ever team in the 2016-17 season. She earned team MVP honors that first season and is a four-time Academic All-American. She helped lead the team to four top-five finishes this past fall, including victories at the FSU Lady Bulldog Invitational and the Mike Lalaeff Memorial Invitational. Barker picked up her first collegiate victory at the Lalaeff Memorial Invite as well. Barker is the president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee as well.  

Emily's favorite spot on campus is the SVSU Fieldhouse in the Ryder Center, which also houses the Eastland Golf Center. 

Barker's favorite memories while competing for the Cardinals were all of the practice rounds where she got the opportunity to play along with her teammates, especially when they all hit improbable shots that they had no business even attempting. Her favorite road trip was when the team was on its way to compete in the NC4K Classic in Ohio. There was a charity event to take place after the practice round where the team would compete in a dance competition. They spent most of the trip finding the perfect song. 

Emily enjoys running as a hobby, with it serving as a great way to challenge her outside of golf and the classroom. 

Barker will graduate in May 2020 and is set to attend the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy. 

SVSU Women's Golf Head Coach Joe Vogl on Emily Barker...

"Emily was my first recruit into the newly established Women's Golf Team four years ago. She was the cornerstone as we built from there. I was drawn to M for her high academics, a pretty good high school player, a respected leader and at the time, a Pre-Med major (now Pre-Pharmacy). She has exceeded everything I was expecting out of our first recruit. A four time Academic All-American, and one of the best and most determined personalities you'll ever meet. SVSU couldn't ask for a better ambassador!"

--- www.svsucardinals.com ---