DENVER – Our MSU Denver student to student-athlete question-and-answer series with MSU Denver Athletics intern Liz Rosenberg continues today.

Today's subject is women's golfer Winnie Shaw.

Rosenberg: You're from Wichita, Kan., which is somewhat rare for MSU Denver student-athletes, who are typically from Colorado or western states. How did you wind up at MSU Denver?
Shaw: I found MSU Denver from my friend who was looking to play baseball in college. His mother is a high school-to-college advisor, and she told me about it. I had never even heard of it, despite visiting Denver a few times. So, me and my friend were just looking at it at the same time. I emailed (coach) Stefanie (Ferguson) and started to talk to her, and eventually came out for a visit. I liked the area, the school and the girls on the team. Kika (Dzoan) had a dog with her and that was a good selling point! 

Rosenberg: So, your roommate is your teammate, Kika, what's it like being a roommate with her? 
Shaw: This is our first year living together, just three months. We are getting along well, and she has a husky which is extremely entertaining. Huskies are goofy so she's always entertaining us.

Rosenberg: You had a lot of roles in the athletic department during your time here, you are very involved. What roles or jobs have you been doing?
Shaw: Last year I was working basketball, softball, and soccer games. I was selling tickets, running the scoreboard, whatever needed to be done. I just really love sports in general and it is fun for me to be around that environment. I'll go to any sporting event I can. Might as well get paid while doing it, too, if I can. I grew up in a small school and I was always involved in everything, specifically sports. I feel comfortable knowing what's going on, and I love the competition and the energy of it all, so I'm glad to help in any way. 

Rosenberg: You said you were super involved in sports throughout your life. Have you played multiple sports besides golf?
Shaw: Yes, going to a small school it was really easy to. In the fall, I played tennis and golf, while managing men's football and soccer. In the winter I played basketball and indoor soccer. In the spring, I played soccer and did track. 

Rosenberg: So you were busy! Has golf been the overall sport you knew you wanted to play in college, since you were so dynamic in other sports?
Shaw: It was definitely not the "end all be all" sport, but I am glad I went with golf. It is definitely a challenge and probably the hardest sport. It is heavily a mental game. Ask anyone, my mental game is not very strong. I know it is good for me and by the end of my senior year I hope to look back and be proud of all my progress in golf. I choose to believe I have made some progress on my mental game thus far. Actually, my second school I was looking at was for playing tennis.

Rosenberg: You sang the national anthem at a basketball game, tell me about that experience.
Shaw: I sing NONSTOP, but when I'm around people I try to tone it down if I'm not around them that often. I worked at a summer camp and would sing on stage in front of a couple hundred people so it wasn't really a big deal to sing in front of people. But the national anthem on the other hand? … That's a whole different story. It's a big song. I wasn't singing stronger and loud songs like that at the time, so I was really untrained. It's like maxing out on bench press, waiting three months without training, then trying to hit the same weight … it's just not going happen. That's kind of where I was at, and I lost my voice a couple weeks before and couldn't really sing, so I was pretty nervous. I didn't want to be one of those people that forget the words. People seemed to like it and it was fun to be known for something else besides golf. It was fun. It was actually to get my team out of running around Sloan's Lake. If I sang it, we didn't have to run!

Rosenberg: Moving onto your recent year in golf, how has the season played out because of COVID-19? 
Shaw: We had two tournaments this fall, when we usually have four. The other two are usually out of state, so we had the two in state. We went to Thornton to play Todd Creek and Pueblo to play Pueblo Country Club. Usually at a golf tournament, you play with other players and you are matched up with each group. At Todd Creek we had to wear masks for warm-up until we got out to our holes. We took our masks off and stayed away from everyone after that. We couldn't rake the sand traps, and we tried to have just one person touch the flag and we didn't have any paper score cards, it was all just live scoring on someone's phone. It was not far from what we normally do, but when we played at Pueblo we all played the same hole at the same time. It's unusual but I thought it was so fun! I enjoy being around them and playing golf with them. It was fun having Stefanie and (assistant coach) Maggie (Hartman) there the whole time. We never interacted with the other team, which was a little weird too.

Rosenberg: How do you think the spring season will play out?
Shaw: There's still a lot of question marks going on. There is talk about not leaving the state and possibly getting eligibility back, which would be interesting. If we can compete like normal, who knows, we will have to wait and see.

Rosenberg: Would you personally want to play two more seasons if you get an extra year of eligibility? 
Shaw: It depends on what my credits look like around that time. If I have all my credits and I am ready to graduate I will probably graduate. I would love to keep playing golf because in reality, after college I won't be able to compete in golf any more. I am very competitive and need that competitive outlet, so it's nice to do that and grow. Golf is a good life lesson, as is any sport. Golf for me has been the most impactful. It just depends on what I need to do with school in the future. We'll see what happens. 

Rosenberg: Finally, do you have any words of wisdom for athletes or something you live by?
Shaw: Heavy question! I am always an advocate for working hard, and that if you're putting in the time you'll be rewarded. I like to push and stay busy. I like working for bigger and better things. I think that working hard for what you want and surrounding yourself with people of the similar mindset is good for you.