Waterloo athlete in Switzerland for world golf championship

Although she was given a set of golf clubs by her father when she was five, Devon Rizzo admits it took her some time to warm up to the sport.

“I hated the game when I was little,” says Rizzo, a fourth-year student in Waterloo’s management engineering program. “In the beginning it was really frustrating and it took me a long time to actually like playing.”

Now, she not only enjoys golf, she’s competing as part of Team Canada at the 2014 World University Golf Championship taking place in Crans-Montana, Switzerland from June 23 to 27.

Rizzo has been called nothing short of spectacular since she joined the University of Waterloo’s golf team in 2010:

• won three Ontario University Athletics (OUA) individual gold medals in just five events in her first season
• medalled in six of seven OUA events this past season
• named an OUA all-star for the fourth straight year
• awarded Marsden Trophy this year as the Warrior’s female athlete of the year

“Playing golf at Waterloo has given me so many different experiences that I might not otherwise have had the chance to go through anywhere else,” says Rizzo, the captain of the Warrior women’s golf team.

Named for the third time to the five-member Team Canada for the Canadian Interuniversity Sport International Program, Rizzo expects her time in Switzerland will be amazing.

Using engineering skills on the golf course

For Rizzo, golf and Waterloo’s management engineering program have something in common: they’re both challenging.

“The program teaches you how to think and solve problems – skills that are definitely applicable on the golf course.”

Although competing in the World University Golf Championship means time away from the classroom, Rizzo’s classmates and professors are not only supportive, they’re excited about her being part of Team Canada.

“I’ll probably send out some tweets to let everyone know how I’m doing,” she laughs.