UVA Women’s Golf signs Top-10 class of 2021 juniors
Posted on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020, 6:27 pm
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Courtesy UVA Media Relations
Virginia women’s golf coach Ria Scott announced today (Nov. 11) the signing of a two-person recruiting class of top-10 junior golfers who will join the Cavalier program next fall. The class includes Amanda Sambach (Davidson, N.C.) and Megan Propeck (Leawood, Kan.).
“Megan Propeck and Amanda Sambach have proven records of excellence on the golf course, in the classroom, and as people,” Scott said. “They have both won at the local, regional and national levels, and are comfortable on golf’s biggest stages. They both play golf with a great balance of grace and athleticism. Megan and Amanda are team players who have plenty of experience on successful teams and have excellent academic records. We can’t wait to see what Megan and Amanda accomplish at UVA, and beyond.”
Sambach has been ranked as high as No. 27 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings and as high as No. 5 for American competitors. She ranks No. 33 in the current Rolex American Junior Golf Association Rankings and is the No. 14 ranked player in Golfweek’s junior rankings. She is the No. 8 player for the class of 2021 by Junior Golf Scoreboard and No. 5 in the class according to Golfweek. Earlier this month, she tied for seventh at the Symetra Tour Championship while playing with an amateur exemption. She was 11th at the event in 2019.
She will compete at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in 2021 after the event was postponed in 2020.
Sambach won the 2020 North & South Junior Championship at Pinehurst thanks to shooting 68 in the final round and went on to compete in the 2020 North & South Women’s Amateur and the 2020 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship. A six-time American Junior Golf Association champion, she took medalist honors at the 2020 Fayetteville Open and shared the individual title at the 2020 Make-A-Wish Foundation Open.
This year Sambach served as a player representative for the AJGA Board of Directors. She picked up AJGA All-America honors in 2019 and 2020 while also earning AJGA Academic All-American honors in both of those seasons.
In 2019, Sambach was a member of the winning U.S. Team at the Ping Junior Solheim Cup in Gleneagles, Scotland. That year she also won the AJGA Rolex Girls Championship and was the PKBGT Tour Order of Merit Champion. She also placed first at the PKBGT Invitational, the AJGA Callaway/Ollie Schniederjans Junior and the PKBGT Masters.
“Amanda has phenomenal ball control and is incredibly poised,” Scott said. “She has proven that she can compete with anyone – as shown by her great finishes at the Symetra Tour Championship over the last couple of years and representing the United States in the Junior Solheim Cup. What’s most impressive about Amanda is that as she won on the junior golf stage, she still continued to work toward long-term improvements for her game.”
Sambach won three consecutive North Carolina private school Division I state titles from 2018 to 2020 while competing for The Cannon School. She helped her high school to three state titles from 2017-19.
Propeck is ranked the No. 10 player for the Class of 2021 both in Golfweek and Junior Golf Scoreboard’s rankings. She figures No. 51 internationally on the Rolex AJGA Junior Golf Rankings and is the No. 18 player for her class. She is currently ranked No. 28 by Junior Golf Scoreboard.
A two-time Kansas Junior Amateur Champion, she won the 2020 AJGA UHY Kansas City Junior and the 2019 AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior. Propeck was named the Kansas Golf Association and Kansas City Golf Association’s Player of the Year for 2018 and has been the top-ranked junior in the state since 2018.
“One of the first things we noticed about Megan’s golf record is her desire to compete year-round, despite coming from a climate that does not always allow great conditions for preparation,” Scott said. “Megan does not back down from a competitive challenge, or an opportunity to help the team she is on. She’s got a grinder’s mentality – a player that can find success in varying conditions.”
This year Propeck won the Missouri Class 4 High School title with a score of 6-under par and was the runner up for Class 2 in 2019. In 2017 and 2018 she was the Missouri Class 2 High School champion. She holds the Missouri State High School Athletic Association records for lowest 36-hole total on par 70 and par 72 course and the single-round records on par 72 and par 73 course. The 6-under round she fired in this year’s state championships was also a state record.
She has led her high school to four consecutive runner-up finishes in Missouri for its respective divison.
