Unionville HS golfer Mary Grace Dunigan takes 3rd in PIAA Golf Championships
KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. — With a professional golf instructor for a father, it鈥檚 no surprise that Mary Grace Dunigan is a competitive golfer. To cap off her successful high school golf career, the 17-year-old Unionville High School (UHS) senior gained a ranking of Top 100 in the U.S. for her graduating class and recently earned an impressive 3rd place finish in the PIAA State Championship.
Despite having a golf club in her hands since the age of 4, Mary Grace played very little competitive golf before joining the UHS girls鈥� golf team as a freshman. She finished 5th in the State Championship that year and began tournament play in earnest the following summer. That鈥檚 also when she set her sights on playing at the collegiate level.
When asked about her run up to States, Mary Grace explained that the team (UHS Girls Varsity Golf) was undefeated in their league, but had some difficulties in out-of-league play. 鈥淎fter the team didn鈥檛 play as well as we鈥檇 hoped in Districts, it came down to just me as an individual representing our school at States,鈥� she says. Unfortunately, Mary Grace was sick with bronchitis leading up to the State Championship and couldn鈥檛 prepare as much as she would have liked. 鈥淚 was a little underprepared, but I knew I had a great game to rely on, so I just played relaxed and succeeded.鈥�
Her father, John Dunigan, is quick to add, 鈥淢ary is resilient and relentless on the course. She鈥檚 got a gift for bouncing back. We鈥檙e so very proud of her.鈥�
While Mary Grace says she would have loved to have won the Championship, she鈥檚 proud of her accomplishments and happy about the connections she made through the sport. 鈥淲hen I play tournaments, I play with girls from all over the country. It鈥檚 a very unique learning and social experience.鈥�
Now that her high school golf career has ended, Mary Grace is looking ahead to next year. After graduation, she will matriculate to The College of William and Mary, where she will play D1 golf and continue her education. 鈥淚 absolutely love the school,鈥� exults Mary. 鈥淗igh school golf made me so much more passionate about being a competitive golfer. I鈥檓 extremely grateful for my team, my coaches, and my parents for helping me get to the next level.鈥�
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