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Charlaine Coetzee Hirst (1992-95) is perhaps the most honored student-athlete in school history, and capped-off her college career when she was selected the first female student-athlete from a Virginia college to earn Today’s Top Eight award, the highest honor which the NCAA presents, as chosen by the NCAA Honors Committee. The three-time NGCA Division II National Champion received three major awards in 1995, including the prestigious Today’s Top Eight, along with being voted the Honda/Division II Athlete of the Year and the Virginia NCAA Woman of the Year, and was honored on back-to-back nights at the NCAA Convention in Dallas, Texas in January, 1996. Coetzee Hirst was a four-time NGCA All-American (1992-95), as well as a three-time NGCA All-Scholar Team (1993-95) honoree, leading the Lancers to NGCA National Championships in 1993 and 1995. She still holds the school-record for 54-holes (71-71-70--212), established while winning the 1994 national title, and her Longwood career scoring average of 79.15 ranks fourth all-time. A Honda Sports Award nominee for three-straight years, Coetzee-Hirst qualified for the 1998 United States Women’s Open Golf Championship, and also played on the FUTURES TOUR for nine years (1996-2004).
“Returning to Longwood is always like coming home,” explained Coetzee Hirst. “It is a very special place to me that holds very fond memories. It was an incredibly emotional evening for me; to remember the incredible journey that brought me to Farmville and Longwood from South Africa. Leaving my family behind and yet being welcomed almost immediately into the extended Longwood family. The induction into the Hall of Fame was an honour to me, my family and everyone who ever influenced my journey - I thank them all. I would never have achieved anything without the love and support of my family and friends and for that I am forever grateful.”
A native of Durbanville, Cape Town, South Africa, Coetzee Hirst is a 1995 Magna Cum Laude graduate as a history major. She is married to retired Air Force Lt. Colonel Jay Hirst, now a charter/corporate pilot, and the couple has one daughter (Alexandra), and now live in Pinehurst, North Carolina where Coetzee-Hirst serves as Director of Golf Schools at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club and is a teaching professional as a member of the LPGA Teaching and Club Professionals Division.
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