FARMVILLE, Va. – Shannon Briggs, a CP Women's Tour PGA of Canada competitor, professional golf instructor and former collegiate golfer, was named the new head coach of the Longwood women's golf program, Longwood director of athletics Troy Austin announced Friday.
 
Briggs comes to Longwood from Vancouver, British Columbia, where she was most recently a certified professional golf coach at international golf training center franchise GolfTEC. She is affiliated with the Professional Golfers' Association of British Columbia and is sponsored by Surespan Ltd. and Adidas/Taylor Made. Briggs has participated in a Women's PGA Canada Tour event with the likes of Lori Kane, as well as several PGA of British Columbia tournaments.
 
"Shannon exhibited a great desire to lead the Longwood women's golf program, and we are equally excited to have her join our family," Austin said. "Shannon blends her strong collegiate experience with her unique insights as a professional. I look forward to watching the program advance under her leadership."
 
Briggs is a certified coach through the PGA of Canada and has logged over 3,500 golf industry hours. Her golf experience spans nearly 20 years as a player and coach, including her four years on the women's team at Grand Valley State University.
 
"I'm excited to join the Longwood family, not only for the opportunity to lead this program, but also to become a part of this great university," Briggs said. "When I visited campus, I was drawn to the experience Longwood provides for its student-athletes and the school's commitment to balancing academics and athletics."
 
A native of Fonthill, Ontario, and member of the prestigious private course Lookout Point, Briggs posted early low rounds placing second at the Ontario Juniors and was named to the provincial and inter-province teams. Briggs excelled at athletics in high school, being named the Female Athlete of the Year for her graduating class at Notre Dame in Welland. Shannon's collegiate career at Grand Valley State included an NCAA tournament win and four straight Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) academic and athletic all-conference awards. As a team captain during her freshman year, she helped guide Grand Valley State to a runner-up finish at the NCAA Division II Tournament while earning All-GLIAC honors that year.
 
Briggs graduated from Grand Valley State in 2005 and received her bachelor of business administration degree in management and marketing with an emphasis in finance. Her career at Longwood signals her return to the United States after spending the past eight years in British Columbia.
 
"Longwood's campus and the beautiful community of Farmville embody the heritage and culture that make Longwood so appealing," Briggs said. "As a young coach, I'm energized and excited to continue this program's historic tradition of excelling both in the classroom and on the golf course."
 
Briggs' resume outside of golf is equally impressive. In addition to being a certified teacher of yoga for golfers, she is an accomplished skier and a Red Bull Crashed Ice competitor and was a member of the Grand Valley State club ski and hockey teams as an undergraduate. Shannon was also a member of the British Columbia Skier Cross Team in 2009 and has trained with the Canadian National Olympic Team. In 2004, she traveled to Duluth, Minn., to compete in the Red Bull Crashed Ice event – a sport that combines downhill skiing and ice skating – and placed third in the women's division.
 
The Longwood women's golf program will make its debut under coach Briggs on Sept. 7-8 at the Towson Invitational in Phoenix, Md. That will be the first of four fall meets for the Lancers, who boast a young roster with two freshmen, two redshirt freshmen, one sophomore, one redshirt sophomore and one junior for the 2014-15 season.

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