Former Broadneck Athlete Makes History As AACC’s First Female All-American Golfer

Anne Arundel Community College’s (AACC) Ela Simpson has had a storied athletic career in her two years at the Arnold campus.

Simpson capped off that athletic prowess by becoming the first All-American female golfer at AACC after finishing seventh at the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III women’s tournament in Chautauqua Golf Course in New York. It was a four-day, 72–hole tournament and she finished with a 93-stroke average per 18 holes for the tournament. Simpson won the Region 20 golf tournament by 24 strokes.

“I’m beyond proud of Ela’s accomplishments on the golf course,” said AACC athletic director Duane Herr. “Ela adds her All-American achievement to an impressive resume at AACC, which includes four sports, including a women’s soccer national appearance and a women’s lacrosse national championship.”

Simpson played guard on the AACC women’s basketball team this year and played forward in soccer and attack in lacrosse. This was Simpson’s first year playing golf for the Riverhawks.

“I don’t know of too many athletes from Anne Arundel County who can say they have played in three national championships,” said Jim Griffiths, who was Simpson’s coach in soccer and lacrosse at AACC.

To provide an example of Simpson’s athleticism, she was primarily self-taught in golf. She began playing golf with the encouragement of her grandfather.

“He used to take me to the driving range, and at first, I thought golf was boring,” Simpson said. “But he was always positive and motivated me to keep playing. Then in my sophomore year, I went out for Broadneck’s golf team and started to enjoy the game, make new friends, and I improved.”

Simpson’s strengths are the length of her drives and pinpoint short game. Off of the tee, Simpson averages between 200- to 230-yard drives.

“Ela is really good at every component of the game,” said AACC golf coach Dave O’Donnell. “She’s 100% committed to improving her game, and because we don’t have a women’s golf team yet, Ela practiced with the men’s team the entire year. She has a true love of the game and has an outstanding positive attitude.”

That positive attitude, as well as being extremely focused, are critical to success on the golf course.

“In golf, you compete within yourself and you can’t blame other people if you have a bad shot,” Simpson said. “The mental challenge of the game is to stay positive and not get frustrated when you hit that bad shot.”

Simpson will attend Stevenson University this fall and continue playing golf for the Mustangs. She plans on majoring in criminal justice and would like to be an Anne Arundel County police officer after graduation.

“I give credit to my grandfather for my positive outlook and exposing me to golf,” Simpson said. “In fact, he was the first person to text me after the national tournament.”

O’Donnell said Simpson’s impact will resonate long after her time at AACC.

“We will miss Ela next year as she has added so much life into the team,” O’Donnell said. “Partly because of Ela’s success, we will add a women’s golf team to the college’s athletic offerings next year.”