A student-athlete can be defined as someone who displays excellence in the classroom as well as performing well in their respective sport. Perhaps the most respected college athletes encopasses this drive for success in both areas.
In that case, none shall be more respected than Mississippi State senior golfer Jared Jimenez.
Hailing from Richmond, Va., Jimenez is the lone senior among a very youthful golf squad this season.
“We have four new guys on the team this season after losing six guys last year,” Jimenez said. “We are a young team that is starting to get better and better with every tournament.”
Jimenez is in his third season on the team after walking on in 2003. Since that time, he has played in nine tournaments for the Bulldogs, including two this season. Perhaps more impressive however is the dedication that Jimenez shows off the course.
“I really enjoy my time as a biological science major,” he said. “I am also the student M-Club president and that means a lot to me, and I don’t mind putting in the time to making it successful.”
Last season, Jimenez was chosen as a member of the 2005 SEC Golf Good Works team, as well as being named to the SEC spring academic honor roll for the second consecutive season.
This season, Jimenez has played an instrumental role in helping the younger players, develop not only into better golfers but also into better students.
“When the freshmen came in this year, they asked a lot of questions,” Jimenez said. “The biggest thing that I stressed to them was the importance of time management and sacrifices you have to make. I wanted to get the point across to them that playing golf in high school is much different than playing golf in college. It is a big adjustment adapting to the higher level of schoolwork and golf.”
Making that transition even tougher is the level of competition that the Bulldogs face. That is one reason Jimenez says he loves competing on the course for MSU.
“We compete in one of the best conferences in the country in the SEC,” Jimenez said.
While looking back at his years at State, Jimenez said, he would rather not be anywhere else.
With the season winding down, Jimenez says that the team is not far from getting to where they need to be.
“The team will travel to Auburn this weekend and then play in the SEC Championship,” Jimenez said. “I guess you could say it is a rebuilding year, but the team has a lot of potential.”
After competing in the Billy Hitchcock Intercollegiate this weekend at Auburn, Ala., State will travel to St. Simons Island, Ga., to compete for the SEC Championship April 21-23.
A good showing in these two tournaments could determine if the Bulldogs travel to Orlando, Fla., for the NCAA East Regional. The Regional will be held May 18-20, while the NCAA Championship will be held June 1-3 in Sunriver, Ore.