DALLAS (SMU) -- SMU women's golf coach Jeanne Sutherland announced the signing of four student-athletes on Wednesday, welcoming Sarah Beqaj, Megan Chou, Maddi Olson and Nicole Vivier to the SMU golf family. 

"This is one of the strongest classes of student-athletes that we have signed at SMU." Sutherland said. "They will take our program to a high level of excellence.  This class is the first to see Trinity Forest Golf Club and the Payne Stewart Center in their recruiting visits and the combination of the academic excellence of SMU and these facilities made a large impact on these recruits.  We are excited to coach these athletes and see what they are capable of achieving over their four years at SMU."

Sarah Beqaj - Toronto, Ontario, Canada

















A member of the junior Canadian national team, Beqaj placed 3rd in the Canadian Junior Girls National Champions, U17. She played in the 2018 World Junior Girls Championship, in addition to a host of results in the US. Beqaj qualified for the USGA Four Ball Championship in 2017 and 2019, and will play in the event in 2020. Despite being from Toronto, Beqaj holds dual-citizenship and plays in Florida as well, winning the Flordia Regional 1A Championship in 2018. She was named to multiple publications First Teams in Florida from 2016-2018. An honor roll student at the Benjamin School, she was on the Head of School list twice in high school. 

"She comes to us with a lot of international experience. Her selection to the Canadian team raised the level of her practice, her competitiveness and her fitness level." Sutherland said. "As a young player, she worked with one of my college golf friends, Ann Carroll. Her pro now is an SMU grad, Ryan Chrysler in Jupiter, Fla., so the communication and rapport continued throughout the process of her recruitment. Her coach on the Canadian squad, Matt Wilson, called her the glue of the team and lauds her great attitude and positive approach to her daily activities. We are very happy to add Sarah to the team."

Megan Chou - Los Altos, Calif. 



Pinewood School's Megan Chou has lettered four years in a row and represented the school as an individual player at the Northern California Regional Championship for three years. She has had numerous top 10 finishes with AJGA including; 2019 Under Armour /Jordan Spieth Championship, 2019 Sergio and Angela Garcia Foundation Junior Championship, 2018 Lizette Salas Junior Championship and a 3rd place finish at the 2018 AJGA Junior at Lake Merced. In 2017 she was named the Future Collegians World Tour Player of the Year. Prior to her high school career, she was a finalist at the 2015 Drive Chip and Putt at Augusta National.

"Megan has been coming to our summer golf camps for many years and it has been fun to see her game progress. She has really improved over the past year and a half and her motivation to compete at the highest level is strong." Sutherland said after the signing. "She started working with Brian Inkster in the Bay Area and has seen her scoring become more competitive. Megan brings a lot of tournament experience to the team and has clear goals for what she wants to accomplish as a Mustang."

Maddi Olson - Abilene, Texas



Olson is the reigning Texas 5A Individual State Champion, playing at Wylie HS in Abilene. Before the school's golf team made the move to 5A last season, Olson was the 2017 4A individual state champ, and followed that performance with a 3rd place finish in 2018. In 2017-18 she was honored as the 2017-18 Texas 1A-4A High School Golf Athlete of the Year, and a district champion the past three seasons. Her trophy case is full of trophies from her 13 High School tournament wins. She's competed in world events, placing 2nd at the 2019 IMG Academy Junior Wolrd Championships. Olson has three wins on the Legends Junior Tour and was chosen for the 2018 Legends Junior Ryder Cup Team, who won the championship. The Abilene native excels in the classroom as a member of the Texas High School National Honor Society and has earned academic awards at Wylie HS.

"Maddi is a fearless competitor on the golf course and possesses great power and presence. She loves to play in big events and brings her best to those tournaments." Sutherland said. "Maddi is also a strong student and will do well at SMU in whatever she chooses to study. Her high school career has prepared her to be a great teammate and eventually a team leader for us. It will be a lot of fun to coach a player with her athleticism."

Nicole Vivier - Austin Texas



A standout at Texas golf powerhouse Vandergrift High School, Vivier comes to SMU as a two-year letterwinner. She was named All-District and All-Region this year, building an already impressive career. She has nine Top 10 finishes during her time at Vandergrift, including a win at the 2019 Lakeapalooza and a runner-up finish at the 2019 District Tournament. She carded a 71 at the 2019 Texas Junior Amateur at Kingwood to win the event by 5 strokes. She has won a handful of junior events over the last two years, including a stretch of six tournaments in 2018 where she didn't finish lower than 3rd, and collected two wins in the process. 

"Nicole's high school coach called me to tell me about a new player on his team who was flying under the radar. Matt Wernecke had also coached Sophia DiGesualdo at Vandegrift HS in Austin and knows talent." Sutherland commented. Nicole moved to Texas from the Bay Area and she has taken off as a competitor. She is great under pressure and plays smart golf. Her work ethic and high aspirations will come together to allow her to do well at the college level.  She works with golf professional Buck Mayers and he has helped her add distance and consistency to her ball striking. It will be good to see Nicole's continued progress."