Four years ago, women's golf coach Dan Brooks traveled to the USGA Junior Open. During the tournament, Brooks started watching a Californian named Alicia Allison, who played with a fire that devoured the rest of the field.
"I thought, here is someone we need around-a kid that wants to win and has this fire," Brooks said. "She was this bundle of energy."
Allison, a junior, is at her best on the golf course in situations like match play that enhance the competitive nature of the game. But Allison does not try to limit her energy to time spent on the course. During a break at practice earlier this fall, the junior asked Brooks his opinion on current events. What started as an informal conservation turned into a heated debate with Allison leading the charge.
"She just nailed me on politics," Brooks said. "I mean, she just nailed me. She was so intrigued by political matters. At that time, I knew that Duke with its academics and athletics was the perfect choice for her."
While the intellectual aspects may have always factored into Allison's thoughts about college, the idea of playing golf was not initially as apparent. Growing up in Santa Ana, Ca., Allison wanted to be a gymnast. Her father introduced her to golf, but the only motivation that kept Allison interested in the game was the quarters and dimes that she and her sister could earn for birdies and pars.
"When I first started playing, I wasn't any good," Allison said. "All of the other girls were so serious, and I couldn't beat any of them. It was bad."
But when Allison turned 15, things changed in a hurry. Almost overnight, Allison shaved five to six strokes off of her average. By the end of the year, she had won the California state championship. As a result, the all-county cross country runner moved from the gymnasium the golf course, where she played alongside fellow neighborhood golfer Tiger Woods. After twice earning AJGA All-America during high school, Allison had accomplished almost everything possible in the competitive world of California youth golf.
When it came to her college decision, Allison headed east for a different atmosphere by choosing Duke over Stanford. When she reached the Gothic Wonderland, Allison began where she had left off in California, serving as a model of consistency in her first two years.
As a freshman, Allison played in all 11 of her team's tournaments, producing a 76.6 scoring average. In the NCAA East Regionals, she placed seventh overall, helping Duke to finish seventh in the nation.
As a sophomore, Allison-along with senior Kathi Poppmeier and freshman Jenny Chuasiriporn-was one of three Blue Devils who played in every tournament. While again recording a 76.6 average, Allison collected five top 10 finishes. Despite her tallies, she became frustrated with what she viewed as a lackluster performance.
"At times, I stopped enjoying the game," Allison said. "I had to step back and see what it meant to me. I started looking for other areas. There are so many things that I am interested in,other than just golf."
While many golf coaches might question the dedication of players with avid interests in fields that do not contain greens, Brooks actually prefers that his players can turn to something outside of golf. As a history major, Allison has developed a thirst for environmental issues and policies.
"Golf is such a mental sport," Brooks said. "Thankfully, at Duke, kids can distribute their energy into interests other than golf and develop into people that have balance in their lives. It is an asset in every respect for someone to be interested in other things."
Teammates appreciate the balance that Allison, known for her relaxed personality, brings to the team. Younger teammates have even counted Allison's enthusiastic personality as a reason why they chose to enroll at Duke.
"Alicia loves talking about issues," Chuasiriporn said. "She is not all golf and that really helps our team."
Allison finished the fall season with two top-10 finishes, one of which occurred at the Fall Preview-a tournament with many top-ranked players, held at this year's national championship course in Ohio. Although Brooks summed up the fall as "pretty good golf against the best competition," Allison believes that she is playing below her ability.
Perhaps part of Allison's dissatisfaction lies in her refocusing her golf-related goals from individual honors to team goals. The Blue Devils, who finished third overall in the Fall Preview, enter the 1997 season as the country's third-ranked team, with a realistic chance of seizing their first national championship.
"In high school, I achieved all of my personal goals," Allison said. "But I enjoy the game more now. It's a lot more fun to share with others and win as a team. I think it would be awesome to give coach a national championship."
After all, Allison has already given her coach a civics lesson on national politics.
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