The Rise: Tuesday Testimonials with Jessica Potter '08
10/3/2017 1:14:00 PM | Women's Golf, Video
Jessica Potter, a San Francisco golf alumna and 2008 graduate for the Dons, is donning a different uniform these days, complete with white coat and stethoscope. After graduating from USF, Potter's educational path went through the California School of Podiatric Medicine at Samuel Merritt University, where she graduated in 2015. Now, Potter is in her final year of foot and ankle surgery residency in Portland after making the decision to go pro in something other than sports despite having her opportunities to play golf for a living.
"It was a difficult decision for me when it came time to decide whether or not I was going to pursue playing on Tour or continuing my education," she said in a 2015 interview with the Vancouver Sun. "I flip-flopped for quite a while about it. At the end of the day, golf will always be a passion of mine. I love it, I love competition, but I had always had this (medicine) in the back of my mind."
This year's Tuesday Testimonial series will focus on the pioneers of USF athletics who have contributed to "The Rise," and who will be featured in an upcoming documentary profiling some of the pioneers that have played and coached on the Hilltop. Potter's journey to San Francisco seemed to be sealed as soon as she stepped foot on campus, as it only took one visit to assure her she was a fit for the program and University.
"Academics have always been extremely important to me, so in looking for a school that's something I had to consider very closely, and I felt that USF had such a great reputation for their academics so that already put them high on the list for me," Potter recalled in this Tuesday Testimonial. "The team was great, the coaches were great, being in San Francisco, which is to this day one of my favorite cities, and being close to my family and friends who were all on the West Coast. Everything just fit so perfectly for me that I remember it was my first recruiting visit and I came back and cancelled all the other ones that I had scheduled because it just felt right."
Never one to shy away from competition on the course or in the classroom, Potter was a three-time All-West Coast Conference golfer for USF, earning distinction in 2006, '07 and '08 after carding top-five finishes in the championships three consecutive seasons. The Dons came in second all four seasons Potter played, and she won the 2006 Royale Cup National Canadian Amateur to earn an exemption to an LPGA event and land on the Canadian National Amateur Team.
But she's still not sure she could get a tee time on one of USF's home courses if she tried, which makes her all the more grateful that it used to be a weekly happening while playing for the Dons.
"The Olympic Club is renowned. Everybody who plays golf knows what The Olympic Club is, where it is, and how lucky people are to play it," noted Potter. "So for us to be there every Tuesday and Thursday for four years, I still can't even believe it. I wonder if I could even get on today – probably not.
"Having access to that and playing those courses and being with the men's team who's also practicing and playing alongside you and that being ok, us being there, that's huge. Golf predominately has been a male sport, and to an extent still is a male sport, so things like that make a large difference as well. Being able to have the same opportunity as a male."
Now in the 45th year of Title IX, those opportunities for women in the USF golf program and beyond continue to grow, and many will be profiled in USF's upcoming feature documentary. "The Rise," will be seen this spring, released in conjunction with National Girls and Women in Sports Day, and airing on NBC Sports California in February. Get caught up on this season's Tuesday Testimonial series on USF's YouTube channel.
"It was a difficult decision for me when it came time to decide whether or not I was going to pursue playing on Tour or continuing my education," she said in a 2015 interview with the Vancouver Sun. "I flip-flopped for quite a while about it. At the end of the day, golf will always be a passion of mine. I love it, I love competition, but I had always had this (medicine) in the back of my mind."
This year's Tuesday Testimonial series will focus on the pioneers of USF athletics who have contributed to "The Rise," and who will be featured in an upcoming documentary profiling some of the pioneers that have played and coached on the Hilltop. Potter's journey to San Francisco seemed to be sealed as soon as she stepped foot on campus, as it only took one visit to assure her she was a fit for the program and University.
"Academics have always been extremely important to me, so in looking for a school that's something I had to consider very closely, and I felt that USF had such a great reputation for their academics so that already put them high on the list for me," Potter recalled in this Tuesday Testimonial. "The team was great, the coaches were great, being in San Francisco, which is to this day one of my favorite cities, and being close to my family and friends who were all on the West Coast. Everything just fit so perfectly for me that I remember it was my first recruiting visit and I came back and cancelled all the other ones that I had scheduled because it just felt right."
Never one to shy away from competition on the course or in the classroom, Potter was a three-time All-West Coast Conference golfer for USF, earning distinction in 2006, '07 and '08 after carding top-five finishes in the championships three consecutive seasons. The Dons came in second all four seasons Potter played, and she won the 2006 Royale Cup National Canadian Amateur to earn an exemption to an LPGA event and land on the Canadian National Amateur Team.
But she's still not sure she could get a tee time on one of USF's home courses if she tried, which makes her all the more grateful that it used to be a weekly happening while playing for the Dons.
"The Olympic Club is renowned. Everybody who plays golf knows what The Olympic Club is, where it is, and how lucky people are to play it," noted Potter. "So for us to be there every Tuesday and Thursday for four years, I still can't even believe it. I wonder if I could even get on today – probably not.
"Having access to that and playing those courses and being with the men's team who's also practicing and playing alongside you and that being ok, us being there, that's huge. Golf predominately has been a male sport, and to an extent still is a male sport, so things like that make a large difference as well. Being able to have the same opportunity as a male."
Now in the 45th year of Title IX, those opportunities for women in the USF golf program and beyond continue to grow, and many will be profiled in USF's upcoming feature documentary. "The Rise," will be seen this spring, released in conjunction with National Girls and Women in Sports Day, and airing on NBC Sports California in February. Get caught up on this season's Tuesday Testimonial series on USF's YouTube channel.
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