Success Stories
Golf
Luke Donald, MBE
From High Wycombe, Bucks, has reached the top of the golfing world. He has been part of the victorious 2004, 2006, 2010 and 2012 Ryder Cup teams (having missed the 2008 event through injury).
In 2011 he won the Accenture World Matchplay title and the BMW British PGA which elevated him to world #1. Luke was a CPOA client who graduated from Northwestern in 2001. In 1999 he broke Tiger Woods’ scoring record to become NCAA Div I National Champion. He is a member of CPOA’s National Board of Advisers.
In 2012 Luke defended his BMW PGA title at Wentworth. In 2011 he won the Accenture World Matchplay title and the BMW PGA which elevated him to world #1, a position he held for 55 weeks. Luke was a CPOA client who graduated from Northwestern in 2001. In 1999 he broke Tiger Woods’ scoring record to become NCAA Div I National Champion. He is a member of CPOA’s National Board of Advisers.
Martin Laird
Golfer Martin Laird from Glasgow graduated from Colorado State University and turned professional in 2004. He has won three times on the PGA Tour and has a best world ranking of #27
Karen Stupples
Karen graduated from Florida State and is originally from Kent.
She has two tour victories on the LPGA Tour, won the British Open, played for Europe in the Solheim Cup and is a member of CPOA’s National Board of Advisers.
Colette Murray
Colette, originally from Scotland, played college golf for Jacksonville State University (AL) from 2000-2004 and spent two years as an Assistant Coach at JSU before becoming Head Women’s Coach at NCAA Div I University of Tennessee @ Chattanooga.
Ross McGowan
Ross graduated from the University of Tennessee. He was English Amateur Champion was a 2x winner and 2nd in the Order of Merit on the Challenge Tour and is a European Tour player.
Robert Dinwiddie
From Durham, Ross graduated from Tennessee State University. He was Scottish, Welsh and English Amateur Champion, was a member of the Walker Cup team, was a 3x Challenge Tour winner and is currently a European Tour player.
Stuart Manley - Currently on the European Tour
Stuart graduated from the University of West Florida. He was a member of the Walker Cup team and is currently on the Challenge Tour.
Becky Morgan
Welsh born Becky graduated from the University of North Carolina @ Greensboro where she was an NCAA Div I All-American and is a current member of the LPGA Tour.
Tennis
Simon Earnshaw
Simon, from Yorkshire, graduated from Georgia College and State University in 1996, was Men’s and Women’s Coach of Armstrong Atlantic University (GA) between 199-2014 and has recently been appointed Women’s Coach at North Carolina State University.
He is the only Div II coach to have won men’s and women’s National Championships in the same year (2008) and his women’s teams have won five national titles.
Sam Winterbotham
Shropshire-born, Sam was a 4x NAIA All-American tennis player for Oklahoma Christian University from 1994-98.
After graduating he was an Assistant Coach at Baylor University (TX) before spending four years as Head Men’s Coach at the University of Colorado. In October 2006, he became Head Men’s Coach at the University of Tennessee where they have been ranked in the Top 10 nationally for the last four years.
Alice Barnes
Alice Barnes hails from Cambridge and graduated from Stanford University where she won the NCAA Division I doubles title, reached the singles semi-finals, was part of the team that won the National Championship and was voted NCAA Player of the Tournament.
CPOA also assisted her brother Adrian who graduated from Cal Berkeley and her sister Ruth who graduated from Northwestern in Chicago.
Richard and William Barker
Richard and William Barker from the West Midlands, played for Rice University (TX) where they were ranked as the number 1 doubles pair in college tennis for two years running.
Ed Corrie
Ed grew up in Hertfordshire and was a 2011 graduate of the University of Texas. His team competed at the NCAA National Championships for all four years and he was an All-American and an Academic All-American. Ed is now UK ranked #5, has a career high ranking of 219 and played in the 2014 All England Championships (Wimbledon).
Tiffany Williams
Londoner Tiffany William, a sophomore at Auburn University @ Montgomery, has helped AUM to win the 2013 NAIA National title (having also won the 2012 title) and she has been selected as a 1st team All-American for the second year in a row.
Charlie Farres
Freshman Charlie Farres from Hampshire was a standout at third singles in his debut season at Roberts Wesleyan College. He was selected to the NCCAA All-American First Team and also garnered ECC Rookie of the Year honours.
James Bryce
James Bryce is a native of Solihull who graduated from Samford University in Alabama. He has had coaching stints at Samford, Columbus State, St Leo and Mississippi State University and is now Head Women’s Coach at James Madison University in Virginia.
Field Hockey
Leslie Irvine
Leslie, originally from Northants, has been Associate Athletics Director of Sport Administration/SWA for Bowling Green University since 2010.
Prior to that, she was Head Field Hockey Coach at Stanford University for seven years, leading the team to three straight NorPac titles. From 1999-2001 she was a player, and then Graduate Assistant, at the University of Iowa. In her one season of competition, she led her team to an NCAA Final Four appearance and was an All-American.
Camille Gandhi
Londoner Camille was a 2011 graduate of Stanford University (CA). She was NorPac Rookie of the Year in 2007, helped her team to a berth at the NCAA National Finals and played for the USA U21 team which won the Gold Medal at the 2009 World Cup.
Rebecca Dru
Becky Dru has just graduated from Stanford University where she has been a two time NFHCA 1st team All-American. In addition, she has also been the NFHCA West Region Player of the Year, the NorPac Defensive Player of the Year and the NorPac Co-Player of the Year.
Soccer
Matthew Thompson
Matthew graduated from Slippery Rock University (PA).
He was an Assistant Soccer Coach at Robert Morris University (PA) for two years, spent seven more years as Head Coach at Slippery Rock and became Head Men’s Coach of perennial Div II national contenders, Lees-McRae University (NC), in 2010.
Kevin Ray
Kevin, orignially from Kent, graduated from the University of Montevallo (AL), then spent two years playing pro soccer with the Louisiana Outlaws and the Palm Beach Pumas and is now Head Coach at Huntingdon College (AL), a highly regarded NCAA Div III college. NCAA Division III college.
Tara O'Brien
Tara graduated from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania where she was the NCAA Div II statistical leader in points per game and second in goals per game. She led her team in points, goals and assists. She was selected to the Daktronics All-Atlantic Region First Team, Daktronics All-American Second Team and was the Lincoln University Female Athlete of the Year.
Swimming
Brooke Turner
Brooke, from Dagenham in Essex, graduated from Fresno Pacific University (CA). She was a 2x NAIA All-American and won National titles for 500 and 1650 yard freestyle, and along with her team mates, the 200 and 400 medley relays and the 200, 400 and 800 freestyle relays.
Athletics
Chris Mulvaney
Chris Mulvaney is from Cumbria and graduated from the University of Arkansas in 2004 where he was a multiple All-American in cross country, indoor and outdoor track.
In May 2004 he won the NCAA Division I 1500 meter title and in July he won the AAA’s 1500 meter title.
Natalie Pearson
In 2011 Natalie, originally from Sheffield, graduated from the University of North Carolina @ Asheville where she was a standout 100 and 200m runner. She broke school records for the 55, 60, 100 and 200 meters. She won the 100 and 200 meters at the Big South Conference championships and was named Outstanding Track Performer at the Big South Championships. She was named UNC Asheville Female Athlete of the Year for three years.
NAIA All Americans
Golfers Julian Taylor, Myriam Hassan and Billy McKenzie of William Woods University in Missouri and Joss Gosling of Northwood College in Texas, have all been named to the NAIA All-American 1st team.
