NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Shreya Ganta knows a thing or two about sibling rivalry and it all started when her dad took her brother golfing.
"I got a little bit jealous so I was like 'No, take me along with you,' so that's kind of how it started. My brother was better then me initially and I couldn't have that being the older sister," she joked.
From there she worked on her skills until she caught up to her brother, but there was other competition out there. When she reached high school, Shreya was cut from the schools team after tryouts. For some people, their career may have ended there but Shreya is a competitive spirited motivated by failure.
"I put in a lot of hours that next summer. I got to the golf course at around 6am before it got really hot and then I was out by like 10. Then I would come back after the sun set and play 9 holes with my dad."
Playing collegiately wasn’t exactly part of the plan, until a coach, who was at a tournament recruiting another player, saw Shreya's performance on the links, finishing in the top three. But her dreams of being a doctor came first, and Christopher Newport University was the place she could pursue both.
"Golf was actually not a requirement for me for undergrad it was just kind of a cherry on top situation."
A cherry on top situation turned into an illustrious career. Shreya was named a three-time WGCA All-American Scholar and she made history as the first CNU player to qualify for the NCAA Division III National Championships more than once in her career. She posted a team-best 76.5 stroke average, ranking second all-time at CNU, and picked up CoSIDA Academic All-District honors for the second straight year in 2022 as well.
"I never really held myself to that standard that I would be able to achieve these things but now that I know that I can if I set my mind and heart to it, I think I'm going to use that for my future goals and more career related goals."
She credits her father for setting the blueprint for a work ethic she's tried to emulate and there's no doubt she's made him proud. Although her decorated athletic career is coming to an end, Shreya begins a new chapter applying to medical schools but the sibling rivalry with her younger brother lives on.
"He still practices with me. He's great, he's a good sport. He's about eight inches taller than me and outdrives me by a mile but it doesn't help when you out drive me into the trees now does it?".
Shreya graduated this spring with a cumulative 3.9 GPA majoring in Cellular, Molecular, and Physiological Biology. If she continues at the rate she's going now, there's no doubt we'll see her sporting a white coat soon enough.