North Carolina Central University

GOLF

             By NEIL AMATO : The Herald-Sun
             nga@herald-sun.com
             May 7, 2001 : 6:48 pm ET 

             This much we know: Jameshia Levister can hit a golf ball like few other women
             around here. 

             And plenty of men would die to have her length off the tee. 

             Levister, a sophomore in her first year with the N.C. Central golf team, was the CIAA
             rookie of the year, a feat that is more impressive when you consider that the CIAA
             has men's teams only. 

             Levister, who played one year at a Florida junior college, also was the Eagles' MVP
             this spring, playing a schedule that concludes this weekend with the National
             Minority College Golf Championship in Port St. Lucie, Fla. 

             N.C. Central coach Pete Hayes said Levister will compete in that three-day event in
             the women's independent division, which is set up for players such as her who play
             at colleges without women's teams. 

             Levister has been playing golf for most of her life, first hitting a ball in her family's
             back yard in Franklinton. Her father, James, has played golf for more than 20 years,
             and young Jameshia felt the need to play copycat one day. 

             "He was just out there practicing, and I wanted to do it," Jameshia said. "It's been
             snowballing since then." 

             The snowball got rolling when Levister won a trophy in her first tournament, at the
             age of 6 in Tallahassee, Fla., where her family lived at the time. After her family
             moved to Ocala, Fla., she had a stellar career at Belleview High, missing out on the
             state finals by one shot. By then, playing against the girls seemed fairly easy. 

             "I've been playing with men all my life - my father and his friends - for as long as I
             can remember," she said. 

             Hayes learned about Levister from James Davis, a friend to both Hayes and James
             Levister, whose daughter liked the idea of going to school near her grandmother in
             Louisburg, Viola Williams. 

             She practiced alone at Hillandale Golf Course, sometimes going out on chilly winter
             afternoons that were foreign to her Florida upbringing. 

             "If it was over freezing, I tried to get out there," she said. "It was a big change for
             me, because when I first got here, I did not have a big jacket." 

             She didn't meet her NCCU teammates until a week before the season started in
             early March. At first, she wasn't sure about playing competitive golf with the guys. 

             "Men play different," she said. "They play mind games on the golf course. Men don't
             really talk to you on the golf course." 

             Levister was referring to her opponents, though, not her teammates. "I don't know
             what they thought [initially], but it wasn't in my mind frame to care what they
             thought. But they accepted me with open arms." 

             It became easier to accept Levister after her play in a few tournaments. She
             finished in the top four in the first event, a match against Johnson C. Smith in
             Charlotte. She shot 71 last year at Lake City (Fla.) Community College and once
             recorded a 2-under-par 70. 

             Though her best score at Central was 80, Levister was the No. 1 golfer for the
             Eagles, helping them finish fourth in the CIAA. 

             Levister has dreams of the LPGA Tour. She's hoping for a Qualifying School berth in
             a few years, while she works her way down to scores around par. Attending an
             LPGA Tournament several years ago in Florida first put the dream in her head. 

             "I got to meet Grace Park and see Karrie Webb and Laura Davies," Levister said. "I
             started thinking, 'I could do this,' " she said. "The competitive juices just started
             flowing." 

             That competitive spirit and years of technique have helped Levister develop what
             her father calls a natural swing. 

             "We had some [teaching pros] watch her hit, and they said she's Laura
             Davies-long," James Levister said. 

             Levister, who once uncorked a 310-yard drive, said a good drive for her is 270
             yards. Hayes, the Central coach, said he noticed Levister's length off the tee right
             away, but he is trying to rein that distance in. 

             "We didn't want her to kill it every time," Hayes said. "We want her to find the right
             ZIP code." 

             Right now, Hayes is just happy to have Levister at Durham 27707.