- April 18, 2024
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Loa Johannsson. Photo by Michele Meyers
ERAU golfer Loa Johannsson walks the course at the Marsh Creek Country Club during the annual Fall Grand Slam. Photo by Michele Meyers
ERAU head women's golf coach Maria Lopez encourages Grayson Kindig during the Flagler Fall Slam at the Marsh Creek Country Club. Photo by Michele Meyers
Loa Johannsson on the first day of the Flagler Fall Slam at the Marsh Creek Country Club. Photo by Michele Meyers
Eagle Loa Johannsson grabs a tangerine while walking between holes at the Marsh Creek Country Club. Photo by Michele Meyers
Loa Johannsson tries to will the ball into the hole during the Flagler Fall Slam at Marsh Creek Country Club. Photo by Michele Meyers
Loa Johannsson. Photo by Michele Meyers
Loa Johannsson. Photo by Michele Meyers
Loa Johannsson. Photo by Michele Meyers
Loa Johannsson. Photo by Michele Meyers
Loa Johannsson. Photo by Michele Meyers
Loa Johannsson. Photo by Michele Meyers
Loa Johannsson talks with coach Maria Lopez before putting on the first day of the Flagler Fall Slam. Photo by Michele Meyers
First year Embry-Riddle student and golfer Loa Johannsson shot a 74 the second day of the Flagler Fall Slam at the Marsh Creek Country Club on Tuesday, Oct. 25, leading her Eagles teammates to an eighth place finish in a field of 18 teams.
It is the 16-year-old’s first season with the ERAU women’s golf team after accepting coach Maria Lopez’s offer to join the team earlier this year and being the recipient of several academic and athletic scholarships.
“Loa is so coachable and so grateful,” she said. “I’m looking forward to seeing how she develops. She’s fun to work with. She’s got no attitude. She’s got fire. I like it.”
Johannsson knew she was a fit for the school when she attended a team day, sat in on one of the computer science classes and lunched with the women’s golf team. Walking onto the campus amplified her desire to attend ERAU.
“I was blown away,” she said. “That was such a big factor. That’s what a lot of people I’ve met said that when they saw the campus, it was like, OK, I’m going here.”
Making the transition from high school golf to playing at the collegiate level was a welcome one for Johannsson. She prefers competitive tournament golf which she believes is similar. It is also a bonus that coach Lopez golfed for the University of Alabama and went on to play professionally on the Futures Tour (1993), the Asian Tour (1994, 1997), the European and Australian Tours (1994).
“Loa is so coachable and so grateful. I’m looking forward to seeing how she develops. She’s fun to work with. She’s got no attitude. She’s got fire. I like it.”
MARIA LOPEZ, Embry-Riddle women's golf head coach
“She’s amazing,” Johannsson said. “She hits every aspect of the game. She’s really on top of us for our mental game and calms us down all the time but is so hard on us in practice. She just knows so much.”
November marks Lopez’ 23rd year coaching for Embry-Riddle including a stint from 2003-2010 as the head coach for the men’s golf team. She began her golfing career as a mere toddler, tagging along with her older siblings, brother Julian Lopez Jr. and sister Nancy Lopez, as they golfed. She asked to play and they cut a set of clubs down to her size. She never stopped.
“She understands the technician side of golf, but she has such an appreciation for the psychological factor,” Nancy Lopez said. “It’s mindset and she gets it. She appreciates it. If you’ve got the right mindset coming in, the technical will come.”
Johannsson’s first tournament as the youngest student-athlete in Eagles history was at the Saint Leo Invitational on Oct. 17-18, where she shot 225 for the eighth lowest score in the program which included eight birdies. She went on to be the ERAU athlete of the week on Oct. 24.
Currently, the golf team’s week consists of five days of practice, two mornings of in-season strength training with the occasional scrimmage.
Johannsson must also balance a full academic schedule consisting of an engineering fundamentals course, programming in C, marketing and calculus. After the Flagler Fall Slam, she returned to campus to meet with her engineering group who have been testing a robot they built.
Recently, Johannsson switched her major from computer science to aviation business. She is hoping to get her advanced masters in aviation finance while she is in her senior year at Embry-Riddle.
She believes only time will tell regarding whether or not she will take a job immediately after graduating from ERAU or begin a career in the LPGA. For now, she wants to dial in her game and shoot under par while she considers her recent invitation to play with the Icelandic National Team.
“That’s just my personal goal,” she said. “I think our team can really take it to the next level, especially after this season. We are going to be working hard still. There have just been simple mistakes, mental mistakes, that we’ve been making. But I think with coach’s help, we are going to be good.”
