She’s a College Senior Who Lives Up to That Title

School days are busy for Barry University golfer Judy Street, who typically rises at 6 a.m., works out, studies, practices with her teammates and then attends classes at night.

She also finds time to keep in touch with her four children.

And her six grandchildren.

At age 61, Judy Street is a college senior in more ways than one. The 1959 intercollegiate champion is now the No. 3 player for the Barry Buccaneers, and perhaps the oldest athlete in NCAA history.

“It has made me young again,” she says, the words accompanied by a smile and coated with the soft drawl of her native Tennessee.

As Judy Eller she was the U.S. junior champion in 1957 and 1958. She played at the University of Miami but left school after three years to get married.

“I got my Mrs. degree,” she says.

Street quit golf at 30 to raise a family and took up the game again 23 years later in 1994. She decided last year to finish her degree and use her final year of eligibility at Barry, a Division II Catholic school.

“She’s incredible,” says freshman Renee Trudeau, at 18 the youngest player on the team. “I think of her as my grandmother, but she doesn’t act any different from any of us. We talk about our weekends and joke about how much we partied. It’s great.”

NCAA officials say that while they keep no records in the category, they’re unaware of anyone as old as Street competing in a sport.

If 61 is a record, it deserves an asterisk because Street hardly looks her age. Tan, trim and tall at 5-foot-8, she appears fit enough to carry a golf bag for 36 holes, which she does in tournaments.

But her hair makes her stand out even a fairway away.

“I told her the gray hair has got to go,” says LPGA Hall of Famer JoAnne Carner, who has been Street’s close friend since childhood. “She’s out there with kids looking like a grandma.”

Until she swings a club. Street hits 220 to 240 yards off the tee--farther than when she was young, and farther than most of her teammates--and still hits a 5-iron 150 yards.

There’s something to be said for experience.

“She has a very refined swing,” coach Roger White says. “And she makes the best banana bread you’ve ever had.”

Putting, which was Judy Eller’s strong suit, has kept Judy Street’s average score this season in the mid-80s. She ruefully recalls missing three one-footers in a single round.

Street bought a new putter for the first time in 40 years but admits the problem is mostly nerves.

“I was a good putter when I was younger,” she says. “I thought, ‘Why can’t people putt? It’s so simple.’ If I didn’t make every 10-foot putt, I’d had a bad day.”

The definition of a bad day is different now, and Street hasn’t had many since commencing her college comeback.

It began with a casual conversation at a Barry athletic banquet. Street attended as a guest, and as she talked with coach White, someone jokingly mentioned that she had eligibility left.

With research, White determined Street did indeed have one year remaining in Division II. Eligibility in Division I ends five years after an athlete’s initial enrollment, but in Division II there’s no such restriction.

White encouraged Street to return to school, complete her degree and join the team. She decided it sounded like fun, although she had reservations about playing with a bunch of youngsters.

“I thought, ‘How are these kids going to accept a 61-year-old woman? What’s she trying to prove?’ I’d probably think the same thing.”

Those fears were unfounded, and teammates welcomed her warmly, especially when they saw her level of commitment. Street hired a personal trainer and sought counsel from Carner to get her game into shape.

“I was thoroughly amazed that she was going to attempt it,” Carner says. “But she’s hitting the ball better now than she did as an amateur.”

Age imposes some limitations, however, as Street discovered one day shooting baskets in the gym.

“I had these dreams of being a two-sport athlete,” she jokes. “That quelled very quickly after I shot for two hours and couldn’t walk for three days. So just golf. I’ve got to grow old gracefully.”

Her college career will end in May, perhaps with the Buccaneers’ first berth in the NCAA tournament. She’ll remain in school until December, when she earns a degree in liberal studies. Street made the dean’s list the first semester with a 3.9 grade-point.

Her taste in subjects--anthropology, philosophy, literature and film--has changed a lot since her college career began 44 years ago. She’s pleased to note that the world of women’s sports has also changed.

“We didn’t have any equipment back then,” she says. “A sports bra was a Playtex Living Bra. You paid your own way, and we didn’t think anything about it. Now Roger says, ‘How many golf balls do you need? Here’s a club. Would you like to order some shoes?’ It’s a wonderful opportunity for these young girls.”

Yes, life was a lot different in the 1940s in Old Hickory, Tenn., where Street grew up the daughter of a golf pro. She says the first time she walked was on a putting green, and six decades later she’s retracing those steps.

No wonder she feels young again.