On course for success

Golfer Jefi Dordevic earns prestigious national academic honor

By California State University, Bakersfield

July 7^th, 2022

For Jefi Dordevic, summer vacation looks a lot like her school year at California State University, Bakersfield: golf, golf and more golf.

But the international student — back home in Belgrade, Serbia, to spend time with her family of golfers — took a break from the course recently to celebrate some welcome news from the states. For the second year in a row, Dordevic made the coveted 2022 All-American Scholars list announced by the Women’s Golf Coaches Association.

“I appreciate it so much that my coach thought of putting my name out there,” said Dordevic, a perfect 4.00 student and finance major, who will begin her junior year at CSUB in August. “To me, it means so much that I can represent CSUB in such a way. This is such an honor. I’m thankful, grateful and proud.”

Coach Tiffanie Yabut and Dordevic both became Roadrunners a year ago. Yabut arrived from Winona State University in Minnesota to take the head coaching job at CSUB, and Dordevic transferred from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, lured by the year-round California sunshine that golfers crave. Yabut recognized right away that Dordevic “set the tone” for the team with her work ethic and passion.

“This is what it looks like to be committed to excellence,” Yabut said. “Jefi is the perfect example of what we’re about in our program. It’s grit, it’s resilience, it’s optimism and she embodies all of those qualities.”

The WGCA All-American Scholar list follows rigorous criteria, including a minimum 3.5 grade point average, and is considered among the highest academic achievements in collegiate athletics. The 2021-22 season marks the fifth consecutive year that at least one CSUB golfer has been named to the list. Dordevic also won the honor last year, at her former college.

Dordevic’s secret to academic success? Making every minute of the day count and using the resources that are available to students. She noted that she is a regular at the Walter Stiern Library and Kegley Center for Student Success, which provides resources and study space for scholar-athletes. Dordevic, 20, also received help at the advising center with structuring her essays during finals.

“During the season, it does get pretty hectic,” she said. “I think it’s all about time management. You have to focus on a schedule so you have enough time to get all the things done for school and not waste any time, because we don’t have any time to waste. Whatever I’m doing - practice or studying — I try to be fully committed to that.”

For the next month, Dordevic is committed to spending time with her parents and brother, also a collegiate golfer. Her dad took up golfing 10 years ago, and the entire family fell in love with the game together.

“We’re all very passionate about it,” she said. “We talk about it all the time. I did want to become a professional at one time, but I’m putting more emphasis on my studies now. One thing is for sure: I’m going to play golf all my life.”

Her summer of golf will be perfect preparation for the season, which unofficially begins when she joins her seven teammates, including three recruits, on Aug. 17. Yabut said the 2021-22 season was “not the season we wanted. But their performance did not reflect their effort. We learned exactly what we have to do to perform next season.”

Dordevic appreciates the emphasis that Yabut has put on the mental part of the game.

“To be around such great players in Division I competition, you have to be prepared mentally,” she said. “I will work as hard as I can in all spheres of golf. I know the results will come for me and my teammates.”

One thing that won’t change this season is the bond that Yabut has formed with her players.

“When I first meet student-athletes, whether in the recruiting process or if I just inherited the team, like I did at CSUB, I make an effort to get to know them as people,” said Yabut, 26, who was a standout golfer at Missouri Western State University. “I want them to know I care about them as an individual, that I’m in their corner.

“Second, I tell them they’re a student first and an athlete second. We’re lucky at CSUB that we have academic advisers for our athlete, to keep them on track, to help with tutors if needed and that we have a facility to do their work in, a computer lab and study space with teammates. For Jefi, that interaction is important because she is very close to her family, and the distance can be hard.”

Dordevic rooms with two other students, one of whom is from Indonesia, and that she takes every opportunity to connect with other international students. And like her teammates, Dordevic gets a lot of emotional support from her coach.

“Tiffanie is so passionate about golf and the team,” she said. “She does so many things for us that she doesn’t have to do. She goes over the line — in a good way! She understands us.”