For the better part of this decade there has been at least on Imburgia sibling playing on a collegiate golf team.  For the last four seasons at least three have worn the Eastern Illinois blue and white.

That number will dwindle down to one remaining Imburgia child as twins Mike and Matt will finish up their golfing careers at Eastern Illinois this spring leaving only Katie to carry the torch for two more years as a Panthers golfer.

The fact that several children from the same family play a similar sport or that they attend the same school is nothing out of the ordinary.  What makes this story stand out is that for one small moment in time four of the five Imburgia children played at Eastern Illinois for head coach Mike Moncel during the 2006-07 season.

“We have all played together since we were little kids,” Matt stated in a recent interview.  “Last year was a big bonus for all of us to have Anthony, Mike, Katie and myself all playing on the same team.”

Anthony, the oldest of the three boys in the family, was the first to pick of golf at the age of two.  Older sister Diane quickly followed and then the remaining three children all followed suit.

“Anthony was the first to pick up golf,” Mike added.  “He would follow our dad out to play and when he got interested in golf all of us seemed to slowly follow along.  I think he picked it up around two and the rest of us were a little older.”

Golf became a mainstream in the family when their father, Dom, moved the family to Effingham, Illinois, where all five children would eventually attend St. Anthony’s High School.  Diane was the first play golf in high school competing on the boy’s team since St. Anthony’s did not field a women’s golf team.  She played as a senior when Matt and Mike were both freshmen at St. Anthony’s.  Katie was one year behind.

Although they are now a golfing family it was not always that way.

“Our parents wanted us to be active in sports,” Mike said.  “I think they let us play everything but golf when were younger.  Somehow we still all picked up golf.  Not really sure how that happened.”

Part of it was probably location as all remember that the nearest golf course before moving to Effingham was at least 30-to-45 minutes away.  That all changed when the family relocated.

“We all told our parents that we only had one condition if we moved to Effingham and that was that we live on a golf course,” said Katie.  “My first memory of playing on that course is Diane hitting a ball into someone’s house and then making me go get it.”

All five would play their way through high school and each took a different path to get into college golf.  Diane played her collegiate golf at NCAA Division III Milliken.  Anthony earned a golf scholarship to Mercer University in Georgia.

“Mercer actually recruited all three of us boys to play together out of high school,” says Matt.  “But our dad said that playing in Georgia was just too far away.”

So Anthony transferred to Illinois State and both Mike and Matt soon followed where they all attended for one season.

“All three of us did attend Illinois State but that did not work out,” Mike said.  “When Mike (Moncel) got the job here at Eastern Illinois, all three of us headed here for a perfect fit.”

Moncel was indeed a perfect fit.  A respected golf coach with players on several professional tours, Moncel had been coaching the Imburgia children for nearly 10 years in the Effingham area. 

The final piece of the puzzle was added when Katie decided to return to golf.  She had decided not to play as a freshman in college but missed the game and found a unique situation in attending Eastern Illinois with her three older brothers.

“When I transferred to EIU my sophomore year it was nice to know that I already knew people associated with the golf team.  It definitely made the transition that much easier” Katie stated. 

Now that the cycle of college golf is coming to close for another part of the family chapter all three were asked what they will take from the opportunity of getting to play college golf together.

Katie chimed in first joking, “Now with you guys gone I won’t have anyone to beat.”  Then she added “watching them all succeed has been the most fun for me.  Last year Anthony earned Academic All-American honors and he was so excited about that and watching his excitement motivates me to work hard in school and at golf.”

Mike stated that his best memories have come from the family time they have been able to spend together.

“Last year Anthony was able to win a collegiate tournament in Hawai’i and my parents and both Matt and I were there to see he stand up in front of the crowd and be presented the first place trophy,” said Mike.  “The other thing I will remember is this year at Spring Break, both the men and women were playing in the same tournament in Florida and we were able to all be there as a family.”

Life following EIU will also remain a competition as both Diane and Anthony currently attend dental school while the remaining three siblings will have law school in their futures.  But despite what the future may hold in the professional world, they will always have their collegiate golf memories to share at future family reunions.