A former player and coach for the University of Minnesota golf team, Blanchard was Big Ten runner-up in 1984 and Big Ten Coach of the Year in 1989. Blanchard, also one of the most accomplished female golfers in the state, is a six-time champion and four-time runner-up of the Minnesota Women's State Amateur Championship, as well as a three-time champion and two-time runner-up of the Minnesota Women's Match Play Championship. She also competed in the USGA Women's Public Links and Women's Amateur Championships and was named the Minnesota Women's Golf Association (MWGA) Player of the Year in 1994.
