Western Carolina places league-best five amongst WGCA All-American Scholars
CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – Five Western Carolina women’s golfers were named All-American Scholars as the Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) announced its teams on Wednesday. Sophomores Taylor Allison and Mariah Hopkins, as well as freshmen Bethany Galloway, Olivia Landino and Ashley Thompson were among those honored by the WGCA.
This year, the WGCA recognized a total of 664 women's golfers from the Division I, II and III ranks.
The criteria for selection to the All-American Scholar Team are some of the most stringent in all of college athletics. The minimum cumulative GPA is 3.50 and athletes must compete in at least 50 percent of their team’s rounds.
It is the 14th consecutive year that Western Carolina has put golfers among the annual honorees and the 12th consecutive year of multiple selections. The five selections match the most by the Catamount program, equaling the five recipients following play in 2011-12.
All five of WCU’s honorees were named to the 2013-14 Southern Conference Honor Roll, with both Allison and Hopkins selected to the 2014 SoCon Spring Academic All-Conference team.
Allison is the 11th different Catamount women’s golfer to earn the WGCA All-American Scholar honor in multiple seasons and is among WCU’s six two-time recipients. She led WCU in scoring in three events last year, finishing second on the squad in overall scoring average at 76.37 – 12th in the conference. The Elizabeth City, N.C., product became just the third player in the 15-year history of the Great Smokies Intercollegiate to win both back-to-back tournament titles and claim individual medalist honors more than once.
Hopkins closed the 2013-14 paced the Catamounts at the SoCon Championship at the Moss Creek Golf Club with a fourth-place tie individually. The Greensboro, N.C., native was fifth on the WCU team in scoring average and ranked 26th overall in the conference at 78.47.
Landino finished fourth on the Catamount squad in scoring average at 77.97, earning SoCon All-Freshman team plaudits following the conference championship. A native of Hermitage, Pa., Landino ranked 24th in the league in stroke average. She turned in a pair of top-10 finishes, including a career-best sixth-place tie at the Mimosa Hills Intercollegiate in late March.
Thompson played in eight events in her freshman season – four as an individual and four as a part of the scoring five. Her classmate from Charlotte, N.C., Bethany Galloway, saw action in seven events as a frosh, playing in six tournaments as an individual competitor. Thompson, a local product from Clyde, N.C., recorded a career-best finish of 26th twice in 2013-14 while Galloway turned in a career finish at the Low Country Intercollegiate in the spring semester, placing in a tie for 35th overall.
The Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA), formerly known as the National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA), began in 1983 as an organization to promote participation in women’s collegiate golf. The vision of the WGCA since its inception has been to encourage the playing of intercollegiate golf for women in correlation with a general objective of education and in accordance with the highest tradition of intercollegiate competition. Today, the WGCA represents the finest coaches in women's golf with a membership of over 550 coaches of Division I, II& III, NAIA and NJCAA collegiate programs.
Wofford has two named WGCA All-American Scholars
CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – The Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) released its 2013-14 All-American Scholars on Wednesday, which included Wofford rising sophomore Katy Funk and rising junior Maegan Higgins.
In all, 664 student-athletes from NCAA Division I, II & III institutions were recognized. According to the WGCA release, the criteria for selection to the All-American Scholar Team are some of the most stringent in all of collegiate athletics, with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.50 required.
Aside from succeeding academically, Funk and Higgins were major parts of the Terrier lineup this past season. Each started all 11 tournaments and competed in a team-high 28 rounds.
Funk, a native of Spartanburg, S.C., boasted a 77.93 stroke average to rank third on the team. Her best finish was second place, which she achieved in her first collegiate tournament, carding an even-par 144 last September at the Terrier Intercollegiate. Higgins carried a 78.71 stroke average and also achieved her best finish at the Terrier Intercollegiate with a 5-over 149 for fifth place.
Furman has two named WGCA All-American Scholars
CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – Furman seniors Ingunn Gunnarsdottir and Aubrie Street were named to the Women's Golf Coaches Association’s (WGCA) All-America Scholar Team, as announced by the organization this week.
A native of Kopavogur, Iceland, Gunnarsdottir competed in four of the Paladins’ tournaments as a senior in 2013-14. She notched a 77.9 stroke average over 12 rounds and carded a season-low 75 in the opening round of the Lady Paladin Invitational in September. Gunnarsdottir, who graduated with a degree in earth and environmental science, was named to the Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll three consecutive seasons. She plans to attend graduate school in the fall.
Street, a native of Medford, Ore., appeared in eight out of nine of the Paladins’ tournaments as a senior last season. She recorded a 77.7 stroke average over 23 rounds, the fourth-best on the Furman team, and tied her career low after carding a 72 in the final round of the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational. Street, a mathematics and economics major, was named to the Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll and the Academic All-SoCon Team.
Mercer’s Murphy earns WGCA All-American Scholar nod
CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – Former Mercer women’s golfer and 2014 graduate Mary Alice Murphy was named one of 664 NCAA Division I, II and III recipients of All-American Scholar status as announced by the Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) on Wednesday.
As a senior, Murphy earned a spot on both the Atlantic Sun All-Conference second team and the A-Sun Academic All-Conference team after compiling a 75.5 stroke average in nine events. She finished inside the top 20 in seven of nine tournaments and among the top 10 four times.
In the fall of 2013, Murphy was particularly impressive while finishing 13th or better in all four events. On Oct. 23, Murphy was named the A-Sun Women’s Golfer of the Week after tying for individual medalist honors at the Fighting Camel Classic.
Murphy graduated with a 3.55 GPA as a political science major and recently started working toward a law degree at the University of Tennessee.