SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The 2019 Southern Conference women’s golf awards were announced by the league office on Tuesday afternoon. Furman led the way with four players earning All-Southern Conference honors in a combination of voting of the conference’s nine women’s golf coaches and GolfStat rankings. Furman senior Haylee Harford was named SoCon Player of the Year and Wofford’s Becca Earl was named SoCon Freshman of the Year to complement the 10-member all-conference team.
Furman head coach Jeff Hull was named the SoCon Coach of the Year for the third straight season after guiding his Paladins to their fifth consecutive SoCon Championship and record 18th overall.
Furman’s Harford, Natalie Srinivasan, Jacqueline Bendrick, ETSU’s Hee Ying Loy and Mercer’s Terese Romeo automatically earned spots on the all-conference team as the top five league golfers in the GolfStat rankings before the conference championship tournament. The remaining spots on the all-conference team were voted on by the coaches, who where not permitted to vote for their own student-athletes. Furman’s Madison Moosa, Chattanooga’s Monica San Juan and Maddy McDanel, ETSU’s Tereza Melecka and Mercer’s Mary Janiga round out the all-conference team.
Six conference teams had representation on the All-Freshman team. Wofford led the way with two, placing Becca Earl and Kristine Torralba on the squad. Samford's Sophie Membrino, Mercer’s Carol Pyon, Chattanooga’s Rheagan Hall, UNCG’s Hailey Joy and ETSU’s Warda Amira Rawof rounded out the all-freshman team, which consisted of seven players due to a tie in voting.
The 2019 Player of the Year, Harford garnered all-conference honors for the fourth time in her career. She led the SoCon with a stroke average of 72.54 on the season and shot 1-under par 71 on days one and three of the tournament to lead her to a tie for second place with ETSU’s Hee Ying Loy in this season’s championship tournament. The Leavittsburg, Ohio, native finished in the top 10 in three regular season tournaments, placing first at the Lady Paladin Invitational in September, tying for third at the Cougar Classic in September and tying for eighth at the Ruth Chris Tar Heel Invite in October. Harford is the league’s top-ranked golfer nationally, checking in at No. 40 in the latest GolfStat rankings.
Earl became just the second player from Wofford to claim freshman of the year honors and the first since 2011 when Anne Marie Covar earned the honor. Hailing from Essex, England, Earl led the Terriers with a 78.36 season stroke average. Her best performance came at the Terrier Intercollegiate, where she posted an even-par 144 to take first overall.
ETSU’s Loy finished the championship tied for second with Harford. She led the Bucs with a stroke average of 72.81 on the season and finished her senior season with five top 10 finishes over the course of the season. The Johor, Malaysia, native finished the 2019 championship shooting 71-78-70 to put her at 3-over-par 219 total.
Loy is joined on this year’s all-conference team by Tereza Melecka, who finished tied for twelfth overall at the SoCon Championship last week. The Belcovice, Czech Republic, native recorded three top-10 finishes on the season, with her best coming at the Magnolia Invitational, where she placed second.
Bendrick earned all-conference honors for the second time in her career. The senior from Mercer Island, Washington, finished in the top 10 two times this season, tying for third-place at the Lady Paladin Classic and tying for eighth-place at the PING/ASU Invitational. Bendrick won the league’s Pinnacle Award, which goes to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA on the championship winning team, for the second time in her career.
Srinivasan, the 2018 SoCon Player of the Year, finished fourth at the SoCon Championship. The Spartanburg, South Carolina, native finished the season with three top-10 finishes and carried a stroke average of 72.73 over 26 rounds and 1891 strokes. This is the juniors third time earning all-conference honors.
The 2019 SoCon champion, San Juan garnered all-conference honors for the third time in her career. Her 1-under par 71 in the first round and her 2-under par 70 in the second round was enough to fire a total 1-under par 215 and win the SoCon Championship at Moss Creek Golf Club on April 15. The Pamplona, Spain, native had two top-10 finishes during the regular season and finished last seventh overall at last year’s SoCon Championship.
San Juan is joined on the all-conference team by teammate McDanel. McDanel finished the season with a top-10 finish at the Princess Anne Invitational.
Ranking in the top-10 in the league scoring average, Mercer’s Romeo and Janiga represent the Bears on the all-conference squad. This is both their second times behind named to the all-conference team – the first for Romeo coming in 2018 and the first for Janiga coming in 2016. Janiga finished fifth overall at the SoCon Championship and finished the regular season with four top-10 individual finishes. Romeo finished the regular season with a two top-10 finishes, claiming second at the Idle Hour Collegiate Championship in November.
Moosa, who finished the SoCon tournament tied for tenth, round out the all-conference team. Hailing from Charlotte, North Carolina, this is Moosas first all-conference nod. The sophomore finished the season with a 75.52 stroke average over 21 rounds and 1586 strokes.
2019 All-Southern Conference team
Hee Ying Loy, ETSU
Tereza Melecka, ETSU
Jacqueline Bendrick, Furman
Haylee Harford, Furman
Madison Moosa, Furman
Natalie Srinivasan, Furman
Mary Janiga, Mercer
Terese Romeo, Mercer
Maddy McDanel, Chattanooga
Monica San Juan, Chattanooga
2019 Southern Conference All-Freshman team (Seven players due to a tie in voting)
Warda Amira Rawof, ETSU
Carol Pyon, Mercer
Rheagan Hall, Chattanooga
Sophie Membrino, Samford
Hailey Joy, UNCG
Becca Earl, Wofford
Kristine Torralba, Wofford
2019 Player of the Year
Haylee Harford, Furman
2019 Freshman of the Year
Becca Earl, Wofford
2019 Coach of the Year
Jeff Hull, Furman
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