Senior Marguerite Johnson, junior Emily Hardcastle, junior Michelle Hui and sophomore Kaitlyn Van Gunten have been named to the 2009-10 National Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholar Team.
The criteria for selection to the All-American Scholar Team are some of the most stringent of college athletics. The minimum cumulative GPA is 3.50, and student-athletes must have competed in at least 50 percent (Division I) or 66 percent (Division II and III) of the college’s regularly scheduled competitive rounds during the year.
“I am very happy with the success we had this past year both on the golf course and in the classroom,” Head Women’s Golf Coach Nicole Hollingsworth said. “Our team GPA was 3.651 for the fall and 3.618 for the spring, and now we have four of our golfers named to the 2009-10 All-American Scholar Golf Team. In my 13 years as a head coach, I have never had four in one particular year and that is an amazing accomplishment.”
Johnson graduated this past spring with a degree in civil engineering and posted a career-best 79.1 stroke average to rank third on the team. She produced the best finish of her career with a second-place showing at the Falcon Invitational to earn MAC Scholar-Athlete of the Week honors. Johnson capped her collegiate career by carding a three-over par 75 in the final round of MAC Championship to finish in a 17th-place tie.
A political science major, Hardcastle recorded a career-best 79.6 stroke average and received the team’s Most Improved Award. She carded a career-low 74 in the final round of this year’s MAC Championship en route to tying for 19th place with a career-best 234 (78-82-74).
A second-team All-MAC honoree majoring in exercise science, Hui led the Rockets for a second straight season with a 77.4 stroke average, which is the third lowest mark in school history. She tied for the team lead with six top 20 finishes to share team MVP accolades and posted a 13th-place finish at the MAC Championship.
Van Gunten is a nursing major and competed in seven tournaments, posting an 81.3 stroke average. Her best finish was an 11th-place showing (78-75-82=235) at the Zippy Invitational.
