University of North Texas Athletics
Mean Green Land Several On All-Conference Squad
4/28/2021 12:00:00 PM | Women's Golf
DALLAS - After a banner season for the North Texas women's golf program, several members of the program landed on the All-Conference USA team, which the league released on Wednesday.
Fifth-year coach Michael Akers was named the conference's Coach of the Year to highlight the list, and he was joined on the team by three of his players, giving the Mean Green an all-time high of four honorees on the team.
Akers guided the Mean Green to the first conference championship in program history, and first-team selection Audrey Tan claimed the program's first-ever individual conference championship, as well, as the team ended the season ranked No. 32 in the nation - a steep climb from its ranking in the 200s when Akers was hired prior to the 2016-17 season. He was a three-time Coach of the Year honoree in the Southland and Sun Belt Conferences as the head coach at Texas State prior to his arrival in Denton, but this is his first Conference USA nod.
"Overall, the progress this program has made is very impressive," Akers said. "From the moment I started at UNT, my motto was 'worst-to-first.' The team had taken last in the conference in 2016, but that is a distant memory now. I look forward to continue to recruit the type of student-athlete that will keep on top in the classroom and on the golf course."
Tan, a junior, and fifth-year senior Lauren Cox earned first-team honors, marking the first time someone other than Cox has earned first-team Conference USA honors. The nod is Cox's fourth, as she was named a second-team selection as a sophomore and was named to the first team as a junior and senior before taking her extra year of eligibility granted due to the COVID-19 pandemic this year and earning a third first-team selection. Tan was a second-team selection a year ago as a sophomore and now has her first-ever first-team nod. They're joined by junior Katie Finley, who was a third-team selection, marking her first all-conference honor.
For the second time in as many years, Cox, who is ranked 48th in the country, has broken her own program record for all-time low single-season scoring average with an average of 72.33 this season. Tan's mark of 73.33 is now the third-best in program history, narrowly missing Cox's mark from the 2019-20 season (73.30), and Finley's average of 74.58 is nearly a full stroke better than her average last year, as her play provided some much-needed depth to push the team over the edge this year.
"I'm very pleased to see three of our players named to the all-conference team," Akers said. "To see Lauren and Audrey make the first team speaks volumes about our depth. I thought Katie had a good shot at the Most Improved Golfer. She definitely improved from last year to this year."
The Mean Green aren't stopping with their conference championship, as their season goes on with the upcoming NCAA Regional on May 10-12. It marks just the second time in program history that a team has advanced to the NCAA Regionals. The top six teams from each of the four 18-team regional sites advance to the NCAA Championship in Scottsdale, Arizona, in late May.
Fans can follow the program on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and stay tuned to find out where the Mean Green will be playing its NCAA Regional with the NCAA Selection Show set to air on the Golf Channel at 1 p.m., today.
Fifth-year coach Michael Akers was named the conference's Coach of the Year to highlight the list, and he was joined on the team by three of his players, giving the Mean Green an all-time high of four honorees on the team.
Akers guided the Mean Green to the first conference championship in program history, and first-team selection Audrey Tan claimed the program's first-ever individual conference championship, as well, as the team ended the season ranked No. 32 in the nation - a steep climb from its ranking in the 200s when Akers was hired prior to the 2016-17 season. He was a three-time Coach of the Year honoree in the Southland and Sun Belt Conferences as the head coach at Texas State prior to his arrival in Denton, but this is his first Conference USA nod.
"Overall, the progress this program has made is very impressive," Akers said. "From the moment I started at UNT, my motto was 'worst-to-first.' The team had taken last in the conference in 2016, but that is a distant memory now. I look forward to continue to recruit the type of student-athlete that will keep on top in the classroom and on the golf course."
Tan, a junior, and fifth-year senior Lauren Cox earned first-team honors, marking the first time someone other than Cox has earned first-team Conference USA honors. The nod is Cox's fourth, as she was named a second-team selection as a sophomore and was named to the first team as a junior and senior before taking her extra year of eligibility granted due to the COVID-19 pandemic this year and earning a third first-team selection. Tan was a second-team selection a year ago as a sophomore and now has her first-ever first-team nod. They're joined by junior Katie Finley, who was a third-team selection, marking her first all-conference honor.
For the second time in as many years, Cox, who is ranked 48th in the country, has broken her own program record for all-time low single-season scoring average with an average of 72.33 this season. Tan's mark of 73.33 is now the third-best in program history, narrowly missing Cox's mark from the 2019-20 season (73.30), and Finley's average of 74.58 is nearly a full stroke better than her average last year, as her play provided some much-needed depth to push the team over the edge this year.
"I'm very pleased to see three of our players named to the all-conference team," Akers said. "To see Lauren and Audrey make the first team speaks volumes about our depth. I thought Katie had a good shot at the Most Improved Golfer. She definitely improved from last year to this year."
The Mean Green aren't stopping with their conference championship, as their season goes on with the upcoming NCAA Regional on May 10-12. It marks just the second time in program history that a team has advanced to the NCAA Regionals. The top six teams from each of the four 18-team regional sites advance to the NCAA Championship in Scottsdale, Arizona, in late May.
Fans can follow the program on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and stay tuned to find out where the Mean Green will be playing its NCAA Regional with the NCAA Selection Show set to air on the Golf Channel at 1 p.m., today.
Players Mentioned
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Friday, July 08