University of North Texas Athletics
Women's Golf Lands Five, Coach on All-CUSA Team
5/3/2023 2:00:00 PM | Women's Golf
Audrey Tan named Golfer of the Year
DALLAS - After another banner season for the North Texas women's golf program that ended in a third consecutive Conference USA championship in the program's final year in the league, a record number of UNT representatives landed on the all-conference team on Wednesday.
Graduate student Audrey Tan was named the C-USA Golfer of the Year - the first such honor in program history, and seventh-year head coach Michael Akers was named the conference's Coach of the Year for the third straight season and was joined on the team by five of his players, giving the Mean Green six honorees on the team to break the program's all-time high of four, set in each of the last two years.
Tan was also a first-team selection for the third straight year, joining her former teammate and current volunteer assistant coach Lauren Cox as the only players in program history to earn first-team all-conference honors three years consecutively. She was joined on the first team by junior Ellie Roth, whose 71.81 stroke average this year was less than a half-stroke off Tan's program record and is the second-best single-season stroke average in program history.
The second team also had a pair of Mean Green golfers in graduate student Patricia Sinolungan, who notched her best all-conference honor after two previous third-team selections. Sinolungan had the team's third-best stroke average of 72.79 and finished the year on a heater with runner-up finishes at The Bruzzy and the Conference USA Championship. She was joined on the second team by senior Emilie Ricaud, whose stroke average of 73.71 is the fourth-best on the team. It is Ricaud's first all-conference nod of her career. Another first-time honoree was junior Shreya Pal, who garnered third-team honors after posting a 74.08 average and was one of three members of the team to play in all nine events.
The second- and third-team honorees, as well as all of the superlative awards, were voted on by the league's nine head coaches, while the first team was based on Golfstat rankings.
"It is great to see our team recognized by C-USA today," Akers said. "I am thrilled that five of our players are All-Conference. This points to our dominance of the conference this year, and I am glad to see Emilie and Shreya added to the list from last year."Â
Akers guided the Mean Green to the third conference championship in program history, in as many years, as the team ended the season ranked No. 35 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, and this marks his third Conference USA nod in the program's final year in the league before moving to The American on July 1.
Tan, who is ranked No. 71 nationally by Golfstat, becomes the first player in program history to earn a conference Golfer of the Year nod. Her 71.44 scoring average is the best in program history and she will end her career in the coming weeks as the all-time career scoring average leader, which was previously held by Cox. In her nine events for the Mean Green this year, Tan has carded seven top-20 finishes, including four top-10 showings. Her 13-under-par 203 at the ICON Invitational earned her runner-up honors and broke her own program record for lowest 54-hole score by four shots. She also was named C-USA Golfer of the Week three times this season and nine times in her career.
"Audrey has been tremendous all year," Akers said. "She certainly deserves to be the Golfer of the Year. Ellie has really stepped up this spring after a slow fall. Patty has been on fire the past two events with runner-up finishes at the Bruzzy and at the C-USA Championship. "
The Mean Green aren't stopping with their conference championship, as their season goes on with the upcoming NCAA Regional on May 8-10, in Raleigh, N.C., where the Mean Green are the sixth seed. It marks the fourth time in program history that a team has advanced to the NCAA Regionals and the third in as many years. The top five teams from each of the regional sites advance to the NCAA Championship in Scottsdale, Arizona, later this month.
"I would hope these awards will give the ladies even more confidence heading into the NCAA Regionals," Akers said. "Golf is very much a mental game. I think whenever people receive accolades in any form, it should help them to believe in themselves and believe that the hard work and preparation is paying off."
Fans can follow the program on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Graduate student Audrey Tan was named the C-USA Golfer of the Year - the first such honor in program history, and seventh-year head coach Michael Akers was named the conference's Coach of the Year for the third straight season and was joined on the team by five of his players, giving the Mean Green six honorees on the team to break the program's all-time high of four, set in each of the last two years.
Tan was also a first-team selection for the third straight year, joining her former teammate and current volunteer assistant coach Lauren Cox as the only players in program history to earn first-team all-conference honors three years consecutively. She was joined on the first team by junior Ellie Roth, whose 71.81 stroke average this year was less than a half-stroke off Tan's program record and is the second-best single-season stroke average in program history.
The second team also had a pair of Mean Green golfers in graduate student Patricia Sinolungan, who notched her best all-conference honor after two previous third-team selections. Sinolungan had the team's third-best stroke average of 72.79 and finished the year on a heater with runner-up finishes at The Bruzzy and the Conference USA Championship. She was joined on the second team by senior Emilie Ricaud, whose stroke average of 73.71 is the fourth-best on the team. It is Ricaud's first all-conference nod of her career. Another first-time honoree was junior Shreya Pal, who garnered third-team honors after posting a 74.08 average and was one of three members of the team to play in all nine events.
The second- and third-team honorees, as well as all of the superlative awards, were voted on by the league's nine head coaches, while the first team was based on Golfstat rankings.
"It is great to see our team recognized by C-USA today," Akers said. "I am thrilled that five of our players are All-Conference. This points to our dominance of the conference this year, and I am glad to see Emilie and Shreya added to the list from last year."Â
Akers guided the Mean Green to the third conference championship in program history, in as many years, as the team ended the season ranked No. 35 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, and this marks his third Conference USA nod in the program's final year in the league before moving to The American on July 1.
Tan, who is ranked No. 71 nationally by Golfstat, becomes the first player in program history to earn a conference Golfer of the Year nod. Her 71.44 scoring average is the best in program history and she will end her career in the coming weeks as the all-time career scoring average leader, which was previously held by Cox. In her nine events for the Mean Green this year, Tan has carded seven top-20 finishes, including four top-10 showings. Her 13-under-par 203 at the ICON Invitational earned her runner-up honors and broke her own program record for lowest 54-hole score by four shots. She also was named C-USA Golfer of the Week three times this season and nine times in her career.
"Audrey has been tremendous all year," Akers said. "She certainly deserves to be the Golfer of the Year. Ellie has really stepped up this spring after a slow fall. Patty has been on fire the past two events with runner-up finishes at the Bruzzy and at the C-USA Championship. "
The Mean Green aren't stopping with their conference championship, as their season goes on with the upcoming NCAA Regional on May 8-10, in Raleigh, N.C., where the Mean Green are the sixth seed. It marks the fourth time in program history that a team has advanced to the NCAA Regionals and the third in as many years. The top five teams from each of the regional sites advance to the NCAA Championship in Scottsdale, Arizona, later this month.
"I would hope these awards will give the ladies even more confidence heading into the NCAA Regionals," Akers said. "Golf is very much a mental game. I think whenever people receive accolades in any form, it should help them to believe in themselves and believe that the hard work and preparation is paying off."
Fans can follow the program on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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