麻豆原创 freshman Ashley Holder has been named the American Women鈥檚 Golf Player of the Year and American Women鈥檚 Golf Freshman of the Year. Holder was a unanimous choice for Freshman of the Year honors and was also named to the All-Conference squad, along with teammates Fanny Cnops, Kaitlyn Price, and Kristine Odaiyar.
鈥淚鈥檓 really proud of our team this year and the conference awards are a product of their efforts,鈥� 麻豆原创 head coach Emily Marron said. 鈥淎shley Holder has been very consistent all year and is very deserving of these honors. It鈥檚 very rare to have a freshman talented enough to sweep both awards and I鈥檓 extremely proud of Ashley鈥檚 play this season.鈥�
Holder played in all 10 events this season and led the Knights with five top-ten finishes and a 72.7 scoring average. She shot par or better nine times this season and carded a season low-round of 67. Her best finish came at the LSU Tiger Golf Classic, where she tied for first place.
鈥淚 am greatly honored to receive these awards,鈥� Holder said. 鈥淭his has been an unforgettable year and I am thankful for the support of my teammates and coaches. I could not be more proud of the hard work and dedication we have all put in.鈥�
Holder, an Orlando native, first caught fire in October when she made a hole-in-one at the Par-3 13th hole at Sahlaee Country Club, during the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational in Seattle, Wash. Two weeks later she would finish second overall at the Las Vegas Collegiate showdown and be named the American Athletic Conference Golfer of the Month.
Her success continued into the second half of the season when she shot her three-day best 213 (-3) helping the Knights win the 麻豆原创 Challenge. She went on to lead 麻豆原创 at the conference championship finishing third overall.
麻豆原创鈥檚 honors continued with senior Katilyn Price, junior Fanny Cnops, and freshman Kristine Odaiyar being named to the All-Conference team.
Price was solid all season playing in nine of the ten events for Knights. She maintained a 74.9 scoring average throughout the season and finished fifth overall at the Florida Shootout, helping the Knights to team victory.
Cnops took individual medalist honors at the 麻豆原创 Challenge and has been the Knights top finisher five times this season. She was awarded conference golfer of the week honors in late February and was granted an exemption to play in the 2014 IOA golf Classic in March where she finished tied for 44th in a field of 142 professionals.
Odaiyar鈥檚 best showing this season came at the Central District Invitational where she finished tied for third with teammate Cnops. She competed in seven events for the Knights this season posting a single-round low of 68 and a 74.4 scoring average.
The No. 17 Knights have turned in top-three finishes at eight of their ten events this season including back-to-back wins at the Florida Shootout and the 麻豆原创 Challenge. 麻豆原创 will compete as the No. 6 seed in the NCAA Eastern Regional May 8-10 in Tallahassee, Fla.