Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Women’s Golf Collects Six Big Ten Conference Postseason Honors
4/30/2024 12:00:00 PM | Women's Golf
Emily Fletcher Named Coach of the Year, Ashley Yun Tabbed Freshman of the Year
ROSEMONT, Ill. (April 30, 2024) – The eighth ranked Northwestern Women's Golf team received six Big Ten Conference postseason awards, highlighted by Head Coach Emily Fletcher earning coach of the year honors, and first-year Ashley Yun grabbing freshman of the year honors. Senior Jennifer Cai and junior Lauryn Nguyen were named to the All-Big Ten First Team, while senior Jieni Li and Yun captured All-Big Ten Second Team recognition.
Fletcher was recognized by her peers as the conference's coach of the year, winning the award for the second straight season and sixth time in her career (2023, 2016, 2015, 2013, 2011). She led the Wildcats to top four finishes in each of their last nine tournament's this season, including back-to-back first place finishes at the PING/ASU Invitational and the Silverado Showdown. The 'Cats are currently ranked eighth in the nation will play as the two seed at the NCAA Women's Golf Championships East Lansing Regional next week.
Yun earned Big Ten Women's Golf Freshman of the Year honors after a remarkable debut season. The first-year already has a weekly conference honor under her belt following a third-place individual finish (68-73-69=210) that helped the 'Cats take home the team title at the PING/ASU Invitational in March. Her 10th place one-under-par 215 (75-72-68) finish at the Big Ten Championships was the best by a first-year event. Yun is the third straight Northwestern golfer to win freshman of the year following Dianna Lee (2023) and Nguyen (2022).
Cai and Nguyen were named to the All Big-Ten First Team. Both claimed individual victories this season, with Nguyen's 11-under-par 205 (66-70-69) at the Windy City Collegiate Classic and Cai's five-under-par 208 (71-68-69) at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate. Cai earned Big Ten Golfer of the Week honors for the first time in her career after winning the tournament. Nguyen, who was named to the first team for the second straight season, earned two weekly conference awards this year and an invitation to the prestigious Augusta National Women's Amateurs.
Li captured All-Big Ten Second Team recognition. She finished 12th in back-to-back tournaments, with a four-under-par 212 (72-72-68) at the UCF Challenge and an even par 216 (73-71-72) at the Moon Golf Invitational. She placed 11th in her best finish of the season at the Silverado Showdown, with a one-over-par 217 (73-75-69) to close out the regular season. Yun also joined Li on the all-league second team.
Additionally, sophomore Dianna Lee was named Northwestern's recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award, which is given to student-athletes with distinguished sportsmanship, ethical behavior, academic standing, and good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.
The Wildcats will travel to East Lansing, Mich. for their 14th consecutive NCAA Women's Golf Championships appearance from Monday, May 6 through Wednesday, May 8.
2024 BIG TEN WOMEN'S GOLF AWARDS
GOLFER OF THE YEAR: Monet Chun, SR, Michigan
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Ashley Yun, FY, Northwestern
COACH OF THE YEAR: Emily Fletcher, Northwestern
ALL-BIG TEN FIRST TEAM
Jennifer Cai, SR, Northwestern
Monet Chun, SR, Michigan
Kary Hollenbaugh, SO, Ohio State
Katie Lu, JR, Michigan State
Patricie Mackova, SR, Maryland
Caley McGinty, GR, Ohio State
Lauryn Nguyen, JR, Northwestern
Isabel Sy, SR, Illinois
ALL-BIG TEN SECOND TEAM
Hailey Borja, GR, Michigan
Nicha Kanpai, SO, Maryland
Ashley Kozlowski, SR, Purdue
Jieni Li, SR, Northwestern
Isabella McCauley, SO, Minnesota
Kelli Ann Strand, SO, Nebraska
Momo Sugiyama, JR, Purdue
Ashley Yun, FY, Northwestern
SPORTSMANSHIP AWARDS
Isabel Sy, Illinois
Caroline Craig, Indiana
Kaitlyn Hanna, Iowa
Maria Vittoria Corbi, Maryland
Hailey Borja, Michigan
Megan Furtney, Michigan State
Leila Raines, Minnesota
Michaela Vavrova, Nebraska
Dianna Lee, Northwestern
Faith Choi, Ohio State
Drew Nienhaus, Penn State
Jocelyn Bruch, Purdue
Leigha Devine, Rutgers
Vanessa Ho, Wisconsin
Fletcher was recognized by her peers as the conference's coach of the year, winning the award for the second straight season and sixth time in her career (2023, 2016, 2015, 2013, 2011). She led the Wildcats to top four finishes in each of their last nine tournament's this season, including back-to-back first place finishes at the PING/ASU Invitational and the Silverado Showdown. The 'Cats are currently ranked eighth in the nation will play as the two seed at the NCAA Women's Golf Championships East Lansing Regional next week.
Yun earned Big Ten Women's Golf Freshman of the Year honors after a remarkable debut season. The first-year already has a weekly conference honor under her belt following a third-place individual finish (68-73-69=210) that helped the 'Cats take home the team title at the PING/ASU Invitational in March. Her 10th place one-under-par 215 (75-72-68) finish at the Big Ten Championships was the best by a first-year event. Yun is the third straight Northwestern golfer to win freshman of the year following Dianna Lee (2023) and Nguyen (2022).
Cai and Nguyen were named to the All Big-Ten First Team. Both claimed individual victories this season, with Nguyen's 11-under-par 205 (66-70-69) at the Windy City Collegiate Classic and Cai's five-under-par 208 (71-68-69) at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate. Cai earned Big Ten Golfer of the Week honors for the first time in her career after winning the tournament. Nguyen, who was named to the first team for the second straight season, earned two weekly conference awards this year and an invitation to the prestigious Augusta National Women's Amateurs.
Li captured All-Big Ten Second Team recognition. She finished 12th in back-to-back tournaments, with a four-under-par 212 (72-72-68) at the UCF Challenge and an even par 216 (73-71-72) at the Moon Golf Invitational. She placed 11th in her best finish of the season at the Silverado Showdown, with a one-over-par 217 (73-75-69) to close out the regular season. Yun also joined Li on the all-league second team.
Additionally, sophomore Dianna Lee was named Northwestern's recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award, which is given to student-athletes with distinguished sportsmanship, ethical behavior, academic standing, and good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.
The Wildcats will travel to East Lansing, Mich. for their 14th consecutive NCAA Women's Golf Championships appearance from Monday, May 6 through Wednesday, May 8.
2024 BIG TEN WOMEN'S GOLF AWARDS
GOLFER OF THE YEAR: Monet Chun, SR, Michigan
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Ashley Yun, FY, Northwestern
COACH OF THE YEAR: Emily Fletcher, Northwestern
ALL-BIG TEN FIRST TEAM
Jennifer Cai, SR, Northwestern
Monet Chun, SR, Michigan
Kary Hollenbaugh, SO, Ohio State
Katie Lu, JR, Michigan State
Patricie Mackova, SR, Maryland
Caley McGinty, GR, Ohio State
Lauryn Nguyen, JR, Northwestern
Isabel Sy, SR, Illinois
ALL-BIG TEN SECOND TEAM
Hailey Borja, GR, Michigan
Nicha Kanpai, SO, Maryland
Ashley Kozlowski, SR, Purdue
Jieni Li, SR, Northwestern
Isabella McCauley, SO, Minnesota
Kelli Ann Strand, SO, Nebraska
Momo Sugiyama, JR, Purdue
Ashley Yun, FY, Northwestern
SPORTSMANSHIP AWARDS
Isabel Sy, Illinois
Caroline Craig, Indiana
Kaitlyn Hanna, Iowa
Maria Vittoria Corbi, Maryland
Hailey Borja, Michigan
Megan Furtney, Michigan State
Leila Raines, Minnesota
Michaela Vavrova, Nebraska
Dianna Lee, Northwestern
Faith Choi, Ohio State
Drew Nienhaus, Penn State
Jocelyn Bruch, Purdue
Leigha Devine, Rutgers
Vanessa Ho, Wisconsin
Players Mentioned
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