July 3, 2008
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Three members of the Notre Dame women’s golf team have been named to the National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) All-American Scholar Team for NCAA Division I. Sophomore Kristin Wetzel (Middletown, N.Y.) along with freshmen Katie Conway (Wading River, N.Y.) and So-Hyun Park (Seoul, South Korea) all received the honor.
The criteria for selection to the All-American Scholar Team are some of the most stringent of all college athletics. The minimum cumulative GPA is 3.50 and student-athletes must have competed in at least 50% (Division I) or 66% (Division II & III) of the college’s regularly scheduled competitive rounds during the year.
This marked the second straight NGCA All-American Scholar nod for Wetzel, who competed in all 11 tournaments during the 2007-08 season and produced a 77.16 scoring average over 32 rounds of play. She earned all-BIG EAST recognition by tying for fourth, a career-best showing, at the conference tournament in April. During her sophomore campaign, Wetzel notched career-best totals for a single round (71/-1) and 54-hole score (221/+5). In addition to her on-the-course accomplishments, the New York native carries a team-best 3.918 cumulative grade-point average as a finance major with a supplemental major in philosophy.
Conway produced Notre Dame’s third-best stroke average during her rookie season as she notched a 76.75 mark. She competed in every event on the year and fired a season-best round of 73 (+1) along with a top 54-hole mark of 220 (+4). Conway’s best finish of the season came at the Wolverine Invitational as she tied for ninth. In the classroom, Conway compiled a 3.70 cumulative GPA in the First Year of Studies Program at Notre Dame.
Park won two events during her freshman season and became the first All-America honoree in program history as she claimed honorable-mention All-America accolades from the NGCA and Golfweek magazine. She produced a school-record 73.63 scoring average in helping Notre Dame to a program-record five tournament victories, including the BIG EAST title. Park, an all-conference performer, registered a top round of 69 (-3), while her top three-round score was a 212 (-4), which is the second-lowest mark in school history. Academically, Park finished her first year at Notre Dame with a 3.618 cumulative GPA in the First Year of Studies Program.
The three NGCA All-American Scholar members tied the Notre Dame record for honorees in a single season. The Irish also had three on four other occasions and most recently in 2004.
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