Wednesday, July 07, 2010

Coral Springs, Fla. – Six Atlantic Sun women’s golfers have been named to the 2009-10 National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) All-American Scholar-Athlete Team.

Three Belmont women’s golfers, Kelly Maguigan, Jennifer Newman, and Janet Steen made the NGCA All-American Scholar-Athlete Team, marking the fifth straight season that Belmont has had a women’s golfer named to this prestigious team.

Rising junior Kelly Maguigan is named to the team for the second consecutive year. The Franklin, Tennessee native played 21 rounds in 11 events and carded a scoring average of 80.4 for the season. Earlier in the year, she was accepted to Belmont’s College of Pharmacy and will begin her graduate work in that area this fall.

Jennifer Newman, a Brentwood, Tennessee native, played just 14 rounds in seven events after being hampered with an injury during the spring season. Newman, a rising junior who is majoring in music business, led the team in scoring with a 79.8 average and posted two top-20 finishes, including a career-best tie for seventh at the UAB Fall Beach Blast last November. She also earned medalist honors in the squad’s dual match with Lipscomb last September.

Rising sophomore Janet Steen was also hindered by injuries during her first season as a Bruin. The Biology major from Hendersonville, Tennessee, played just 12 rounds in seven events and finished with an average of 80.3 for the season. Steen’s best finish was a tie for 20th place at the Drake Creek Invitational last fall.

Kennesaw State's Ket Preamchuen became the first woman in Owls history to earn the prestigious honor. She earned the honor by obtaining a 3.81 cumulative grade point average during her freshman year. Aside from doing a spectacular job in the classroom, Preamchuen also led the way on the golf course, setting a program record with a stroke average of 74.7. Her fourth place finish at the A-Sun Championship helped the Owls to a second place finish, and helped her earn All A-Sun First Team and A-Sun All Freshman honors.

Mercer University graduate Alex Quagliata was recognized for the prestigious honor. Quagliata graduated from Mercer with Magna Cum Laude honors in June 2010. She was a mainstay on the women’s golf team during her four years at Mercer. Her most acclaimed finish was a top 20 spot at the prestigious EAT A PEACH Collegiate where she captured low medalist honors for the Bears. This event hosted some of the top golf teams in America.

FGCU's Amber Pedersen adds the NGCA All-American Scholar-Athlete Team to her lists of honors that already includes her three appearances on Atlantic Sun All-Academic team and the Golfer of the Month award for February 2010. In her senior season with the Eagles, the closed her year with five consecutive top-20 finishes, highlighted by a tie for seventh at the JMU Eagle Landing Invitational.

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.