ST. LOUIS, Mo. ? A trio of Bradley women's golfers earned First-Team Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete honors, making up half of the six-member first team, announced by the league office Thursday morning. Sophomore Bari-Lynn Erais (Lethbridge, Alberta/Lethbridge Institute) was a unanimous selection, while senior Charlotte McGinnis (Edmonton, Alberta/Boise State) and junior Rikki Sobel (Deerfield, Ill./Deerfield) were both first-team selections. In addition, junior Whitney Cox (Edmonton, Alberta/Harry Ainlay) was an honorable mention selection.
The Braves had multiple selections for the first-team scholar-athlete team for the first time since the 2003-04 season and had three individuals earn the honor in the same season since 2000-01. Bradley has had 15 first-team MVC women's golf scholar-athlete selections since the start of the 1999-2000 season, which is six more than any other school in the Valley in that time. The Braves 19 all-time scholar-athlete selections is second only to Southern Illinois' 23 all-time awards and is six more than any other league member.
The third different Bradley player to earn medalist honors at the State Farm MVC Women's Golf Championship, Erais earned all-conference honors for the second consecutive year. She took top honors at the MVC Championship, shooting 219 in the three-round even to finish three shots ahead of teammate and second-place finisher Rikki Sobel.
An accounting major with a 3.79 cumulative grade point average, Erais finished one shot short of setting a Bradley season record for stroke average with a 76.7 average as a sophomore and ranks as Bradley's career leader in stroke average at 77.7. She shot 17 of 21 rounds in the 70's and had six top 10 finishes in Bradley's nine events.
McGinnis owns the highest GPA among the honorees with a perfect 4.00 grade point average and is working on a double major in English and Psychology. A transfer from Boise State University, McGinnis finished third on the team with a 78.9 stroke average and shot 13 of 21 rounds in the 70's. She finished tied for 18th at the MVC Championship and placed in the top 20 in six of the nine tournaments the Braves played in 2006-07.
A Business Management and Administration major with a 3.52 grade point average, Sobel finished second to Erais at the MVC Championship and was an All-Missouri Valley Conference honoree. She was second on the squad with a 78.2 stroke average and 15 rounds in the 70's to go along with three top 10 finishes.
Cox was the lone honorable mention scholar-athlete selection for the Braves. She owns a 3.79 GPA in accounting and was fourth among Bradley golfers with a 79.1 stroke average this season. Cox finished ninth at the State Farm MVC Championship and tied Erais for the team lead in top 10 finishes with six in 2006-07.
The criteria for the MVC scholar-athlete team parallel the CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) standards for academic ESPN the Magazine All-America voting. Nominees must be ?starters' or important reserves with at least a 3.00 cumulative grade point average (4.0 scale). Student-athletes must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their institutions and must have participated in at least 50 percent of her team's rounds or played at the State Farm MVC Championship.
