Bradley University Athletics

Four Braves Earn WGCA All-American Scholar Honors

Women's Golf 7/8/2019 4:31:00 PM

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. -- Four Bradley women's golfers were named Women's Coaches Association (WGCA) All-American Scholars, with former Braves Frankie Saban (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg) and Brooke Thompson (Jefferson City, Mo./Jefferson City) along with junior Maddie Hawkins (Dubuque, Iowa/Dubuque Senior) and sophomore Elyse Emerzian (Deerfield, Ill./Deerfield) earning the award according to an announcement by the WGCA Monday

Bradley's four WGCA All-American Scholars tied for second most in the Missouri Valley Conference. The WGCA All American-Scholar team included 1,097 women's collegiate golfers from NCAA Division I, II & III. The criteria for selection required a minimum 3.50 grade point average and participation in at least 50 percent of the rounds scheduled during the regular season.

Saban was named a WGCA All-American Scholar for the fourth time and Thompson was recognized for the third consecutive year, while Hawkins and Emerzian are both first-time honorees.

Saban was a finalist for Bradley's Charles Orsborn Award and captured First-Team All-MVC honors for the second straight season in 2018-19. A hospitality leadership major with a 3.86 cumulative grade point average, Saban ranked fifth in the MVC in stroke average as a senior at 76.54 per round, closing her career with the sixth-best career stroke average in program history (77.83). Saban, who was a two-time First-Team MVC Scholar-Athlete pick, earned a trio of top-10 finishes in her final season at Bradley and tied for the team lead with five top-20 showings.

Thompson ranked fourth on the team with a 78.43 stroke average in 2018-19 to rank 21^st in the MVC, capping her career with an 11^th-place finish at the MVC Championship for her best finish of the year. A health science major with a 3.64 cumulative grade point average, Thompson closed her career 13^th in Bradley in career stroke average at 79.15.

Hawkins appeared in six tournaments as a sophomore in 2018-19 and posted a 79.53 stroke average in her 17 rounds. She earned the first top-10 finish of her career at the Babs Steffens Invitational (tied for 10^th). A civil engineering major with a 3.90 cumulative grade point average, Hawkins was even better in the spring where she posted a 79.00 stroke average.

After not playing during the fall semester, Emerzian appeared in all 14 rounds in the spring and improved her finish in each outing. A marketing major with a 3.70 cumulative grade point average, Emerzian posted a 77.33 average over her final two tournaments; tying for 25^th at the MVC Championship to cap her rookie season.

Bradley's four WGCA All-American Scholars pushed the programs total to 35 recipients over the last 10 seasons.

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