Bradley University Athletics

Five Braves Named WGCA All-American Scholars

Women's Golf 6/29/2020 2:15:00 PM

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. -- Bradley Women's Golf matched a program record with five Braves being named Women's Coaches Association (WGCA) All-American Scholars according to an announcement by the WGCA Monday.

Sophomore Elyse Emerzian and junior Maddie Hawkins were both repeat WGCA All-American Scholars, while sophomores Sarah Nacos and Megan Welch along with freshman Mara Flaherty each earned the honor for the first time.

Bradley's five WGCA All-American Scholars tied for second most in the Missouri Valley Conference and were the most for the Braves since boasting a program five honorees in 2011-12.

The WGCA All American-Scholar team included 1,401 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.

Emerzian played in five tournaments in 2019-20, ranking sixth on the team with a 78.29 stroke average. She placed in the top 20 three times, including the season-opening Redbird Invitational where she tied for fifth. A marketing major, Emerzian owns a 3.72 cumulative grade point average.

One of two Braves to play in all seven tournaments, Flaherty ranked fifth on the team with a 78.05 stroke average. Her season stroke average ranks seventh among freshman marks and was the best by a Bradley rookie since Taylor Ledwein in 2016-17. An engineering major, Flaherty closed out her first year on The Hilltop with a 3.89 cumulative grade point average.

Hawkins was second on the team in stroke average (77.24) and led the squad with 16 rounds in the 70's. She was rated 11^th in the MVC in the Golfstat.com rankings, while her season stroke average was 12^th-best in the Valley. Hawkins had her best showing of the year at the MVC Preview, tying for seventh to pace the Braves. The civil engineering major will bring a 3.89 cumulative grade point average into her senior year.

Nacos saw action in four tournaments, closing the season with a 79.92 stroke average. She fired a career-best 75 in the opening round of the Cardinal Classic in Yorktown, Ind. The biology major owns a 3.77 cumulative grade point average.

Welch was an honorable mention MVC Scholar-Athlete and ranked fourth on the team in stroke average a 77.76. She was named MVC Golfer of the Week after earning the first top-10 finish of her career (T9th) at the Rio Verde Invitational. Welch posted a 75.44 average over the final three tournaments of the season. A mathematics education major, Welch owns a 3.74 cumulative grade point average.

Bradley's five WGCA All-American Scholars pushed the programs total to 40 recipients over the last 11 seasons.

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