United Athletic Conference

One week after winning their 10th WAC women's golf title, the NM State Aggies found out they are headed west for the NCAA Regional at Stanford Golf Course.

 

The Aggies are led by WAC Player of the Year Amelia McKee, who leads the team in stroke average at 74.82 with a pair of top-10 finishes. Senior Pun Chanachai is averaging 74.88 strokes per round this season with a pair of top-5 finishes, including a third-place finish at the WAC Championships. WAC Freshman of the Year Alison Gastulum is third for the Aggies with a 75.06 average.

 

Utah Valley's Victoria Estrada will also be at Stanford as the 2021 WAC Championship champion earned an invitation to compete as an individual.

 

Wake Forest is the top-seeded team at the Stanford regional, followed by Oklahoma State and Southern California. Host Stanford is the fifth seed.

 

The top six finishing teams and the top three finishing individuals not on those teams at each of the four regionals will advance to the NCAA Championship in Scottsdale, Ariz.

 

The 2020-21 All-WAC teams have been named following a vote of the WAC's nine head coaches. NM State earned the sweep as Amelia McKee was named WAC Player of the Year, Alison Gastelum was named WAC Freshman of the Year and Danny Bowen repeated as WAC Coach of the Year.

 

McKee earns honors after helping lead NM State to its 10th WAC Championship at Boulder Creek Golf Club in Boulder City, Nev. She finished in a tie for eighth at the event, shooting a 5-over-par 221. She also led the Aggies in stroke average on the season at 74.82 through 17 rounds played. Heading into the WAC Championship, she was the top ranked WAC golfer in the NCAA individual rankings, coming in at 282.

 

Gastelum was named WAC Freshman of the Year after placing seventh at the WAC Championship, shooting a 4-over-par 220. Her best round of the spring came back in February when she shot a 3-under-par 69 in the second round of the Moorpark Intercollegiate. Heading into the WAC Championship, she was the highest ranked WAC golfer in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings at 318.

 

Bowen earns his second consecutive WAC Coach of the Year honor after leading the Aggies to their 10th WAC women's golf title in his third season as a head coach. A 2007 graduate of NM State, he helped the men's golf program win four tournaments, including two conference championships. Bowen was a three-time conference first team honoree and was also invited to participate in the NCAA West Regional Golf Tournament as an individual on two separate occasions.

 

McKee and Gastelum also earned first-team All-WAC honors. Joining them on the first team are NM State's Pun Chanachai, Utah Valley's Victoria Estrada, Grand Canyon's Lani Luafalealo and Grand Canyon's Siripatsorn Patchana.

 

The All-WAC second team is made up of Seattle U's Samantha Bruce, California Baptist's Sofia Chabon, Grand Canyon's Payton Fehringer, California Baptist's Hailey Loh and Grand Canyon's Carly Strole.

 

Former professional golfer Juli Erekson has been named Utah Valley University's new women's golf coach, the school announced on Monday. Erekson is being elevated from her previous position as an assistant coach and will replace Dr. Sue Nyhus, who recently announced her retirement from coaching. Erekson will officially take over as the program's fifth head coach following the 2020-21 season.

 

Prior to joining UVU's staff this season, Erekson spent four seasons over two stints as an assistant coach at BYU, her alma mater. After a standout four-year collegiate career at Brigham Young, Erekson then turned professional and played on the LPGA Futures Tour for three years.

 

Through the WAC Championship, Grand Canyon's Siripatsorn Patchana led the league in stroke average at 73.9. Teammate Lani Luafalealo was second at 74.2, followed by Seattle U's Kimberlee Tottori in third at 74.4. As a team, GCU was the low scoring team in the WAC at 296.4 per round, followed by NM State (298.6) and California Baptist (298.9).

 

While just one team and one individual from the WAC was selected for the NCAA Regionals, next year will feature two teams straight off regional experiences when Sam Houston joins the league. The Bearkats, who won the Southland Conference title, will participate in the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional.

 

On Jan. 14, the WAC announced the addition of five new schools in the upcoming years. Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin and Southern Utah were all offered and accepted membership invitations. With the addition, the WAC will have six schools in Texas, more than any other conference in the country, and three schools in Utah, also a national best. The four Texas schools will join the league on July 1, 2021 and Southern Utah will follow 365 days later, officially joining the WAC on July 1, 2022.