July 19, 2010
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Not only was the 2009-10 season a success on the course for Northwestern, but it is proving to be a success away from the links as well. The Wildcats were recognized by the National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) as having one of the nation's highest collective team GPAs, checking in at 24th with a combined team GPA of 3.525. Northwestern led all Big Ten schools as the Wildcat were the only conference team to crack the top-25.
"This is an amazing honor for this program and for the girls," said head coach Emily Fletcher. "This group of girls continues to impress me with their success academically. We are very proud of them."
It is the latest in a handful of academic accolades for Fletcher's squad, which had five golfers (juniors Rebecca Lederhausen, Kelsey Lindenschmidt and Innapha Tantanavivat and sophomores Kylie Fuller and Alexandra Lederhausen) earn Academic All-Big Ten honors. In addition, Lindenschmidt and A. Lederhausen were named Big Ten Distinguished Scholars, maintaining a 3.7 GPA or higher for the academic year. Lindenschmidt was also named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District V first team.
The Wildcats were just as strong on the course as well, qualifying for the NCAA Regionals for the first time since 2007 this past May. Northwestern finished sixth at the Big Ten Championships, posted a team-best 15 sub-300 rounds and finished among the top-10 in eight of its 12 events. Freshman Lauren Weaver was also named a second team All-Big Ten selection, the first for Northwestern since 2007.
The University of Indianapolis captured the NGCA All-Scholar Team GPA award, finishing with a 3.752, followed by Drury University (3.716) and Gustavus Adolphus College (3.714). Charleston Southern and Oklahoma both joined the Wildcats in a tie for 24th place with a 3.525 GPA, one one-hundredths of a point behind 23rd-place Stanford (3.535).
********************
Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats! -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter and become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook! Get the latest news, schedule updates, video and interact with NU. For more information on following specific Northwestern teams online, visit our Social Media page!