Lewis wins Dinah Shore Trophy

FAYETTEVILLE — University of Arkansas junior Stacy Lewis added a pair of prestigious awards to her already full trophy case this week earning the Dinah Shore Trophy Award and all-America honors from the National Golf Coaches Association. Lewis won the NCAA Women’s Golf National Championship on Friday becoming the first Lady Razorback to win in program history. She adds to that one of the most sought after awards in collegiate golf, the Dinah Shore Trophy. The Dinah Shore Trophy is issued annually to the female golfer who most exemplifies the sport. Recipients must have at least a 3.2 overall grade point average, have played in at least 50 percent of her team’s events, maintained a scoring average of 78 or less and "demonstrated leadership skills and/or extraordinary community affairs work." "This is a huge honor," said Arkansas head coach Kelley Hester. "It’s one of the biggest honors a collegiate female golfer can receive. Stacy exemplifies what a student-athlete and leader should be and that’s what this award is all about." The Dinah Shore Trophy is awarded by the LPGA via a vote of LPGA members. Both the Dinah Shore Trophy and her all-American status were not dependant upon her win at the NCAA Championship. Lewis receives a replica trophy and the Lady Razorback golf program gets a $10,000 grant in Lewis’ name. The award and grant are funded through the LPGA Foundation’s Dinah Shore Scholarship Fund and the Friends of Golf (FOG). The award is one of the first national player of the year honor for a Lady Razorback since Amy Yoder captured the Honda Award in 1999 for cross country. The Woodlands, Texas, native’s collegiate season is following on the heels of a stellar amateur summer. She finished the year as Golfweek’s top-ranked amateur and parleyed that success into a pair of wins for the Lady’Backs. Lewis captured medalist honors at the Peg Barnard Invitational in the fall and the Susie Maxwell Berning Classic early this spring. Lewis’ victory at the Peg was record setting as she fired a 71-67-69 for a 207 – the best round in school history. Her performance was equally impressive although just shy of the record at the Susie with rounds of 67-67-74 for a 208. Twice named Southeastern Conference Golfer of the Week, Lewis picked up her third consecutive SEC first-team honor despite not being able to play at the league championship. Lewis started the Mississippi State-hosted tournament carding an opening round 73 at Old Waverly Golf Course but a recurring back injury sidelined her for the remainder of the event. Listed as day-to-day prior to the NCAA Regional Championship, Lewis spent as much time rehabbing her injury as she did on the practice tee. But Lewis was more than able to compete leading the Arkansas charge at the regional. She opened with a one-under 70 followed by a one-over 72 in the second round. Lewis evened her scorecard with a 71 in the final round to tie for third place overall and advance to the NCAA Championship. As an amateur, Lewis has competed in two LPGA events, the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic and most recently, the Kraft Nabisco Championship. The Kraft Nabisco is the first of four majors on the tour and Lewis was the highest finishing amateur in the history of the tournament tying for fifth place overall. In addition, Lewis was the 11th Annual World University Games medalist and reached the semifinals of the U.S. Amateur Championship in the summer of 2006. The perpetual trophy is crystal and was created by Tiffany & Co., with an engraving of Dinah Shore. The trophy is housed at Mission Hills Country Club, the site of the annual Nabisco Dinah Shore. The Southeastern Conference has had eight of 13 winners come from its ranks. See the complete list below.