WGCA Releases Watch List
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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Maria Fassi has been named to the Women’s Golf Coaches Association’s Freshman of the Year watch list, the association announced Friday.
The WGCA Freshman of the Year Award is awarded annually to the top Freshman in Division I women’s golf. Each player must complete a minimum of 15 rounds during the competitive year in order to be considered. The award, along with the PING WGCA Player of the Year honor, will be announced after medial play at the NCAA Championship.
The PING WGCA Player of the Year Award is awarded annually to the best player in Division I women’s golf. The top 60 players from the Golfstat and Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings are considered. Each player must complete a minimum of 15 rounds during the competitive year including NCAA Regional Championships.
Fassi, a Pachuca, Mexico, native, joined the team in January after graduating high school early (December, 2015). Since that time she has qualified and played in all six spring events, becoming the first player in program history to open her career with a victory when she won the Lady Puerto Rico Classic.
Fassi has been the Razorbacks’ low finisher in five of six events with four top-10 showings this season. Her season/career bests include a single-round 67 (second round of Puerto Rico) and a three-round total 208 (Puerto Rico). Fassi leads all Razorbacks with a 72.56 stroke average and is ranked No. 9 on the SEC leaderboard. Fassi ranks No. 7 in Golfweek, and No. 55 on WAGR.com.
The first-year player earned selection to the All-Southeastern Conference Second-Team and the SEC All-Freshman team this year.
Freshman of the Year Candidates
• Maria Fassi, FR, University of Arkansas. She has a 72.56 scoring average and four top 10 finishes, including a tournament victory at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic.
• Cheyenne Knight, FR, University of Alabama. Averaging 72.54 and has five top 10 finishes, including a tournament victory at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate.
• Robynn Ree, FR, University of Southern California. Has a scoring average of 71.64. She has five top 10 finishes, including a runner-up finish at the Annika Intercollegiate and a victory at the Gold Rush.
• Linnea Strom, FR, Arizona State University. Averaging 71.93 and has seven top 10 finishes, including a victory at the PAC-12 Championships. In addition, she has runner-up finishes at the Arizona Wildcat Invitational and the Nanea PAC-12 Preview.
• Bailey Tardy, FR, University of Georgia. Has a scoring average of 71.90 and eight top 10 finishes, including six in the top five. She has tournament victories at the Windy City Collegiate Championship and the NCAA Bryan Regional.
• Lilia Vu, FR, UCLA. Averaging 71.79. Her four top 10 finishes include a runner-up finish at the PING/ASU Invitational.
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Player of the Year Candidates
• Katelyn Dambaugh, SR, University of South Carolina. Has a 71.60 scoring average and six top five finishes, including a victory at the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional and a runner-up finish at the SEC Championships.
• Bronte Law, JR, UCLA. Scoring averaging of 70.56 with seven top five finishes. Her four tournament victories include the Stanford Intercollegiate, the Bruin Wave Invitational, the PING/ASU Invite, and the NCAA Bryan Regional.
• Leona Maguire, SO, Duke University. Has a 72.21 scoring average with six top 10 finishes, including a tie for fourth at the Landfall Tradition and a victory at the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invite. Maguire won both the 2014-15 PING WGCA Player of the Year Award and the 2014-15 WGCA Freshman of the Year Award.
• Bailey Tardy, FR, University of Georgia. She is averaging 71.90 and has six top five finishes, including two wins. She has tournament victories at the Windy City Collegiate Championship and the NCAA Bryan Regional.
