Three Bulldog Women's Golf Student-Athletes Receive All-America Scholar Recognition

*2010-11 NGCA All-America Scholar Team Release* - (PDF)   

Three members of the Ferris State University women's golf team have been named to the 2010-11 National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) All-American Scholar Team in an announcement made this Friday (July 8) by the national organization.  

Junior Bryce Hetchler (Clinton Township/Fraser) along with freshmen Jacqueline DeBoer (Grand Rapids/South Christian) and Emily Rohdy (Farwell) are among 566 women's golf student-athletes encompassing NCAA Divison I, II, and III to earn NGCA All-American Scholar Team plaudits.  A total of 102 student-athletes hailed from Division II, which included 13 individuals from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) member institutions.  

The criteria for earning NGCA All-America Scholar Team recognition requires a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.50 and student-athletes must have completed in at least 66 percent of their team's regularly-scheduled competitive rounds during the respective season. 

Hetchler is a three-time (2008-09, 2009-10, and 2010-11) NGCA All-America Scholar Team honoree as a result of her selection this season.  She compiled an 82.95 stroke average (1,742 total strokes) in 21 rounds this 2010-11 campaign while notching five top-20 place performances, which included claiming medalist honors at the Lake Superior State Invitational (Sept. 11-12) with a two-round 156-stroke total.  Hetchler is a two-time (2008-09 and 2009-10) All-GLIAC Second-Team selection and was tabbed as a co-recipient of the 2009-10 squad's Most Valuable Player Award.  A 2009-10 D2 Athletics Directors Association Academic Achievement Award winner, Hetchler earned GLIAC All-Academic Excellence honors this season for maintaing at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average or higher.   

For her three-year (2008-11) career, Hetchler has tallied an 81.66 stroke average (6,043 total strokes) in 74 rounds.  She has posted 15 top 20-place finishes, including eight within the top 10 individual performers.

DeBoer attained both GLIAC Freshman of the Year and first-team All-GLIAC accolades this 2010-11 season while averaging a team-leading 80.23 strokes per round (2,086 total strokes) in 26 rounds.  DeBoer, who was named the Bulldogs' 2010-11 Most Valuable Player, competed in the 2011 NCAA Division II National Championships (May 11-14) and placed tied for 38th place with a four-round 316 score.  She accumulated eight top 20-place performances, including five in the top 10 which featured an eighth-place tying effort at the 2011 NCAA-II Super Regional One (May 1-3). 

A 2010-11 All-GLIAC Second-Team pick, Rohdy tallied an 83.29 strokes average (1,999 total strokes) in 24 rounds to go along with five placings among the top 20 individuals and two within the top five.  She was crowned medalist at the Ohio Dominican Give 18 Fore Cancer Classic (April 2-3) after winning a playoff following a two-round 159 regulation score.  Following the campaign, Rohdy was bestowed with the team's Most Improved Player Award.   

The NGCA, which was founded in 1983, is a non-profit organization which represents the women's collegiate golf coaches.  The NGCA was formed to encourage the playing of college golf for women in correlation with a general objective of education and in accordance with the highest tradition of intercollegiate competition.  Today, the NGCA represents nearly 500 coaches throughout the United States of America and is dedicated to educating, promoting, and recognizing both its members and the student-athletes they represent. 

With the trio's selection, the Ferris State women's golf program presently has had at least one student-athlete achieve NGCA All-America Scholar Team recognition on 25 occasions.

Ferris State, under head coach Michael Mignano, made its 10th consecutive NCAA-II Regional Tournament appearance this 2010-11 season.