Sac State's Shutler Heads All-Conference Team

4/30/2012 1:49:13 PM

Jon Kasper - Big Sky Conference

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OGDEN, UTAH (April 30,2012) - Sacramento State’s Julie Shutler has earned the Big Sky Conference women’s golf Player of the Year honor. The senior from Manteca, Calif., also heads the five student-athletes on the All-Conference First Team. 

The All-Conference Team and Individual Award winners are based on rankings provided by Golfstat. For the first time, results in the Big Sky Championship were included before the All-Conference Team was announced.

Montana’s Tara Green earned Freshman of the Year in a tight battle with Sacramento State’s Lexie Hall.

Shutler, who tied for fifth at the Big Sky Championship played last week at the Ocotillo Golf Resort in Chandler, Ariz., finished the season with a Golfstat Ranking of 139. She played in nine tournaments, averaging 75.12 shots per round. She had four top-five finishes, and seven top-20 finishes.

Shutler finished the conference championship 1-over-par, helping the Hornets to a second-place team finish. During the spring season, Shutler finished third at the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic, fourth at the Folino Invitational, and fifth at the Fresno State Lexus Classic. Shutler, who earned First Team honors as a sophomore in 2010, is the first Hornet to claim Player of the Year.

Green, from Harrisville, Utah, finished with a Golfstat ranking of 559 to edge Hall, who had a ranking of 561, for the Freshman of the Year. Green played in 11 tournaments, averaging 77.65 strokes per round. Her season was highlighted by winning the Folino Invitational. During that tournament, Green fired a second-round 68 and finished with a 220. Green also tied for sixth at the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic, and tied for 28th at the Big Sky Championship.

Portland State placed two golfers on the First Team: junior Britney Yada and senior Tiffany Schoning. Yada, the 2011 Big Sky Champion, finished with a ranking of 308. Schoning had a ranking of 341. This is Yada’s third straight appearance on the First Team, while Schoning was named to the squad for the second consecutive season. Yada is from Hilo, Hawai’i. Schoning is from Bend, Ore.

Yada tied for fifth at the Big Sky Championship, tying the single-round Big Sky record with a 67 in the final round. Yada averaged 76.31 strokes per round with three top-five finishes. Schoning averaged 76.48 strokes per round with four top-five finishes, including a tie for second at the Big Sky Championship. Schoning shot a second-round 68 at Ocotillo and finished just one shot behind the winner. Schoning, who finished in the top five at four tournaments, averaged 76.48 strokes per round.

Carleigh Silvers of league champion Northern Colorado was also tabbed to the First Team. Silvers, a junior from Martinsville, Ind., finished with a ranking of 243. Silvers captured the 2012 Big Sky Conference Championship by firing a 3-under-par 213 last week at Ocotillo. Silvers shot a 5-under-par 31 on her final nine holes in Tuesday’s final round to help the Bears beat Sacramento State by two shots. Silvers played in nine tournaments during the season, averaging 76.08 strokes per round.

Northern Arizona sophomore Kaitlen Parsons of Greenacres, Wash., rounded out the first team. Parsons averaged 76.55 strokes per round and had a ranking of 308. Parsons had two top-five finishes and two top-10 finishes this season. Parsons tied for seventh at the Big Sky Championship.

Green and Hall earned Second Team honors, along with Montana junior Olivia Weber, Northern Arizona junior Stephanie Kim and Weber State junior Kelsey Chugg.

2012 ALL-CONFERENCE GOLF TEAM

Player of the Year - Julie Shutler, Sacramento State
Freshman of the Year - Tara Green, Montana

First Team

*Two-Time All-Conference
#Three-Time All-Conference

Second Team