FARMINGTON, Utah (April 14, 2023) – The Big Sky Conference office has announced its 2022-23 Women’s Golf All-Conference Team and Individual Award Winners, highlighted by Sacramento State’s Jennifer Koga claiming her third-consecutive Player of the Year title.
Koga, who was both Player of the Year and
Freshman of the Year in 2021, repeated as the league’s top golfer in 2022 and has now become the third golfer in Big Sky history to claim the title three seasons in a row. Portland State’s A Ram Choi was the most recent Big Sky golfer to achieve this feat, doing so from 2013-15, with Northern Arizona’s Sophia Choi earning three-straight from 2006-08.
Sacramento State’s Ella Kraft was named Big Sky Conference
Freshman of the Year, meaning the Hornets have claimed the last four titles for this honor, as she joins Caitlin Maurice (2022), Koga (2021) and Tess Blair (2020). They’ve also claimed five of the last six, with Corinne Viden winning in 2018 for Sacramento state.
Across all sports, Koga is now the 13
th student-athlete to win MVP three times. She is also the fourth to win it as a
freshman, sophomore and junior. The other three athletes to hit that mark were women’s tennis players.
For Blair, this marks her fourth-consecutive First Team All-Conference honor. Blair was both Player of the Year and
Freshman of the Year in 2020.
Rounding out the All-Conference First Team is SAC’s Maurice and Ellena Slater from Northern Arizona.
The Hornets led the league with five All-Conference honorees. SAC’s four First Team selections is also the most any team has had since the switch to the current format.
The Big Sky Women’s Golf All-Conference Team is comprised using a formula that takes into account Golfstat Ranking, Golfweek Ranking and the player’s adjusted score to par.
The 2023 Big Sky Women’s Golf Championship will take place at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona from April 17-19 with the Men’s Championships running from April 24-26 at the same location.
Montana State will serve as the women’s host, while Northern Colorado is the host for the men’s event.
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2022-23 Women’s Golf All-Conference Team & Individual Award Winners
Player of the Year – Jennifer Koga, Sacramento State
Freshman of the Year – Ella Kraft, Sacramento State
First Team All-Conference
Jennifer Koga, Sacramento State
Ella Kraft, Sacramento State
Tess Blair, Sacramento State
Caitlin Maruice, Sacramento State
Ellena Slater, Northern Arizona
Second Team All-Conference
Sienna Lyford, Sacramento State
Lizzie Neale, Northern Arizona
Vicky Tsai, Idaho
Marija Jucmane, Northern Colorado
Aleksandra Chekalina, Northern Arizona
Third Team All-Conference
Scarlet Weidig-Velazquez, Montana State
Yvonne Vinceri, Idaho
Jessica Zelasko, Weber State
Aerin Song, Weber State
Tya Seth, Portland State
Honorable Mention
Timbre Shehee, Northern Colorado
Nattavadee Khunsri, Idaho
Lorel Hayward, Northern Arizona
Sofia Fuenmayor, Weber State
Kameryn Basye, Montana State