Monday, July 8, 2019

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – After helping to lead Simon Fraser to a GNAC championship and a berth in the NCAA Division II Women’s Golf Regional Championship, Laura Jones and Estee Leung have both been named as 18Birdies All-American Scholars by the Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA).

Jones was named as an All-American Scholar for the second consecutive season. A junior with a 4.25 cumulative grade point average (on the Canada scale that awards a 4.33 for an A-plus) as a health sciences major, Jones compiled an 85.2 stroke average through eight tournaments this season. After tying for 24th place at April’s GNAC Championships, Jones carded a three-round score of 257 at the West Regional despite challenging weather conditions.

Leung, who has a 3.98 GPA as a sophomore in biomedical physiology, finished ninth in the GNAC with a 79.2 stroke average in 17 rounds. A Second Team All-GNAC selection, Leung finished the West Regional in a tie for 15th place with a score of 225 after finishing in a tie for 12th at the GNAC Championships.

Both players helped the Clan win their third GNAC championship in four years as the quintet shot a two-round score of 613. The team’s second-round score of 294 tied the GNAC record for a team score during a spring round. The Clan earned the conference’s first-ever automatic berth to the NCAA West Regional, finishing sixth in the 12-team field.

The two Simon Fraser golfers, the only GNAC student-athletes selected, were among a total of 1,097 named as 18Birdies WGCA All-American Scholars from every collegiate division. Nominees must have maintained a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 or better for the entirety of their collegiate career, be of high moral character and in good standing at the college making the nomination and must have played in at least 50 percent of their team’s regularly scheduled competitive rounds (not including NCAA Championships).