Tuesday, May 1, 2018

PORTLAND, Ore. – Helping Concordia to its first-ever conference title in just her second year with the program, sophomore Cammie Decker headlines this year’s selections to the 2017-18 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Women’s Golf All-Conference Team.

Taking her game to new heights, Decker was chosen by conference coaches as the GNAC Player of the Year as she led the league with a 77.4 stroke average. Of Concordia’s 11 top-10 finishes this season, Decker owns three of them, none of which were more important than her second-place finish at the GNAC Championships where she shot an 8-over par 150.

Named Concordia’s interim head coach earlier this year, Kim Dehning was voted by her peers as the GNAC Coach of the Year. Previously serving as an assistant coach for the Cavs since 2013, Dehning assumed interim duties in January following the resignation of Adrian Burtner. Aside from the GNAC Championships, Dehning guided the Cavaliers to top-10 team finishes at both the Sonoma State Spring Invite and Mustang Intercollegiate in April.

Simon Fraser’s Estee Leung was selected as the GNAC Freshman of the Year. Leung was named the GNAC Golf Player of the Week in late March after leading the Clan at the Otter Invitational with a 5-over par 76. At the GNAC Championships, she led after the first round after shooting an even-par 71, the only round of par or better shot in the tournament.

Adding to her already impressive inaugural season with Concordia, sophomore Caitlyn Villatora was chosen as both the GNAC Newcomer of the Year and First Team All-GNAC. Villatora surpassed all expectations at the GNAC Championships as she earned the individual medalist honors, shooting rounds of 74 and 75 to lead the Cavaliers to the team title. She is also fourth in the GNAC with a 78.9 stroke average.

Of the six players named to the First Team, five are repeat selections. For the fourth time in her career, Western Washington senior Jenn Paul has received First Team recognition. A two-time GNAC co-Player of the Year, Paul is the second four-time First Team All-GNAC women’s golf selection in conference history. She paced Western Washington by averaging 79.4 strokes per round this season and finished her collegiate career by tying for 14th at the GNAC Championships with a 164.

Joining Decker and Villatora to the list is teammate Shantel Antonio. The junior is third in the conference with a 78.7 stroke average and has compiled three top-five finishes. Her best effort came during September’s Northwest Shootout where she finished in first place.

Rounding out the First Team picks are Simon Fraser junior Emily Leung and senior Michelle Waters. Leung, the 2016-17 GNAC Player of the Year, finished second in the conference at 78 strokes per round. One of just two players to play in all 10 Clan tournaments this season, Leung paced the team with four top-10 finishes. Making her second appearance to the First Team, Waters compiled a 79.2 stroke average through 19 rounds this year. She registered an eighth-place finish at the GNAC Championships after scoring a 14-over par 156.

Of the six players receiving Second Team All-GNAC recognition, three are repeat selections. Montana State Billings senior Bailee Dexter and junior Shealyn Hafer were second-team honorees in 2017 while Western Washington junior Stephanie Sewell makes her third appearance to the all-conference squad.

2017-18 GNAC WOMEN'S GOLF ALL-CONFERENCE

Player of the Year: Cammie Decker, Concordia
Coach of the Year: Kim Dehning, Concordia
Freshman of the Year: Estee Leung, Simon Fraser
Newcomer of the Year: Caitlyn Villatora, Concordia