THREE WOMEN'S GOLFERS NAMED TO ALL-AMERICAN SCHOLAR TEAM

*2006-07 NGCA All-America Scholar Release* PDF

Ferris State University had three members of its nationally-ranked women's golf team recently named to the 2006-07 National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) All-American Scholar Team.

Sophomore Raquel Hansen (West Olive/Grand Haven) along with junior Becky Hoffman (Gaines/Swartz Creek) and senior Casey McKinnon (St. Ignace/LaSalle) were among 61 women's golf student-athletes in NCAA Division II to earn All-Scholar Team recognition. The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) had 12 individuals from conference-member institutions selected to the 2007 NGCA All-American Scholar Team.

The NGCA All-American Scholar Team features a combined total of 368 women's collegiate golfers at the Division I, II and III levels. The criteria for All-America Scholar Team honors 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 year.

Hansen was chosen to the squad for the second consecutive year while Hoffman is a three-time selection and McKinnon a four-time honoree.

Hansen, a 2006-07 All-GLIAC Second-Team pick, compiled a 79.27 stroke average (2,061 total strokes) in 26 rounds for the 2006-07 campaign. Her season stroke average represents the 11th-best all-time among the program's single-season leaders. Hansen recorded eight finishes in the top 20, which included five top-10 efforts.

A marketing-professional golf management major, Hansen garnered 2006-07 conference all-academic team laurels and was a 2006-07 co-recipient of the FSU Athletics Department's Willie Bouyer Leadership Award.

Hoffman, who achieved NGCA Division II Women's Golf All-America Honorable Mention Team kudos for the 2006-07 season, recorded both a team-leading and career-best 76.86 stroke average (2,152 total strokes) in 28 rounds this campaign. Her 2006-07 season stroke average represents the second-best ever among the program's all-time season leaders.

A three-time (2004-05, 2005-06, and 2006-07) first-team All-GLIAC selection, Hoffman registered 11 top-20 finishes and placed among the top five individuals on four occasions. The 2006-07 team's Most Valuable Player, Hoffman attained 2007 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Women's At-Large Second-Team recognition after receiving first-team All-District IV honors. The two-time (2005-06 and 2006-07) GLIAC All-Academic Team member also earned a FSU Dean's Academic Award and was the team's repeat winner of the FSU President's Academic Award for maintaining the highest cumulative grade point average among the squad's members.

In her three-year FSU career, Hoffman presently ranks first among the program's all-time leaders list with a 78.49 career stroke average (6,750 total strokes) in 86 rounds. The social work major has racked up 30 top-20 place finishes, which includes 11 top-five place efforts.

McKinnon averaged 78.50 strokes per round (2,198 total strokes) in 28 rounds for the 2006-07 season to finish with squad's fourth-best stroke average. She placed among the top 20 eight times for the 2006-07 campaign, which featured a pair of top-five showings. McKinnon's season stroke average this campaign represents the seventh best on Ferris' all-time single-season leaders list. She received first-team all-conference kudos all four years and owns the distinction of being the only second Bulldog women's golf athlete to accomplish the feat.

A marketing-professional golf management major, McKinnon concluded her career ranking seventh among the school's leaders with an 80.19 stroke average (8,902 total strokes) in 111 rounds. McKinnon racked up 32 top-20 career finishes, which included nine among the top five. She is a two-time (2003-04 and 2005-06) NGCA All-America Honorable Mention pick and has landed a spot on the GLIAC All-Academic Team for four (2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06, and 2006-07) straight seasons.

The trio not only helped Ferris State capture the 2007 GLIAC Championships (April 20-21) and 2007 NCAA-II East Regional (April 30-May 2) titles, but also led the nationally-ranked Bulldogs to a third-place finish with a four-round 1,228 strokes total at the 2007 NCAA-II Women's Golf Championships (May 9-12) in Pace, Fla. The third-place showing marked the fourth consecutive year in which the FSU women's golf team has placed among the top four teams in the nation as the Bulldogs were second in the 2006 national tournament and tied for runner-up honors in the 2005 national event all under head coach Brad Bedortha.

The National Golf Coaches Association, which was founded in 1983, is a non-profit organization representing 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 over 400 coaches throughout the U.S. and is dedicated to educating, promoting and recognizing both its members and the student-athletes they represent.