BECKY HOFFMAN EARNS HONORABLE MENTION ALL-AMERICA HONORS

Ferris State Women's Golf Athlete Honored Nationally

*2007-08 NGCA Division II Women's Golf Award Winners & All-America Teams* PDF

Ferris State University senior Becky Hoffman (Gaines/Swartz Creek) of the nationally-ranked Bulldog women's golf team was recently tabbed a 2007-08 honorable mention All-America selection by the National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) for Division II Women's Collegiate Golf.

The 2007-08 season honorees were recognized at the NGCA Division II Awards Banquet held during the 2008 Division II National Championships Festival (May 13-17) in Houston, Texas.

Hoffman was among six individuals to earn honorable mention on one of the three Duramed FUTURES Tour NGCA Division II All-America Teams, which included both a six-member first and second team.

Senior Becky Hoffman is the only the second Bulldog to receive All-America honors three times.

The all-america recognition represents the second consecutive season in which Hoffman has earned honorable mention team plaudits by the NGCA and the third time (2004-05, 2006-07, and 2007-08) in her collegiate career. The 2007-08 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Women's Golf Athlete of the Year also received the same honor in both the 2004-05 and 2006-07 seasons.

Nova Southeastern's (Fla.) Sandra Changkija claimed both the PING NGCA Division II Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year accolades for the 2007-08 season. Jerry Doyle of Tarleton State (Texas) was presented with the Division II National Coach of the Year Award while the Division II Kim Moore Spirit Award went to Southern Indiana's Tara Wiley.

Hoffman was Ferris State's top performer all season as she either led or tied for top team honors in six of the Bulldogs' 13 tournaments for the 2007-08 campaign. A four-time (2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07, and 2007-08) All-GLIAC First-Team pick, Hoffman registered a team-best 77.81 stroke average (2,490 total strokes) in 32 rounds of action and her average this campaign represents the third-best single-season performance in FSU women's golf history. She generated top-20 place finishes on 10 occasions, which featured three times among the top five individuals. Hoffman was the individual medalist at the 2008 GLIAC Championships (April 20-21) in Arlington, Ohio, as she carded a first-place tying 226-three round stroke total and then birdied the first playoff hole.

A three-time (2004-05, 2005-06, and 2006-07) NGCA Scholar-Athlete All-American, Hoffman placed in the top 10 in eight of the 13 tournaments in which she competed this season. She tied for 12th-place honors at the 2008 NCAA-II East Regional (May 5-7) in Allendale, Mich., with a three-round 245 score as the Bulldogs captured second place and then fired a 25th-place 310-stroke four-round total at the 2008 NCAA-II Women's Golf Championships (May 13-16) in Houston, Texas. Ferris State, which was making its fifth consecutive national tournament appearance this past weekend, turned in a fourth-place finish of eight participating teams with a 1,239 team score in the 72-hole event.

Hoffman concluded a standout four-year (2004-08) career with a school-record 78.31 stroke average (9,240 total strokes) in 118 rounds. She accumulated 40 career top-20 place finishes and 14 times placed among the top five individual golfers.

The All-America recognition received by Hoffman marks the 11th time in the program's history in which a Ferris State women's golf athlete has garnered the national honor. Hoffman joins Kathryn Bobbie as the only FSU golfers to have been honored as an All-American for three times in their respective careers. Bobbie attained All-America status three straight seasons (2000-01, 2001-02, and 2002-03).

Hoffman, the 2004-05 GLIAC Freshman of the Year, was chosen as the Bulldogs' Most Valuable Player a season ago and was the team's winner of the Bulldog Award for dedication and hard work in the 2004-05 campaign.

The organization also released its 2007-08 NGCA All-Region Teams and junior Raquel Hansen (West Olive/Grand Haven) landed a spot on the five-member East Region squad. She paced the Bulldogs at the 2008 NCAA-II East Regional with a second-place tying 233-stroke total.

The NGCA, 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. The NGCA represents nearly 500 coaches throughout the United States and is dedicated to educating, promoting and recognizing both its members and the student-athletes they represent.