Kelly Gillum Wins Big Sky Golfer of the Year Award
4/14/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Montana State golfer Kelly Gillum has captured the 2008-09 Big Sky Conference Player of the Year award, becoming just the second player in school history to earn the honor. The first Bobcat to win the honor, Jen McGregor, was also the medalist at the 1995 Big Sky Conference Tournament played in Bozeman at Riverside Country Club. Gillum wins the honor by virtue of being the highest rated golfer in the Big Sky Conference using Golf Stat ratings, a national rating system for collegiate and high school golfers. Gillum was medalist in two tourneys this spring—the Red Rocks Invite and the conference preview event, the Cowgirl Classic at Chandler, Arizona. Gillum is a senior majoring in Liberal Studies and hails from Fort Collins, Colorado.
“I’m so proud of her because she has grown so much as a player in her commitment to the game,” head coach Leslie Spalding said. “Kelly makes golf look simple yet has the drive to compete at a higher level and she is very deserving of the honor.”
The Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year, and All-Conference Team were released on Tuesday. Ratings provided by Golfstat were used to determine the All-Conference Team and individual award winners.
Gillum, a senior from Fort Collins, Colo., enters the 2009 Big Sky Championship with a national rating of 256. She earned medalist honors at two spring tournaments, the Northern Arizona Red Rocks Invitational and the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic. She also recorded two other top-five finishes, tying for fourth at the Sacramento State Invitational and the Eastern Washington/Gonzaga tournament last September.
Sacramento State’s Justine Chen became the first Hornet to capture the Freshman of the Year. Chen, from Lake Forest, Calif., has a Golf Stat rating of 386, which also earned her First Team All-Conference honors. Chen played in nine tournaments this season, tying for third at the Sacramento State Invitational, tying for fifth at the Washington State Invitational, and tallied three other top-20 finishes.
Joining Gillum and Chen on the First Team are Northern Arizona’s Ali Carter, Portland State’s Stephanie Johns and Sacramento State’s Brooke Green.
Carter, a senior from Phoenix, Ariz., earned First Team honors of the third time in her career. Carter did not play during the fall season as she worked toward her degree in elementary education by student teaching at an American Air Force Base in Germany. She returned in the spring, playing in five tournaments with a scoring average of 77.0. Her Golf Stat rating of 311 was second in the Big Sky. Carter earned First-Team honors in 2006 and 2007 and was a Second-Team honoree in 2008. Carter tied for second at the Hiddenbrooke Intercollegiate and third at the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic.
Johns, a transfer from Nevada, has a rating of 355. The junior from Ashland, Ore., claimed medalist honors last fall at the Eastern Washington/Gonzaga tournament.
Green, from Sacramento, Calif., has a rating of 386. She recorded three top-10 finishes. Her best performance was a fifth-place finish at the Cowgirl Classic.
Northern Arizona’s Alexa Kim and Bethany Leclair were named to the Second team, along with Weber State’s Emily Copier, Sacramento State’s Samantha Saffold and Eastern Washington’s Marli Mikulecky.
There were no repeat selections from last year’s First Team. The 2009 Big Sky Conference Championship will be played April 20-22 at the Ocotillo Golf Resort in Chandler, Ariz. All nine Big Sky teams competed at Ocotillo April 6-7 at the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic. Northern Arizona won the team title with Gillum claiming medalist honors.
2008-2009 Big Sky All-Conference Golf Team
Kelly Gillum, Sr.,Montana State
*Ali Carter, Sr., Northern Arizona
Stephanie Johns, Jr., Portland State
Brooke Green, Jr.,Sacramento State
Justine Chen, Fr., Sacramento State
*Three-Time Selection
Second Team
Alexa Kim, So., Northern Arizona
Emily Copier, So.,Weber State
Samantha Saffold, So., Sacramento State
Bethany Leclair, So.,Northern Arizona
Marli Mikulecky, Sr.,Eastern Washington
“I’m so proud of her because she has grown so much as a player in her commitment to the game,” head coach Leslie Spalding said. “Kelly makes golf look simple yet has the drive to compete at a higher level and she is very deserving of the honor.”
The Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year, and All-Conference Team were released on Tuesday. Ratings provided by Golfstat were used to determine the All-Conference Team and individual award winners.
Gillum, a senior from Fort Collins, Colo., enters the 2009 Big Sky Championship with a national rating of 256. She earned medalist honors at two spring tournaments, the Northern Arizona Red Rocks Invitational and the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic. She also recorded two other top-five finishes, tying for fourth at the Sacramento State Invitational and the Eastern Washington/Gonzaga tournament last September.
Sacramento State’s Justine Chen became the first Hornet to capture the Freshman of the Year. Chen, from Lake Forest, Calif., has a Golf Stat rating of 386, which also earned her First Team All-Conference honors. Chen played in nine tournaments this season, tying for third at the Sacramento State Invitational, tying for fifth at the Washington State Invitational, and tallied three other top-20 finishes.
Joining Gillum and Chen on the First Team are Northern Arizona’s Ali Carter, Portland State’s Stephanie Johns and Sacramento State’s Brooke Green.
Carter, a senior from Phoenix, Ariz., earned First Team honors of the third time in her career. Carter did not play during the fall season as she worked toward her degree in elementary education by student teaching at an American Air Force Base in Germany. She returned in the spring, playing in five tournaments with a scoring average of 77.0. Her Golf Stat rating of 311 was second in the Big Sky. Carter earned First-Team honors in 2006 and 2007 and was a Second-Team honoree in 2008. Carter tied for second at the Hiddenbrooke Intercollegiate and third at the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic.
Johns, a transfer from Nevada, has a rating of 355. The junior from Ashland, Ore., claimed medalist honors last fall at the Eastern Washington/Gonzaga tournament.
Green, from Sacramento, Calif., has a rating of 386. She recorded three top-10 finishes. Her best performance was a fifth-place finish at the Cowgirl Classic.
Northern Arizona’s Alexa Kim and Bethany Leclair were named to the Second team, along with Weber State’s Emily Copier, Sacramento State’s Samantha Saffold and Eastern Washington’s Marli Mikulecky.
There were no repeat selections from last year’s First Team. The 2009 Big Sky Conference Championship will be played April 20-22 at the Ocotillo Golf Resort in Chandler, Ariz. All nine Big Sky teams competed at Ocotillo April 6-7 at the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic. Northern Arizona won the team title with Gillum claiming medalist honors.
2008-2009 Big Sky All-Conference Golf Team
Kelly Gillum, Sr.,Montana State
*Ali Carter, Sr., Northern Arizona
Stephanie Johns, Jr., Portland State
Brooke Green, Jr.,Sacramento State
Justine Chen, Fr., Sacramento State
*Three-Time Selection
Second Team
Alexa Kim, So., Northern Arizona
Emily Copier, So.,Weber State
Samantha Saffold, So., Sacramento State
Bethany Leclair, So.,Northern Arizona
Marli Mikulecky, Sr.,Eastern Washington
Wednesday, June 10
Friday, March 27
Monday, March 23
Friday, March 13
