Wolte Earns First-Team All C-USA Honors
April 26, 2011 | Women's Golf
April 26, 2011
IRVING, Texas -East Carolina's Fanny Wolte was named first-team All-Conference USA and took home Freshman-of-the-Year honors the league announced Tuesday afternoon. Joining Wolte in post-season honors were Amber Littman (second-team) and Amy Otteson (third-team), marking the 10th-straight season a Pirate has taken home All C-USA accolades.
Wolte, the 2011 C-USA Freshman of the Year, debuts as a First-Team honoree. The young sensation wasted no time in proving herself as she earned individual medalist honors twice during her inaugural season - at both the Barefoot at the Beach Invitational and the UNCW Lady Seahawk Classic. After just one season, she ranks as the No. 163 golfer in the country by Golfweek. Wolte's Freshman of the Year recognition marks the third time in six years that an East Carolina Pirate has taken the award.
Conference USA its 2010 Women's Golf All-Conference First, Second and Third Teams along with postseason award winners following a vote by the league's 10 head coaches. Tulane sophomore Maribel Lopez Porras took home Player of the Year accolades, marking the third-consecutive year that a member of the Green Wave has earned the honor. UTEP head Coach Jere Pelletier was named Coach of the Year after guiding the team to its first C-USA title in program history.
Pelletier led UTEP to take top honors in one of the most competitive Championships in league history. The Miners topped the leaderboard with a three-day total of 904, taking a two-stroke margin of victory over second-place Tulane. With only a nine-stroke difference between UTEP and sixth-place SMU, Pelletier kept his team consistent throughout three days of play, with the Miners at the top after all three rounds. The Coach of the Year honor is the first for the UTEP women's golf program.
Porras earned Player of the Year honors after posting three top-five finishes during the 2010-11 campaign, including her fifth-place tie at the C-USA Championship. Her performance throughout the year helped the Green Wave tally five top-three team finishes. Currently ranked as the No. 53 golfer in the nation by Golfweek, Porras was named the league's Player of the Week on March 2.
Joining Porras with First Team All-Conference accolades is teammate Janine Fellows. The senior earned five top-20 finishes during the 2010-11 campaign and placed second at the Golfweek Conference Challenge with her 3-under par 213 tournament total, a performance that earned her C-USA Player of the Week honors. Fellows earns her second-straight First Team All-Conference recognition.
Memphis junior Marissa Steen was named to the First Team after posting an impressive season. She earned medalist honors four times during the season and only finished outside the top-25 once. Steen, who was one of two golfers to post rounds of 70 at the C-USA Championship, fought back from a rough first round to place second in the league finale. After receiving Second Team All-Conference accolades last year, she was C-USA's Player of the Week three times during her junior season.
Rounding out the First Team All-Conference list is Tulsa's Kristina Merkle. The sophomore earned her fifth top-10 finish of the season as she placed ninth at the C-USA Championship. The two-time First Team honoree posted back-to-back runner-up finishes in the fall, one of which helped the Golden Hurricane to take the team title at the Bob Hurley Auto ORU Shootout.
Tulane junior Meghan Chapman takes home the Newcomer of the Year award. After transferring from North Carolina State, Chapman immediately jumped onboard, helping the Green Wave squad throughout the year. Her most impressive performance of the year came at the C-USA Championship, where she tied for third thanks to her final-round 70.
Leading the way in All-Conference selections was Tulane, landing four golfers on the teams, while East Carolina and Tulsa both followed with three honorees. UTEP, the 2011 Conference USA Champion, posted a pair of selections.
2011 Conference USA Women's Golf Postseason Awards
All-Conference USA First Team
Fanny Wolte, East Carolina
Marissa Steen, Memphis
Janine Fellows, Tulane
Maribel Lopez Porras, Tulane
Kristina Merkle, Tulsa
All-Conference USA Second Team
Amber Littman, East Carolina
Ashley McKenney, Tulane
Marita Engzelius, Tulsa
Shang-Fan Huang, UTEP
Teresa Nogues, UTEP
All-Conference USA Third Team
Amy Otteson, East Carolina
Brandi Rodriguez, Southern Miss
Linn Gustafsson, Tulane
Kamryn Ruffin, Tulsa
Carolin Pinneger, UCF
Coach of the Year: Jere Pelletier, UTEP
Player of the Year: Maribel Lopez Porras, Tulane
Freshman of the Year: Fanny Wolte, East Carolina
Newcomer of the Year: Meghan Chapman, Tulane
