McLean County Times

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. - The Illinois Wesleyan University women's golf team had nine student-athletes recognized as members of the All-American Scholar Team announced by the Women's Golf Coaches Association on Monday, July 1. A total of 1,497 women's collegiate golfers from 412 programs across all divisions were honored.

The Green and White honorees included seniors Rachel Ducaji (Springfield, Ill.-Sacred Heart-Griffin), Lexi Onsrud (Normal, Ill.-University High), Kira Petersen (Parker, Colo.-Chaparral), and Emma Thorman (Macomb, Ill.-Macomb); juniors Macy Ludwig (Effingham, Ill.-St. Anthony), Jacque O'Neill (Harbor Springs, Mich.-Harbor Springs), and Jadyn Spinks (Bloomington, Ill.-University High); as well as freshmen Emily Gastrau (Wauwatosa, Wis.-Wauwatosa East) and Sarah Sim (Hoffman Estates, Ill-Fremd).

Selection criteria for the All-American Scholar Team are stringent. A student-athlete must have a grade point average of 3.50 or higher and have played in 50 percent of the college's regularly scheduled competitive rounds during the year nominated through the team's conference championship.

Ducaji played 12 rounds over six tournaments in her final season. She achieved a scoring average of 80.3 with three top-20 finishes. Her single-round low was a 75 at the WashU Spring Invitational on April 6-7. Ducaji graduated with a degree in biology and maintained a 3.99 GPA.

Onsrud played all 26.5 rounds with a stroke average of 75.9 in her final year. She had three rounds of par-or-better and four top-five finishes among six top-10 placements. Onsrud tied for 17th at the NCAA Division III National Championship and took third at the CCIW Championship. She received multiple accolades including CCIW's Elite 26 Award for three consecutive years and NCAA's Elite 90 Award while maintaining a perfect GPA of 4.00 as a kinesiology and allied health major.

Petersen played in six tournaments totaling 12 rounds with an average score of 85.4 and three top-50 placements. Her best round was a score of 76 at the Wartburg Fall Invite on September 9th.

Thorman set school records with an average score of 74.9 strokes per round over eleven tournaments during her senior campaign while collecting numerous awards including WGCA All-America Honorable Mention and CCIW Golfer of the Year honors.

Ludwig concluded her season with an average score of 76.8 strokes per round across all competitions she participated in, setting several program records along the way.

O'Neill compiled an average score of 78.5 over eleven events she participated in while securing six top-20 finishes throughout her junior year.

Spinks posted career-best scores this season with an average score of 78.7 across all competitions she participated in leading to multiple top-20 finishes including runner-up placement at CCIW Championship earning her all-conference honors.

Gastrau competed across eight tournaments totaling sixteen rounds securing an overall scoring average of eighty-point-five while tallying multiple top-twenty finishes during her freshman year earning her recognition as CCIW’s Newcomer Of The Year.

Sim competed across six tournaments totaling twelve rounds achieving an overall scoring average eighty-three-point-three while securing notable placements within several competitions during her first-year participation within IWU’s lineup.

IWU's nine honorees were the most in their conference division outpacing Augustana College Carroll University North Central College who also had students recognized under similar distinctions by WGCA.