By: Hunter McKay
ASUN Release | ASUN All-Academic Release
BRASELTON, Ga. – The Kennesaw State women's golf team was rewarded for a successful regular season as four players and Head Coach
Rhyll Brinsmead earned ASUN Conference postseason honors that were announced Saturday night at a pre-championship tournament banquet at Chateau Elan Golf Club in Braselton, Ga.
Clara Aveling was named both ASUN Women's Golfer of the Year and ASUN First Team All-Conference.
Rhyll Brinsmead was named Coach of the Year.
Chloe Thornton was tabbed Freshman of the Year, First Team All-Conference and landed a spot on the All-Freshmen Team.
Roanne Tomlinson collected ASUN First Team All-Conference honors.
Medy Thavong earned a spot on ASUN All-Conference Second Team and All-Academic Team.
Aveling is the top-ranked player in the ASUN at No.139 in the Golfstat rankings. She played in all 9 of the teams tournaments this season and tied for the team-lead with a scoring average of 73.17. The redshirt-junior led the team with six top-20 finishes and four top-five finishes. She has been the team's best finisher three times this season. Aveling fired a team-low round of 4-under par 68 in the first round of the UCF Challenge. Her best finish was tied for tenth at the UCF Challenge with a 5-under par total of 211. She posted 10 rounds at par or better this season. The Linkebeek, Belgium native earned ASUN Golfer of the Week honors three times this season. Aveling earns the Golfer of the Year Award for the second time in her career. KSU now has collected the Golfer of the Year award in each of the last four years and six times in program history.
"This is such a huge accomplishment for Clara to be named Unanimous ASUN Player of the Year and ASUN First Team All-Conference. After all she has been through this is a feat," Head Coach
Rhyll Brinsmead said. "As a freshman, she earned this honor and then suffered a season ending injury. She has battled tirelessly the last two years to get back to this point and is now back and better than ever. She has been the model of consistency all year and always found a way to score even on her off days. She has recorded near half her rounds this year at par or better, with a scoring average of 73.17 and a national ranking of 139. I am so proud of Clara and know that she will be very honored to accept these awards. We have a proud history as a team of earning the Player of the Year award and Clara will be our first athlete recognized multiple years."
Brinsmead collects her fifth ASUN Coach of the Year honor after leading the Owls to nine top-10 tournament finishes this season. The Owls had eight top-five finishes including a pair of wins at the Magnolia Invitational and the stroke play portion of the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic. KSU owns a 292.00 four-player scoring average this season which currently is the lowest in program history. The Owls also are the top-ranked team in the conference at No. 37 in this week's Golfstat team rankings.
"It is always a great honor to be named Coach of the Year within your conference and a personal goal I set each year to achieve," Brinsmead said. "As we coaches know, you're only as good as your players so the work we do in recruiting, at practice and during competition is what really earns this recognition. I want to say thank you to my team. I also owe more thanks than are possible to my assistant
Eric Croux. This is an award I share with him as I know the success we have had this year is due to his commitment and pushing the limits of what we thought was possible. To Director of Athletics
Milton Overton, program administrator
Scott Whitlock, and the administration at KSU, thank you for allowing me the freedom to run my program and trusting my vision. I also want to thank our supporters and donors that have been very generous in helping the program take the step to the next level. I am proud to represent KSU and I am so grateful for the opportunities I continue to have as the head coach."
Thornton is the 12th Owl in program history to land on the ASUN All-Freshmen team and fourth to collect the Freshman of the Year award. Thornton is the top-ranked freshman in the ASUN at No.143 in the Golfstat rankings. She played in nine events and posted a 73.22 scoring average. Thornton carded a team-high 11 rounds at par or better and 20 of her 23 rounds counted to the Owls team score. She posted 5-under par totals of 211 at the Illini Women's Invitational at Medinah and the Moon Golf Invitational. The Canberra, Australia native led the team with five rounds in the 60's this season including a 68 to earn co-medalist honors in the stroke play portion of the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic.
"To earn ASUN Freshman of the Year is such an honor. To earn it with unanimous honors while also being named First team All-Conference and All-Freshmen team too shows the depth of Chloe's talent and the respect she has earned within the conference. Chloe is by far one of the most talented freshman we have ever recruited but what really makes Chloe great is her work ethic. Every day she comes to practice with a plan and does not leave until she has executed it. She is a perfectionist, which in golf can be a difficult quality but she always finds a way to bring her best to competition and gives all she has. Her play all year has been excellent and she brings a level of maturity that you won't find in many freshman. With a 73.22 scoring average and national rank of 143 she has earned this honor and has done so with pride and passion," Brinsmead stated.
Tomlinson has a 73.17 scoring average in nine events. She has finished in top 20 four times this season. The senior's top finish of the season came at the Moon Golf Invitational where she finished sixth with rounds of 72-71-70 for a 3-under par total of 213. The Lake Mary, Fla. native had four top-20 finishes and recorded 10 rounds at par or better this season.
"Roanne has had an excellent year on the golf course and has played the best golf of her career," Brinsmead said. "I am so proud of her to be named unanimous First Team All-Conference for the second year. While only having two years as a KSU student-athlete, she has made the most of her time here and continues to push the limits of her success. She recorded a 73.17 scoring average and holds a national rank of 157. She has left her mark as one of the best golfers in our program history. She is a pleasure to coach and brings an energy to the course every day that is contagious."
Thavong landed a spot on the All-Academic team for the third straight season. The Prachinburi, Thailand native joins
Ines Lescudier as the only Owl to land on the All-Academic Team for three consecutive seasons. In the classroom, she carries a 3.96 GPA in accounting. On the course, she participated in six events this season with a 73.87 scoring average. The pinnacle of her season came at the Hawkeye El-Tigre Invitational. The senior registered 74-72-70 for an even par total of 216. Thavong earned ASUN Golfer of the Week honors for her performance at the Hawkeye El-Tigre Invitational.
"I am so proud of Medy and the work she has done to get to this point in earning Second Team All-Conference," Brinsmead said. "It has not come easy and she has had to re-commit herself to get to a place where she has played some of her best golf this spring, highlighted with a 67 at the Moon Golf Invitational. Medy has had an excellent career as a KSU student-athlete and I know she will be very honored to be recognized among her peers for all she has achieved this season."
The Owls will look to win a second-straight ASUN Conference Championship on Apr. 21-23 at the Chateau Elan Legends Club.
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