INDIANAPOLIS – University of Indianapolis freshman Pilar Echeverria has been named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Women's Golf Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, it was announced by the Conference office on Tuesday. Her head coach Brent Nicoson was chosen by his peers as GLVC Coach of the Year, while five individuals completed the 12-member All-Conference team.
Echeverria becomes the second Greyhound player in as many years to earn both postseason accolades in the same season and the fifth women’s golfer to do so in league history. The honors are well deserved, as she was tied for runner-up at the GLVC Women’s Golf Championship with a 71-74–145 in challenging weather conditions. She also earned two individual wins this season, including at the Big Apple Classic (76-68–144) and Augustana Spring Fling (72-74–146). Prior to the start of this week's NCAA East Super Regional yesterday – where she shot a one-under 71 – Echeverria was recognized by the 14 league coaches based on her 73.9 stroke average over 22 rounds and 10 events, that included the Conference Championship. Among those events, she compiled four runner-up results, seven top-5 finishes, eight top-10 performances, and nine top-20 efforts. The Guatemala City, Guatemala, native carries a Golftstat ranking of 10 and is first in the region. She is the eighth Hound, and third in a row, to earn a GLVC Freshman of the Year nod and follows in the footsteps of teammate Katharina Keilich and Annika Haynes, who were the 2016 and 2015 honorees, respectively. A four-time GLVC Player of the Week in 2016-17 (9/29/16, 10/20/16, 3/23/17, 3/30/17), she also becomes the seventh GLVC Player of the Year for UIndy, making this the ninth time a Hound was selected. This is additionally the fifth major laurel in a row for UIndy as Jenny Konop was the back-to-back winner in 2013 and 2014, teammate Brooke Beagle was the 2015 choice and Keilich picked up the trophy last season.
Nicoson repeats as GLVC Coach of the Year and earns his fifth total nod after leading his squad to a record sixth-straight league championship and 11th overall, collecting the most votes from his 13 head-coaching peers. He also won three-straight seasons from 2012-14. Despite trying circumstances at this year’s league meet, his Hounds topped last season’s record-setting performance to earn three more record scores with two 18-hole standards of 294 and a 36-hole record score of 588. The sixth-year mentor also guided Echeverria and the entire team to a finish in the top five for All-GLVC honors, including Paxton DeHaven’s medalist win with par golf of 72-72–144. The other three standouts he guided to All-GLVC distinction were Keilich, Haynes and Kylie Raines.
Along with the five Greyhounds, University of Missouri-St. Louis juniors Alexa Capesius and Stefaniya Ivanova made the All-GLVC team by way of their top-5 finish at the Conference event. All-GLVC merits also went to UMSL sophomore Maxi Roth and freshman Emma Thorngren, as well as Lewis University senior Rachel Sweeney, University of Southern Indiana senior Taylor Howerton and William Jewell College junior Alex Trask.
The league also recognized 14 GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award honorees. The student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These individuals must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. The honorees are now eligible to become one of their school’s two Spalding Sportsmanship Award winners, which will be announced in May.
A complete list of All-GLVC performers and major postseason award winners can be found below.
2017 GLVC Player of the Year: Pilar Echeverria, Fr., UINDY
2017 GLVC Freshman of the Year: Pilar Echeverria, Fr., UINDY
2017 GLVC Coach of the Year: Brent Nicoson, UINDY
2017 WOMEN’S GOLF ALL-GLVC TEAM
Pilar Echeverria, Fr., UINDY
Paxton DeHaven, Jr., UINDY
Annika Haynes, Jr., UINDY
Katharina Keilich, So., UINDY
Kylie Raines, Jr., UINDY
Rachel Sweeney, Sr., LEWIS
Alexa Capesius, Jr., UMSL
Stefaniya Ivanova, Jr., UMSL
Maxi Roth, So., UMSL
Emma Thorngren, Fr., UMSL
Taylor Howerton, Sr., USI
Alex Trask, Jr., WJC
#extra members due to tie
2017 GLVC WOMEN’S GOLF JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD NOMINEES
Katie Gathof, BU
Baylee Rayl, DU
Brooke Hill, UIS
Paxton DeHaven, UINDY
Rachel Sweeney, LEWIS
Michelle Stading, MU
Hailea Hadsall, MCK
Ares Boira, UMSL
Jamie Frederick, QU
Hannah Johnston, RU
Aimee Pope, SJC
Taylor Howerton, USI
Nicolle Barmettler, TSU
Payton Meeks, WJC