INDIANAPOLIS – University of Indianapolis sophomore Pilar Echeverria has been named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Women's Golf Player of the Year, while University of Illinois Springfield newcomer Ocean Pangan earned the Freshman of the Year nod, it was announced by the Conference office on Tuesday. In addition, Indianapolis head coach Brent Nicoson was chosen by his peers as GLVC Coach of the Year, while five individuals completed the 10-member All-Conference team.
Echeverria, the 2017 Player and Freshman of the Year, becomes the seventh Greyhound to earn the league’s top honor while this is the sixth consecutive and 10th all-time distinction for a UIndy player. At the GLVC Championships, the sophomore finished tied for third (74-79-70) to earn All-GLVC honors for the second year in a row. In addition, she averaged 73.5 strokes in 25 rounds this season, nine of which were played at even par or better. She won the UIndy Invitational (71-72) and Findlay Bing Beall (70-73) event, finishing in the top-5 in four other events. The Guatemala City, Guatemala, native won a league-best four GLVC Player of the Week (9/14/17, 10/12/17, 4/12/18, 4/21/18) laurels during the 2017-18 season and currently holds a No. 9 ranking in Golfstat.
Pangan earns the first-ever major postseason accolade for Illinois Springfield in the sport after averaging 79.70 strokes in 20 rounds this year. She finished tied for 15th (78-78-83) in the GLVC Championship event, tied for fifth (80-78) at the Dan Salisbury Memorial, and tied for first (76-78) in the Eagle Invitational that helped her win the March 16 GLVC Player of the Week award.
Nicoson three-repeats as GLVC Coach of the Year and earns his fifth recognition overall after leading his squad to a record seventh-straight league championship and 12th overall, collecting the most votes from his 12 head-coaching peers. He also won three-straight seasons from 2012-14. His Hounds fired a 1-under-par 287 in the final round of the Conference meet to reset the school’s own GLVC record of 292, which was set twice in 2017. UIndy (296-303-287—886) also broke its own GLVC mark for 54 holes, besting its winning effort of 889 back in 2016. Additionally, they earned their title by 37 strokes to set the league’s new largest margin of victory, previously held by Drury University when it scored a 32-stroke win over the University of Southern Indiana in 2005. The seventh-year mentor also guided Echeverria and the entire team to All-GLVC honors, including senior Paxton DeHaven’s medalist win with a 74-74-71. The other three standouts he guided to All-GLVC distinction were junior Katharina Keilich, senior Annika Haynes, and senior Kylie Raines.
Along with the DeHaven, Echeverria, Keilich, and Haynes, Truman State University senior Nicolle Barmettler made the All-GLVC team by way of her top-5 finish at the Conference event, carding scores of 73-78-71 for second place. All-GLVC merits also went to UIndy’s Raines, University of Missouri- St. Louis senior Stefaniya Ivanova and sophomore Emma Thorngren, as well as University of Southern Indiana graduate Taylor Howerton, and William Jewell College senior Alex Trask. Those five were chosen based on a vote of the league coaches.
The league also recognized 14 GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award nominees and one team award winner. 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.
2018 GLVC Golfer of the Year: Pilar Echeverria, So., Indianapolis
2018 GLVC Freshman of the Year: Ocean Pangan, Illinois Springfield
2018 GLVC Coach of the Year: Brent Nicoson, Indianapolis
2018 GLVC Women’s Golf All-GLVC Honorees
Paxton DeHaven, Sr., Indianapolis
Pilar Echeverria, So., Indianapolis
Annika Haynes, Sr., Indianapolis
Katharina Keilich, Jr., Indianapolis
Kylie Raines, Sr., Indianapolis
Stefaniya Ivanova, Sr., Missouri-St. Louis
Emma Thorngren, So., Missouri-St. Louis
Taylor Howerton, Gr., Southern Indiana
Nicolle Barmettler, Sr., Truman State
Alex Trask, Sr., William Jewell
GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Individual Award Nominees
Katie Gathof, BU
Serena Berrey, DU
Taryn Pittman, UIS
Paxton DeHaven, UINDY
Katie Wortman, LEWIS
Michelle Stading, MU
Adrian Brown, MCK
Taylor Ornelas, S&T
Ares Boira, UMSL
Emily Van Rie, QU
Hannah Johnston, RU
Taylor Howerton, USI
Brooke Kelley, TSU
Payton Meeks, WJC
GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Team Award Winner
Maryville