INDIANAPOLIS – The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) announced Tuesday morning its 2021 All-Conference Women’s Golf team and major award winners, with 10 student-athletes garnering recognition, 15 earning James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award nominees, and Maryville University voted as the team sportsmanship winner.
League champion University of Indianapolis made up half of the All-GLVC squad, while University of Missouri-St. Louis (2) also joined University of Illinois Springfield, Lindenwood University, and Maryville with recipients.
Per Conference policy, each of the top-five finishers at the GLVC Championship automatically earn an All-League nod, with the remaining five competitors and major award winners voted on by the 15 head coaches.
Missouri-St. Louis senior Emma Thorngren was voted Player of the Year after earning medalist honors at the GLVC Championship on April 25. The senior is the first non-UIndy student-athlete to win the award in eight years, and the first from UMSL since Daniella Viotti in 2011. Thorngren’s 72.95 average round topped the GLVC this spring, and carded a season-best 66 at the Natural State Golf Classic in Cabot, Ark., from March 1-2. The Vreta Kloster, Sweden, product also earned her fifth All-GLVC selection on Tuesday. Thorngren earned GLVC Player of the Week honors four times this season, including back-to-back wins on April 9 and 15.
Triton rookie Linn Thornqvist was named Freshman of the Year, after averaging 77.22 per round this spring and finishing ninth at the GLVC Championship last month. Like Thorngren, Thornqvist is the first UMSL player since Daniella Viotti in 2011 to earn the league’s top freshman honor and third overall in program history. The Korpvagen, Sweden, native placed in the top five at three tournaments this season, including a runner-up finish at the Triton Invitational from April 11-12. Thornqvist was also named to the 10-player All-GLVC team, marking the first time since 2019 the Tritons have had multiple student-athletes selected.
UIndy’s Brent Nicoson earned Coach of the Year for the sixth straight season on Tuesday and has been voted the league’s top mentor nine of the past 10 springs. The Greyhounds won their 11th straight GLVC championship last month and have now had five players on the All-GLVC team each year since 2017. Including last week’s DII East Regional, UIndy has won eight tournaments this season, including five this spring.
Four-time GLVC Player of the Year Pilar Echeverria earned All-GLVC honors for the fifth time in her career, while Cailyn Henderson (third), Anna Kramer (second), and Hunter Nugent (second) repeated as top Conference selections and junior Elyse Stasil garnered her first nod. Joining the UIndy and UMSL honorees are Illinois Springfield’s Jennifer Queller, Lindenwood’s Josefina Haupt, and Maryville’s Carmen Villaverde.
Thorngren and Echeverria rank in GolfStat’s top 10 for season average, with Henderson (29), Kramer (37), and Nugent (44) appearing in the top 50.
The league also recognized 15 GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award nominees and the team award winner, Maryville. 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.
GLVC Player of the Year: Emma Thorngren, Sr., Missouri-St. Louis
GLVC Freshman of the Year: Linn Thornqvist, Missouri-St. Louis
GLVC Coach of the Year: Brent Nicoson, Indianapolis
All-GLVC Women’s Golf
Jennifer Queller, Jr., Illinois Springfield
Pilar Echeverria, Gr., Indianapolis
Cailyn Henderson, Jr., Indianapolis
Anna Kramer, Sr., Indianapolis
Hunter Nugent, So., Indianapolis
Elyse Stasil, Jr., Indianapolis
Josefina Haupt, Gr., Lindenwood
Carmen Villaverde, Gr., Maryville
Emma Thorngren, Sr., Missouri-St. Louis
Linn Thornqvist, Fr., Missouri-St. Louis
2021 GLVC JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP NOMINEES
Serena Berrey, DU
Ocean Pangan, UIS
Pilar Echeverria, UINDY
Sarah Breslin, LEWIS
Lacey Schierl, LWU
Brittany King, MU
Brooke Boatman, MCK
Karson Kimsey, S&T
Sophie Faulkner, UMSL
Ashlyn Sanders, QU
Emma Mullendore, RU
Brooke Moser, USI
Makenna Krysl, SBU
Katie Gastrau, TSU
Kelsi Schmitz, WJC
2021 GLVC JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM AWARD
Maryville