Love golf

Four Women's Golfers Earn Postseason Honors

Pepperdine won its 10th consecutive WCC title in 2011.

June 14, 2011

MALIBU, Calif. - Four members of Pepperdine women's golf team have been awarded national postseason honors, as Danielle Kang and Grace Na were named All-Americans by Golfweek and Martine de Gannes and Liv Cheng will be recognized as All-American Scholars by the National Golf Coaches Association.

Kang (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Westlake HS), a sophomore, earned her second appearance on Golfweek's All-American second team in her two seasons. She led the Waves with a 72.42 stroke average and five top-10 finishes in 2010-11 and finished the season ranked #14 nationally in the Golfweek/Sagarin index. Kang is planning on turning professional later this summer.

Na (Alameda, Calif./Alameda HS) had a tremendous first year, resulting in Golfweek All-American honorable mention notice. Her accomplishments began in the fall, when she won the CIF state individual championship with Alameda High, then graduated early from the school in order to enroll at Pepperdine in January. Na had six top-20 results in her seven tournaments this spring and posted a stroke average of 73.81. After winning medalist honors at the West Coast Conference Championships, Na claimed both the WCC Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year awards. She ended up ranked #34 by Golfstat and #39 in the Golfweek/Sagarin index.

De Gannes (Diego Martin, Trinidad/Maple Leaf International School), a senior, is an NGCA All-American Scholar for the second time, while Cheng (Auckland, New Zealand/Macleans College), a freshman, earned the honor for the first time. Players that make the list must have at least a 3.50 grade-point average and take part in 50 percent of a team's rounds. Cheng was one of three Waves to participate in all 10 tournaments and had a stroke average of 76.43, while de Gannes appeared in five events and had a scoring average of 78.40.

"I am very proud of these four players for the honors they received," Pepperdine Coach Laurie Gibbs said. "For Liv and Martine to do so well in the classroom is impressive. Golf is a difficult sport in college because we play in both the fall and spring and travel to most tournaments."

Pepperdine won its 10th consecutive WCC title in 2011 and finished the season ranked #18 by Golf World/NGCA, #20 by Golfweek/Sagarin and #27 by Golfstat.