IRVING, Texas -- Old Dominion women's golf head coach Mallory Hetzel was named Conference USA Coach of the Year in her first season at the helm of the Monarchs, while Katerina Vlasinova and Maggie Simmermacher were named first and second team All-Conference, respectively, as was announced by the league office Wednesday.
"We are excited that the outstanding play of Kate and Maggie has been recognized by the coaches in Conference USA," Hetzel commented. "Kate and Maggie have been so reliable for us this year, as was evident by their performance at the conference championship. Not only are they great athletes, they are excellent students and wonderful people."
In her first season as head coach of the Monarchs, Hetzel led ODU to its first-ever women's golf conference title last week in Fort Myers, Florida, which also qualified the Monarchs for their first-ever NCAA tournament appearance. Hetzel guided three Monarchs to top-10 finishes at the C-USA Championships, as Simmermacher and Vlasinova received All-Tournament Team recognition with second and fifth-place finishes, respectively, and Charlotte De Corte cracked the top 10 by finishing seventh.
Throughout the regular season, Hetzel also led the Monarchs to a third place finish at the UNF Collegiate, where sophomore Sana Tufail claimed the individual medal, winning the tournament out of 87 golfers. Hetzel chalked up her first C-USA Player of the Week award as a coach just days after Vlasinova registered a third-place finish at the Brickyard Collegiate.
Hetzel's Monarchs also had a successful debut in match play this season at SDSU's March Mayhem, when ODU took down No. 28 San Diego State and No. 39 UNLV en route to a sixth-place team finish.
Off the course, the Monarchs have excelled in the classroom, as Sana Tufail was named to the InTouch Credit Union C-USA Women's Golf All-Academic Team, carrying a cumulative GPA of 3.90 in speech pathology and audiology. All five of Hetzel's starters achieved C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll distinction, as they collectively posted a 3.59 cumulative team GPA.
"Being named Coach of the Year means we had the team of the year," Hetzel continued. "I would like this honor to be seen as an accomplishment achieved by everyone involved with our program."
Vlasinova, a junior from Trebic, Czech Republic, was named first team All-Conference USA Wednesday for the first time in her career after garnering third team honors in both her freshman and sophomore campaigns. In addition to top-five finishes at the Brickyard Collegiate and the C-USA Championships, she placed 11th at the Greenville Regional Preview in the fall. The 2017 C-USA All-Tournament Team member has compiled a season stroke average of 74.95 to date and ranks as the No. 95 player in the region according to Golfstat.
Simmermacher, a junior from Buenos Aires, Argentina, was named second team All-Conference to claim the third-straight All-C-USA nod of her career. With a season stroke average of 75.16, she recorded two top-five finishes on the season, including a runner-up finish and subsequent All-Tournament Team selection at the C-USA Championships last week and a fifth-place result at the UNF Collegiate. Heading into the NCAA Regionals, Simmermacher maintains a regional ranking of No. 103 by Golfstat.
The Monarchs will discover their NCAA Regional destination Thursday via the NCAA Selection Show, which will be aired live on the Golf Channel at 11 a.m. ET.
The NCAA Regionals are set to take place from May 8-10 in four separate locations across the country: Scarlet Course/OSU Golf Course, in Columbus, Ohio, hosted by The Ohio State University; The Rawls Course, in Lubbock, Texas, hosted by Texas Tech University; the University of Georgia GolfCourse, in Athens, Georgia, hosted by the University of Georgia; and the University of New Mexico Championship Course, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, hosted by the University of New Mexico.
2016-17 CONFERENCE USA WOMEN'S GOLF AWARDS
Golfer of the Year: Camila Serrano, FIU
Freshman of the Year: Shelby Brauckmuller, Marshall
Most Improved Golfers: Katerina Krasova, FIU
Coach of the Year: Mallory Hetzel, Old Dominion
First Team
Camila Serrano, FIU
Katerina Vlasinova, Old Dominion
Nichada Satasuk, Southern Miss
Henriette Syr, Southern Miss
Georgina Blackman, WKU
Second Team
Jenna Burris, Middle Tennessee
Maggie Simmermacher, Old Dominion
Kelly Erasmus, Southern Miss
Nikki Long, UTSA
Aimee Ponte, UTSA
Third Team
Samantha Gotcher, Middle Tennessee
Hanley Long, Middle Tennessee
Sol Lee, North Texas
Julie Houston, UTSA
Sydney Snodgrass, UAB