NEW ORLEANS – The Sun Belt Conference Women’s Golf Postseason Awards were announced on Tuesday and ODU’s Barbara Car and Puneet Bajwa have been named to the All-Sun Belt First and Third Teams, respectively.
It marks the first career all-conference honor for Car and the second for Bajwa, who was named to the All-Sun Belt Second Team as a freshman in 2024.
All-Conference Team selections were determined based on Scoreboard rankings following the conclusion of the Sun Belt’s participation in the postseason. The awards were voted on by the league's 13 head coaches.
Car, a sophomore from Vodice, Slovenia, was the individual medalist at this year’s Sun Belt Conference Championship with a seven-under par 209. She then competed in the Louisville Regional, where she tied for 38th with a five-over 221. She led the Monarchs with a 72.13 stroke average through 11 events and 31 rounds played and posted nine Top 25 finishes, to include six Top 10 performances. Car also had five rounds where she shot in the 60s, to include setting a new program record with a final round of six-under par 65 at the Golfweek Fall Challenge. At the conference championship, she set a new record for the lowest single-round score in Sun Belt Women’s Golf Championship history with a final round of 66 (-6). Car was the second-highest ranked golfer in the Sun Belt this year, landing at 147th.
Bajwa, a junior from Mohali, India, finished second on the team with a 74.04 stroke average after competing in 10 events and playing 28 rounds. She posted five Top 25 finishes, including three outings where she finished in the Top 10, and had three rounds where she shot in the 60s. Her best outing was at the Lehigh Invitational, where she was the co-medalist with a three-over par 147. She also earned Sun Belt Golfer of the Week honors after tying for seventh at the Lady Paladin Invitational with a four-under 212. She opened the tournament with a four-under par 68 after making three birdies and an eagle. Bajwa turned in a two-over 146 to tie for third at the Tot Hill Farm Invitational and shot an even 213 to tie for 11th at the Golfweek Fall Challenge. The final Scoreboard by Clippd rankings have her listed 411th.
ULM garnered two awards, with Johanna Sjursen tabbed as the league’s Golf of the Year while Rachel Pollock was voted Coach of the Year by her peers. Texas State’s Grace Quintanilla was selected as this year’s Freshman of the Year, and Newcomer of the Year went to Georgia Southern’s Haven Ward.
2026 Sun Belt Women's Golf Awards
Golfer of the Year – Johanna Sjursen, ULM
Freshman of the Year – Grace Quintanilla, Texas State
Newcomer of the Year – Haven Ward, Georgia Southern
Coach of the Year – Rachel Pollock, ULM
All-Sun Belt First Team
Anna Behnsen, South Alabama
Barbara Car, Old Dominion
Yvonne Chamness, Texas State
Zoe Duval, App State
Johanna Sjursen, ULM
Grace Quintanilla, Texas State
All-Sun Belt Second Team
Anna Andrysova, ULM
Carla Bourdeaux, Coastal Carolina
Lilian Buehle, South Alabama
Louise Cuyvers, Southern Miss
Fia Lindblom, Texas State
Ella Murray, Coastal Carolina
All-Sun Belt Third Team
Puneet Bajwa, Old Dominion
Margaux Brejo, Georgia Southern
Daniela Campillo, ULM
Grace Kalina, Georgia State
Briana LeMaire, Texas State
Daniela Palmeros, South Alabama