CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. - DePauw University first-year golf student-athlete Paige Gooch was named the 2011 National Golf Coaches Association Division III Freshman of the Year. DePauw head coach Vince Lazar was named the Division III SkyCaddie NGCA National Coach of the Year as well, the NGCA announced.
In her first collegiate season, Gooch earned Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Individual Medalist honors at the SCAC Women's golf championships last month. She also was named the 2011 SCAC Women's Freshman of the Year while helping the Tigers to the program's seventh SCAC championship in the last 10 years.
Lazar earned his third National Coach of the Year honor with the Tigers after leading DePauw to a seventh SCAC women's golf championship and a No. 2 national ranking during the season. In his 12th season, Lazar has guided the Tiger women to the NCAA Championship 10 consecutive years and has the most top-four national finishes of any DePauw team.
In addition to being named the Division III SkyCaddie NGCA National Coach of the Year, Lazar was also honored as the Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year.
Additionally, four SCAC women's golf student-athletes earned NGCA All-America honors as Centre College's Emily Bachert and DePauw's Taylor Beatty were named first-team All-Americans. Stephanie Mingos of Rhodes College and DePauw's Gooch were second-team All-America selections.
Rounding out the NGCA awards, the SCAC placed 10 women's golfers on the NGCA All-Region teams. Birmingham-Southern College's Ellen Chun was named to the All-East region team.
In the Great Lakes region, Bachert, Beatty, Kelly Gaughan of DePauw, Gooch, Natalie Gough of DePauw, Mingos and Camillo Romero of DePauw earned all-region laurels.
Southwestern University teammates Kelsey Coburn and Karissa Speck rounded out the league's all-region selections as the pair was named to the All-West region team.
To view the entire 2011 NGCA Division III award winners, click here.
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