WGCA Release

Six Missouri State women's golfers have been named All-American Scholars for their outstanding work in the classroom as well as on the golf course. The Women's Golf Coaches Association has announced their annual honorees for classroom excellence and the list includes MSU's Abby Cavaiani, Faith Hopkins, Arielle Keating, Kiser Pannier, Kayla Pfitzner and Johanna Wollenhaupt. As a team, the Bears compiled a 3.63 grade-point average for the spring semester, their best in 13 years.

Cavaiani, a graduate student from Wales, Wis. who majored in Business Administration, compiled a 3.80 GPA while garnering every nearly every honor the Missouri Valley Conference sponsors on and off the course, including this year's Dr. Charlotte West Award as the League's female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Hopkins excelled for the Bears after transferring from Oklahoma State three years ago. The Bartelsville, Okla. native graduated  in May with a master's in Business Administration and was a member of the conference championship and NCAA Regional teams.

Keating spent three semesters at MSU after transferring from Florida Atlantic, but led the Bears on the course at the NCAA Regional in May and graduated with a master's in Religious Studies and a 3.68 GPA.

Pannier, a native of Sedalia, Mo., made an immediate impact for the Bears in her freshman year, compiling a 77.74 scoring average and a 3.58 GPA while majoring in Exercise and Movement Science.

Pfitzner has managed a 3.77 GPA while majoring in Marketing off the course, while on the course, the Springfield product has earned all-conference honors the past two seasons, ranking second on the team in scoring average both years. 

A native of Hamburg, Germany, Wollenhaupt already has earned her undergraduate degree in Management/International Business with a 3.69 GPA, but has one year of eligibility remaining after competing on this past season's conference championship and NCAA Regional squads.

The criteria for selection to the All-American Scholar Team are some of the most stringent in all of college athletics and continue to demonstrate the high level academic achievements of the players. To be selected, a student-athlete must: have an overall cumulative grade point average of 3.50 or higher, be an amateur and on the team's roster through the conclusion of the team's season, and have played in 50% of the college's regularly scheduled competitive rounds during the year nominated through the team's conference championship.