Georgia Southern's (GS) Haley Yerxa has been named the Sun Belt Conference Women's Golf Newcomer of the Year and second-team all-conference, and Abby Newton earns first-team all-league honors for the second straight season as the Sun Belt announced its postseason awards today.
A graduate transfer from Florida Gulf Coast, Yerxa played in 10 events for GS, recording a 74.96 scoring average.
She tied for 16th at the Sun Belt Conference Championship and collected two top-five finishes and six top-20 showings. Her best finish on the season was second place at the Ford Invite, and her best round of the year was a 67 at Edisto Island.
Newton competed in all 11 events and led the Eagles with a 73.93 scoring average, which ranks 12th in the league.
The junior earned her first collegiate win at the Mimosa Hills Intercollegiate (73-71-72=216 E) and posted three top-five outings and six top-20 finishes. Her best round was a 70, which she posted three times.
The awards were voted upon by the league's 13 head coaches, while the All-Sun Belt teams were determined by Golfstat national rankings.
The Eagles finished fourth at the Sun Belt Championship in April and are set to return five letter winners to the 2023-24 roster, including Yerxa and Newton.
2023 Sun Belt Women's Golf Awards:
Golfer of the Year: Chantal Dueringer, ULM
Newcomer of the Year: Haley Yerxa, Georgia Southern
Freshman of the Year: Anna Andrysova, ULM
Coach of the Year: Rachel Pollock, ULM
All-Sun Belt First Team:
Kendall Turner, James Madison
Chantal Dueringer, ULM
Lucia Gonzalez, Old Dominion
Abby Newton, Georgia Southern
Matilda Svahn, Texas State
Leah Onosato, Old Dominion
All-Sun Belt Second Team:
Olivia Schmidt, Arkansas State
Marine Griffaut, Texas State
Momoko Ando, Southern Miss
Anna Andrysova, ULM
Haley Yerxa, Georgia Southern
Alessia Mengoni, ULM
For more information, click here.
