Ally McDonald, Jessica Peng Named To All-SEC Squads
STARKVILLE, Miss. – For their outstanding play during the season, Ally McDonald and Jessica Peng of the Mississippi State women’s golf team were each named to All-SEC teams by the league office on Friday.
McDonald was tabbed All-SEC First Team for the second consecutive season, while Jessica Peng became only the second Bulldog in school history to be named to the All-Freshman lineup.
“We are very pleased with Ally and Jessica’s recognition by the coaches in the SEC,” fourth-year head coach Ginger Brown-Lemm said. “They both epitomize what we work so diligently to be. The future is so bright with these two a part of Mississippi State women’s golf.”
By being named to the All-SEC First Team in back-to-back seasons, McDonald becomes the first MSU player to do so since Carri Wood in the 1992-93 seasons and only the third Bulldog all-time. McDonald boasts the lowest single-season stroke average in school history at 71.75, while also becoming the top Bulldog with 273 career birdies.
The Fulton, Miss., native teed off the year in record-setting pace by setting the lowest 18-hole score in program history with a 6-under-par 66 in the first round of the campaign. McDonald has continued to impress by claiming five top-5 and eight top-10 finishes on the year, including the tournament championship in the Old Waverly Bulldog Invitational back in the fall.
“It’s such a blessing to be recognized again this year for my performance,” McDonald said. “This team is incredible, and we are grinding to get ready for regionals for the second-consecutive year. We look forward to taking care of business and hopefully continuing our season at the national championship.”
Peng currently holds the lowest single-season stroke average as a freshman in school history at 73.58 and third-best average of any player in MSU history. The fabulous freshman has become a leading contributor during her debut season posting four top-10 scorecards, including two runner-up medals in The Waverly and Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational.
The Taoyuan, Taiwan, native fired the lowest 36-hole score ever by a Bulldog with a 7-under-par 137 after two rounds in the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational. Peng also owns the lowest 18-, 36- and 54-hole scores by any freshman in MSU history.
Alabama’s Stephanie Meadow was selected as both the SEC Golfer of the Year and SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Vanderbilt’s Simin Feng was named the SEC Freshman of the Year, while Arkansas’ Shauna Estes-Taylor was named the SEC Coach of the Year.
McDonald and Peng will return to action in the NCAA Central Regional on May 8-10 in Stillwater, Okla., at Karsten Creek Golf Club, as Brown-Lemm’s squad looks to book a place in the NCAA Championships.
For more information on the team, follow the Mississippi State women’s golf Twitter account, @HailStateWG, and Facebook page, facebook.com/HailStateWG.
2014 SEC Women’s Golf Awards
SEC Coach of the Year
Shauna Estes-Taylor, Arkansas
SEC Golfer of the Year
Stephanie Meadow, Alabama
SEC Freshman of the Year
Simin Feng, Vanderbilt
SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Stephanie Meadow, Alabama
All-SEC Teams
First-Team All-SEC
Simin Feng, Vanderbilt (SEC Championship Medalist)
Ally McDonald, Mississippi State
Gabriela Lopez, Arkansas
Stephanie Meadow, Alabama
Emily Tubert, Arkansas
Caroline Nistrup, LSU
Madelene Sagstrom, LSU
Justine Dreher, South Carolina
Second-Team All-SEC
Samantha Swinehart, South Carolina
Marta Sanz, Auburn
Katerina Ruzickova, Texas A&M
Emma Talley, Alabama
Jennifer Hahn, Vanderbilt
Regina Plasencia, Arkansas
Katelyn Dambaugh, South Carolina
Chessey Thomas, Tennessee
SEC All-Freshman Team
Maria Torres, Florida
Caroline Nistrup, LSU
Simin Feng, Vanderbilt
Katelyn Dambaugh, South Carolina
Haley Mills, Kentucky
Jessica Peng, Mississippi State
Antonia Scherer, Vanderbilt
Marijosse Navarro, Texas A&M
- HailState.com -