<ir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-975bd077-6bfc-5250-02cc-31723dbf3c5b">Four members of the Carleton College women’s golf program received special recognition at the annual Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) banquet held during the NCAA Championships. Ziyi Wang (Jr./Beijing City, China/Lighthouse Christian Academy) received All-America Honorable Mention and was one of three Knights to earn All-Region honors. Joining her on the 10-player squad are junior Ayumi Sakamoto (Honolulu, Hawaii/Iolani School) and sophomore Alyssa Akiyama (So./Terrace Park, Ohio/Seven Hills School)
Additionally, head coach Eric Sieger was selected as the Midwest Region Coach-of-the-Year for the fourth time in the last five years. During the 2017-18 season, his squad won all eight regular-season tournaments, including the 2017 MIAC Championships in record-breaking fashion. The Knights posted a scoring average of 313.1, eclipsing the school record established a year ago. Carleton entered the NCAA Championships ranked No. 12 in the nation.
Wang, who was the individual champion at the 2017 MIAC Championships, led the Knights with a 77.0 stroke average during the regular season. That currently ranks as the second-lowest figure in school history. She notched top-3 results at six tournaments, including medalist honors at both the conference meet as well as the Carleton Spring Invitational. Her adjusted score average of 76.79 ranked 19 in NCAA Division III during the regular season.
This is the second time Wang earned national recognition as she was also All-America honorable mention in 2015-16, and it is the fourth All-America award for the Carleton Women’s Golf program over the last five years. The others honorees over that stretch were Akiyama, who was a second-team All-American in 2016-17, and Shannon Holden ’17, who earned All-America honorable mention in 2013-14
Akiyama and Sakamoto posted scoring averages of 78.5 and 78.6, respectively, during the regular season to rank fifth and sixth in the conference. Akiyama notched seven top-10 finishes, including a first-place result at the Wartburg College Fall Invitational. Her adjusted stroke average of 78.29 ranked 42nd in Division III in the regular season. Meanwhile, Sakakmoto totaled five top-10 results this season, including a trio of third-place finishes, with an adjusted stroke average of 78.43, placing her 44th in D-III entering the NCAA Championships.
