UCLA Women's Golf on Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
EUGENE, Ore. - A trio of Bruins were honored by the Women's Golf Coaches Association during Tuesday's match play, as junior Bronte Law was named the PING WGCA Player of the Year, as well as WGCA First Team All-American, while freshmen Lilia Vu and Bethany Wu were recognized on the WGCA First Team and Honorable Mention All-American squads, respectively.
Law, who earned her third All-American award after receiving First Team honors a year ago and Honorable Mention accolades as a freshman, is the first Bruin to ever be named the PING WGCA Player of the Year.
Recognized annually as the top honor in women's collegiate golf, the PING WGCA Player of the Year award is given to the best player in Division I, II and III women's golf. The recipient is selected by a prestigious collection of women's collegiate golf coaches who follow criteria that has been established to identify the finest player for the past year. The criteria include: head-to-head competition, comparison with common opponents, scoring average, place finishes in regular-season events and tournament wins and strength of schedule.
Law, the top-ranked collegiate golfer according to Golfweek, led the Bruins with a 70.6 scoring average this season, posting eight Top 10's in nine events, including a co-medalist finish at the Bryan Regional. It was her third victory of the season (Stanford Intercollegiate and PING/ASU Invitational) and the sixth of her career to tie Kay Cockerill for the most in school history. In her last four events prior to the NCAA Championships, she went T-1, second (Pac-12 Championships), first (PING/ASU) and second (Bruin Wave Invitational). She had 20 rounds under par and 11 in the 60's. Law, who was named All-Pac-12 First Team, finished ninth in stroke play at the NCAA Championships and never trailed in both of her match-play contests on Tuesday.
Vu, who was the top scorer for the Bruins at the NCAA Championships with a tied for sixth finish, placed in the top 12 in her last four events, going T-12 at the Bryan Regional, T-3 at Pac-12s and second at the PING/ASU. She was under par in nine of her last 13 rounds to post a scoring average of 71.7, recording five Top 10 finishes and nine in the Top 20. Ranked fifth by Golfweek, Vu earned All-Pac-12 First Team honors, tying a season best with a closing-round 67 on Monday in the final round of stroke play in Eugene.
Wu, an All-Pac-12 honorable mention selection, held a scoring average of 73.0, posting a pair of Top 10's and seven Top 20's. She tied for fourth in the single round of stroke play at the Liz Murphey, with her best three-round finish occurring at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge when she finished tied for 10th. Wu's best two rounds of the season came in her first collegiate tournament, the Annika Intercollegiate, when she had bookend 69's to finish 12th. She tied for 27th at the NCAAs.