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Dehlin-Hirsch & Shimizu earn All-WAC recognition

DENVER – Utah Valley University women’s golfers Carly Dehlin Hirsch and Kaylee Shimizu have both earned All-Western Athletic Conference honors for the 2018-19 season as announced by the conference office on Tuesday afternoon.

The senior Dehlin Hirsch led the way by being named first team all-conference, while the junior Shimizu was named to the league’s second team. The honor marks the third time that Dehlin Hirsch has been tabbed All-WAC during her illustrious career and the first of the career for Shimizu. Dehlin Hirsch was previously tabbed second team All-WAC in during her freshman (2015-16) and junior (2017-18) campaigns.

“What an honor for both Carly and Kaylee. I’m so excited for both of them to be recognized for their stellar play all year long,” head UVU coach Dr. Sue Nyhus said. “This truly shows what direction our program is heading for our team to pick up two with so few all-conference spots available. It shows a lot about these two individuals as well as what direction our program is heading.”

Dehlin Hirsch earned first team All-WAC honors on the season after leading the way for the Wolverines at the WAC Championship last week by placing third on the individual leaderboard with a 5-over-par 218. After carding scores of 72 and 77 during the tournament’s first two rounds, the senior responded by firing a final-round 69 to move up seven spots on the final day by recording the third-place finish. Dehlin Hirsch carded both an eagle and a birdie on the back-nine of her final collegiate event en route to finishing third.

On the season, Dehlin Hirsch led UVU with a trio of top-five finishes as well as a total of seven top-25 finishes. She also posted a career-best 74.67 scoring average to rank second in the all-time Utah Valley record books. Dehlin Hirsch also carded a total of six par or better rounds during her senior campaign and a pair of rounds in the 60s.

“Carly’s 69 finish on the final day of the WAC Championship truly was a fitting end to her storied career. She came out of nowhere, as she only played one season of high school golf, but truly arose to the occasion as a true athlete would and continued to get better every year,” Nyhus added. “After somewhat struggling at her last couple of conference championship, she really put an exclamation point to her career on the final day this year. I couldn’t be more happy for her or more proud of her.”

Shimizu earned second team all-conference accolades on the year after tying for seventh place at the WAC Championship with a 7-over-par 220. The Wolverine junior entered the final round in a three-way tie for first after carding a pair of even-par 71s, but dropped six spots to finish in seventh place with a final-round 78. Shimizu carded a total of eight birdies at the 2019 WAC Championship.

Shimizu too had a strong 2018-19 campaign for the Wolverines by posting a career-best 75.03 scoring average on the year. She also recorded four top-10 finishes, which included winning her first collegiate event by claiming individual medalist honors Hawaii’s Anuenue Spring Break Classic in her home state of Hawaii in March with an even-par 216 (72-70-74). Shimizu was also tabbed WAC Women’s Golfer of the Week twice during her junior campaign and recorded a total of seven rounds on the year of par of better.

“Kaylee has turned the corner from your average player to an elite golfer this year. Everything points to great success as we move forward with Kaylee,” Nyhus said. “I was so proud of her 71-71 start to the tournament and putting us in a position to vie for the conference championship on the last day. It’s a great honor and is very well deserved for her. She’s going to continue to do some great things.”

Dominique Galloway of the 2019 WAC Champion New Mexico State Aggies took home WAC Player of the Year honors, while her coach Danny Bowen was tabbed the conference’s Coach of the Year. Grand Canyon’s Payton Fehringer rounded out the WAC’s major awards by earning Freshman of the Year accolades.

2018-19 ALL-WAC TEAMS

First Team All-WAC
Pun Chanachai, NM State
Carly Dehlin Hirsch, Utah Valley
Dominique Galloway, NM State
Siri Patchana, Grand Canyon
Erica Wang, California Baptist

Second Team All-WAC
Jocelyn Chee Yi Man, California Baptist
Payton Fehringer, Grand Canyon
Kaylee Shimizu, Utah Valley
Courtney Vogel, Grand Canyon
Yifei Wang, California Baptist