Oklahoma City, Okla. - The Lone Star Conference Women's Golf Championships begin tomorrow, and with that come all-conference awards. Sofia Benavides and Maria Torres were named first-team all-conference at the awards banquet this evening in Thackerville, Oklahoma.
 
Maria Torres - In her second season with the Eagles, Torres has found herself near the top of the leaderboard in almost every tournament. Torres finished at least in the top-20 or better in every outing this season. Torres also finished with two second place finishes in the final two tournaments. Entering the conference tournament, Torres is ranked fifth regionally and in the top 10 nationally.
 
Sofia Benavides - In her senior season with the Eagles, Benavides has had a strong finish including a first-place finish in March at the Diffee Ford Lincoln Invitational. With the postseason beginning this week, Benavides is sitting just outside the top 10 in the regional ranking, and in the top 40 nationally.
 
League Release
 
For the second consecutive year, DBU senior Julia Garcia was named Lone Star Conference Women's Golf Player of the Year to lead the league's annual postseason women's golf awards announced by league officials on Sunday (April 14) at the championship banquet at WinStar Golf Club in Thackerville, Okla.
 
Garcia, who is from Temple, Texas, owns the conference's best adjusted scoring average at 71.4 and is the No. 1 ranked player in all of NCAA Division II. She has three tournament titles -- the Southern Invite, Patriot Invitational and Lady Moc Classic – and five Top 10 finishes. Garcia has 13 par or better rounds, including a low of 66. She is a four-time Women's Golf Coaches Association All-American and helped the Patriots win the national title last year. She was LSC Freshman of the Year in 2020.
 
Garcia topped the eight-golfer first team that includes teammates Olivia Matcher and Jordan Karrh. Oklahoma Christian's Sofia Benavides and Maria Torres Lobato; St. Mary's Libby Kilbride; and West Texas A&M's Anna Nomrowski and Lorenza Perini round out the squad.
 
DBU's Ella Cheek took Freshman of the Year honors after posting a 73.5 adjusted scoring average and winning the Lynn Invite. UT Permian Basin's Ainhoa Gurruchaga (75.4 adjusted scoring average) was voted Newcomer of the Year.
 
DBU's Kenny Trapp earned Coach of the Year Award after leading the Patriots to five tourney titles and a No. 1 national ranking.
 
In total, 19 players earned recognition. The awards are voted upon by the league coaches.
 
 
2024 LSC WOMEN'S GOLF ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
 
Special Recognition
Player of the Year: Julia Garcia, DBU
Newcomer of the Year: Ainhoa Gurruchaga, UT Permian Basin
Freshman of the Year: Ella Cheek, DBU
Coach of the Year: Kenny Trapp, DBU
 
[Each group sorted in alphabetical order by team name]
 
FIRST TEAM
Player                                    Team                             Year                 Hometown
Julia Garcia                            DBU                               Sr.                    Temple, Texas
Jordan Karrh                          DBU                               Jr.                     Frisco, Texas
Olivia Mitchell                         DBU                               Sr.                    Plano, Texas
Sofia Benavides                     Oklahoma Christian        Jr.                    Monterrey, Mexico
Maria Torres Lobato               Oklahoma Christian        So.                   Torreguadiaro, Spain
Libby Kilbride                         St. Mary's                        Jr.                    Sheffield, England
Anna Nomrowski                    West Texas A&M             Gr.                   Neuss, Germany
Lorenza Perini                        West Texas A&M             Gr.                   Venice, Italy
 
SECOND TEAM
Player                                    Team                             Year                 Hometown
Ella Cheek                              DBU                                 Fr.                   Sachse, Texas
Ali Escamilla                           Lubbock Christian            So.                  Midland, Texas
Alli Reily                                  Midwestern State             So.                 Pottsboro, Texas
Savannah Dupre                    St. Mary's                         Fr.                   Boerne, Texas
Rebecca Reed                       St. Mary's                         Gr.                  Midland, Texas
Yuilana Yapur                        Texas A&M International  Gr.                   Morales, Mexico
Arnie Taguines                       UT Permian Basin            So.                 Paranaque City, Philippines
Gam Songpraset                    West Texas A&M              Jr.                  Chiang Mai, Thailand
 
HONORABLE MENTION
Player                                    Team                             Year                 Hometown
Sidney Stramel                       UAFS                             Sr.                    Frisco, Texas
Martha Laremark                    UT Tyler                         So.                   Molndal, Sweden