TORNADO, W.Va. – West Liberty University's
Emily Taylor has added West Virginia Conference Player of the Year honors to an already-impressive resume while Hilltopper head coach
Eric Burkle was named WVIAC Coach of the Year after leading WLU to its third WVIAC title in the past four seasons.
Taylor and fellow Hilltopper senior Haygen Mowder of St. Clairsville, Ohio also completed a rare “four-peat” by earning first-team All-WVIAC laurels for the fourth consecutive season.
A native of Chardon, Ohio, Taylor locked up the 2011 WVIAC Player of the Year Award on Monday with a sixth-place finish in the season-ending WVIAC Southern Regional at Big Bend Golf Club.
The conference's Player of the Year Award and the All-WVIAC team are computed based on the combined scores of all players in the league's three sanctioned tournaments. The WVIAC Northern Regional and the WVIAC Women's Golf Championship tournament are conducted during the fall.
Taylor led the way for the Black and Gold during October's WVIAC Championship event at Canaan Valley Resort. The Hilltopper senior ran away from the field to post a 10-stroke victory in the medal chase as West Liberty edged Concord by three shots in the 36-hole event.
Taylor posted top 10 finishes in all three of the conference's sanctioned tournaments. Along with her medal title in the league championship event, she was fourth in the WVIAC Northern Regional and sixth in the WVIAC Southern Regional.
Mowder also spent most of the season near the top of the league's leaderboards. She was runner-up in this past weekend's Southern Regional after finishing sixth in the WVIAC Championships and 12th in the Northern Regional.
Burkle picked up his WVIAC Coach of the Year honor after leading WLU to its fifth WVIAC women's golf title in his first full season at the West Liberty helm.
The Hilltopper head man is following in the footsteps of WVIAC women's golf pioneer Karen Waialae, who won a record four WVIAC Coach of the Year Awards during her career.
Hilltopper sophomore Sarah Relyea of Bloomingdale, N.J. earned All-WVIAC honors for the second straight year, nailing down a spot on the All-WVIAC second team unit.
Following is a list of the 2010-11 All-WVIAC Women's Golf honor roll:
WOMEN'S GOLF
2010-11 All-WVIAC Selections
Player of the Year
EMILY TAYLOR, WEST LIBERTY, SR., CHARDON, OH
Coach of the Year
ERIC BURKLE, WEST LIBERTY
First Team
Brianna Bush, Seton Hill, So., Ridgway, PA
Marina Erice, Concord, Fr., Pamplona, Spain
Juli Hirauk, Wheeling Jesuit, Fr., Jewett, OH
HAYGEN MOWDER, WEST LIBERTY, SR., ST. CLAIRSVILLE, OH
Jennifer Smith, Ohio Valley, So., Peterborough, ON
EMILY TAYLOR, WEST LIBERTY, SR., CHARDON, OH
Second Team
Brittany Borkovich, W.Va. Wesleyan, Fr., Export, PA
Erin Metzger, Wheeling Jesuit, So., Canton, OH
SARAH RELYEA, WEST LIBERTY, SO., BLOOMINGDALE, NJ
Nicole Smith, Fairmont State, So., Latrobe, PA
Lara Storrar, Ohio Valley, Sr., Stirling, ON
Whitney Young, Wheeling Jesuit, So., Wilkinsburg, PA
