Two Rutgers athletes were honored by the Big Ten this week.
With the spring season in the books for college athletics, nationwide programs are shifting focus to the 2024-2025 academic year. However, the Big Ten honored 28 students named Outstanding Sportsmanship Award winners on Tuesday. Two Rutgers athletes were honored.
This year, the Scarlet Knights were represented by Xavier Marcoux and Leigha Devine. They both had impressive seasons for Rutgers golf, but as Tuesday showed, their impact exceeded their statistics. One member of each varsity sports team on every campus was chosen by their school as a Sportsmanship Award honoree and two Outstanding Sportsmanship Award winners were then selected from each school.
Friday Knight Lights!
Don’t miss the Blackout when @RFootball hosts Washington on Sept. 27 at 8 pm in a game presented by @HorizonBCBSNJ.
— Rutgers Scarlet Knights (@RUAthletics) June 25, 2024
While Marcoux and Devine made headlines, they were not the only Rutgers athletes with something to celebrate. The Scarlet Knights, who were Big Ten Sportsmanship Honorees, include Chris Hill, Cole Cutters, Rylee Ferretti, Allison Lynch, Oskar Palmquist, and Sonny Fauci.
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Over the next few months, Rutgers athletes will get well-deserved rest before returning to action. For many, Tuesday was a milestone that showed how much each athlete means to their school.
Rutgers golf got a strong performance from Leigha Devine this week.
On Tuesday afternoon, Rutgers golf was back in action as the Fresno Classic came to an end. While the Scarlet Knights did not finish in the top five, Leigha Devine gave them a reason to celebrate.
Devine finished just two strokes behind the event winner. In the third round, she birdied holes No. 7 and No. 15 and collected 13 pars. While she felt just short of first place, it was an experience that Devine didn’t take for granted.
“The last leg of our west coast swing was super fun; Fresno put on a great tournament, and Copper River was quite the challenge,” Devine told Rutgers Athletics. “The greens were in impeccable shape and I wish I could have taken more advantage of that. My game is looking promising heading into our last three events. The team and I are ready for our debut at home next week and can’t wait to see what we can do to finish out the season.”
Out of a field that involved 21 teams, Devine’s effort helped Rutgers leave Fresno with an eighth place finish. In a tournament full of ups downs, Devine was a bright spot.
Rutgers women’s golf had a lot to celebrate this week. On Thursday, news broke that all five team members were named 2022-23 Women’s Golf Association (WGCA) Division I All-American Scholars. The group also made history along the way.
For graduate Maeve Rossi it is the fifth time she has received All-America Scholar honors, a new program record. Leigha Devine and Rikke Nordvik received the honor for the third time in their careers, while Nicole Ewing and Lucrezia Rossettin received the honor for the second time.
To be eligible for the award, a recipient must have a 3.50 GPA and have played in at least 50 percent of their team’s rounds during the 2022-23 season. Over the last ten years, Rutgers has been well represented. Dating back to 2015, the Scarlet Knights have accumulated 45 All-America Scholar awards under head coach Kari Williams.
Champion again! Leigha captured the @ColoGolf Stroke Play title today for the second time in three years, and carded 71-74-70 to win by 4 strokes 🏆#GoRUpic.twitter.com/Tlv0l0oFo6
— Rutgers Women's Golf (@RutgersWGolf) July 7, 2023
During William’s tenure, the Scarlet Knights have rewritten the record books. That continued during the 2022-2023 campaign. Devine set single-season records for scoring average (+1.67), birdies (86), par-5 scoring (4.9083). Rossi set a trio of program records with career birdies (265), rounds (135), and counting scores (122).
As the Scarlet Knights prepare for the 2023-2024 campaign, they will be looking to build on their success. While the roster will look different this upcoming season, what the program accomplished last year will not be forgotten.
Here’s what you missed in the women’s college golf world.
Nebraska women’s golf coach Jeanne Sutherland nearly retired from college coaching.
Last year, she took a job as an associate head coach with the Cornhuskers after spending the better part of the past 30 years leading Texas A&M (1992-2007) and SMU (2011-21). Sutherland took over at Nebraska after Lisa Johnson, who led the Husker program the past three seasons, moved to Portland, Oregon, following her husband, John Johnson, who was named the athletic director at Portland State.
And now, Sutherland’s Nebraska women’s golf team is off to a terrific start to the 2022-23 season.
A week after finishing runner-up at the Green Wave Classic, three shots behind LSU, the Cornhuskers captured the Badger Invitational at University Ridge Golf Course in Verona, Wisconsin. Nebraska, which finished at 1-under 863, was the only team to finish under par for the tournament. It beat second-place Notre Dame and Old Dominion by 11 shots.
“These first couple of weeks have been awesome,” Sutherland said. “The girls have really come in and worked. Everything has fallen into place.”
Sutherland said the team learned a lot after its final round in Louisiana, and it was able to take those lessons and capitalize.
Freshman Kelli Ann Strand, who won in her first collegiate start last week, finished tied for fourth after a 5-under 67 in the final round. She was 3 under for the week. Miu Takahashi finished eighth at 1 under.
Rutgers senior Leigha Devine and Notre Dame sophomore Montgomery Ferreira tied for first at 7-under 209, setting a new 54-hole scoring record at the Badger Invitational. Devine also aced the par-3 12th hole during the second round.
Rutgers senior Leigha Devine after the 2022 Badger Invitational. (Photo: Wisconsin Athletics)
Six-year drought snapped
Ball State junior Kiah Parrott set numerous records en route to her first collegiate victory at the Brittany Kelly Cardinal Classic at The Players Club in Yorktown, Indiana.
What’s more, Parrott became the first Ball State golfer to win an individual title since 2017, and she set a 54-hole scoring record at 9-under 207, beating the old record by nine shots. She had 14 birdies in the tournament.
“Winning the tournament this week means the world, especially because it was our home tournament and the first home tournament I have gotten to play in,” Parrott said.
Loyola-Chicago picked up the team victory, and it was the first for coach Brandy Johnston, who came from Division III Carthage College in Wisconsin.
Wake wins again
Wake Forest collected its second win in as many weeks in come-from-behind fashion at the Mercedes-Benz Intercollegiate at Cherokee Country Club in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Demon Deacons shot 12 under in the final round and finished at 21-under 831 for the tournament, beating Central Florida by three shots. Virginia held the 36-hole lead and finished in third at 16-under 836.
UCF’s Tunrada Piddon shot 11-under 202 to win the individual competition, beating Wake Forest’s Rachel Kuehn and Tennessee’s Bailey Davis by one shot. Wake Forest’s Carolina Lopez-Chacarra finished a shot behind Kuehn and Davis at solo fourth.
More transfer news
The NCAA Division I Board of Directors recently made changes to the transfer portal, including opening and closing dates for specific sports. For men’s golf, the portal will open May 4, 2023, and close June 17 2023. For women’s golf, it will open April 27, 2023 and close June 10, 2023. There will also be a window for golfers to enter between Dec. 1-15, 2022.
