EUGENE, Ore. – Baylor women’s golf senior Laura Lonardi has been named the recipient of the Elite 90 Award for the 2016 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship. Lonardi became the sixth Baylor student-athlete to win the award since its inception in 2009.
The award, which was founded by the NCAA, honors the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers.
Lonardi holds a 3.96 cumulative grade point average while majoring in mathematics and statistics. She was presented the award during the Women’s Golf Championships banquet on Thursday morning in Eugene, Ore. Lonardi was chosen for having the best GPA among the 132 student-athletes competing at this year’s National Championship.
Lonardi is the sixth Baylor student-athlete to win the award, joining Jessica Ubanyionwu (women’s indoor track & field, 2009), Lindsay Palmer (women’s basketball, 2010 and 2012), Diamond Richardson (women’s outdoor track & field, 2010), Taylor Ormond (women’s tennis, 2011) and Sarah Crockett (softball, 2014).
To be eligible for the award, student-athletes must be sophomores or above who have participated in their sport for at least two years with their school. They must be an active member of the team and a designated member of the squad size at the championship.
Lonardi qualified for the National Championship by finishing in fifth place at the NCAA Bryan (Texas) Regional, which made her the top individual on a non-advancing team. The individual stroke play portion of the tournament runs Friday through Monday at Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Ore. Following Sunday’s third round, nine teams will be cut from the 24-team field, and the top 15 teams and top nine individuals whose teams didn’t advance will play one more round to determine the individual national champion.
Lonardi, who is competing at the National Championship for a second straight season, is scheduled to begin Friday’s first round at 2:55 p.m. CT from the 10th tee. She finished tied for 21st place individually at last year’s championship and helped Baylor to a national runner-up finish.
This season, Lonardi leads the team with a 72.37 stroke average and has shot par or better in 14 of 30 rounds. She’s recorded six top-10 finishes and has finished among the top 25 individuals in nine of 10 events.
Live scoring of the National Championship is available at www.golfstat.com. Follow @BaylorWGolf on Twitter for updates throughout the year.
BAYLOR ELITE 90 AWARD WINNERS
Jessica Ubanyionwu – women’s indoor track & field, 2009
Lindsay Palmer – women’s basketball, 2010 and 2012
Diamond Richardson – women’s outdoor track & field, 2010
Taylor Ormond – women’s tennis, 2011
Sarah Crockett – softball, 2014
Laura Lonardi – women’s golf, 2016
