Two-time honoree Ramya Meenakshisundaram is joined by first-year Bull Ashley Zagers on the WGCA All-American Scholar Team for 2019-20.
USF women’s golf has had at least one student-athlete earn the prestigious honors in each of the past five seasons.
TAMPA, JULY 1, 2020 – USF’s Ramya Meenakshisundaram and Ashley Zagers were rewarded for their efforts on the course and in the classroom when they were recently named to the Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) All-American Scholar Team for the 2019-20 season.
USF women’s golf has had at least one student-athlete earn WGCA All-American Scholar honors in each of the past five seasons. Meenakshisundaram is USF’s first two-time honoree since Mariale Merchan (2017-18).
The WGCA released its full list of All-American Scholars on Monday and the criteria for selection were some of the most stringent in all of college athletics. Requirements included a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.50 while student-athletes must have played in at least 50 percent of the rounds completed by their team throughout the 2019-20 season.
“We are all very proud of Ashley and Ramya. They represent our program with class and their academic achievements certainly merit celebration,” head coach Erika Brennan said. “We prioritize academics and graduation within our program, and it’s exciting that at least one member of the team has earned this award for the past five seasons.”
Meenakshisundaram and Zagers both were named to the USF Athletics Honor Roll for the spring 2020 semester that saw USF women’s golf post a team grade-point average of 3.55. The program also received a Public Recognition Award from the NCAA for earning perfect multi-year APR score of 1,000 for the seventh straight year and 10th time overall to rank among the top 10 percent nationally in APR performance in its respective sport.
On the course, Meenakshisundaram ranked second the team with a 75.86 season scoring average for 2019-20 and was in the lineup for all 21 of the team’s rounds during the shortened season. The sophomore from Jacksonville, Fla., earned a share of runner-up honors at the Old Friends Invitational and helped host USF register a 20-shot, wire-to-wire win at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club on Feb. 18. Meenakshisundaram picked up her first WGCA All-American Scholar award in 2019 after she was named to The American’s all-conference team as a freshman.
Zagers made an instant impact during her first season with the program after transferring from Florida Southern College. The junior from Oldsmar, Fla., competed in all 21 of the Bulls’ rounds and was in the lineup for six of seven events. Zagers’ top finish was a 13th-place performance at the Old Friends Invitational, which marked the third team tournament victory by the Bulls since spring 2019.
“We are extremely proud of Ramya and Ashley for being named WGCA All-American Scholars. Ramya and Ashley are very deserving of this recognition by the WGCA for all their efforts in the classroom,” assistant coach Dalton Stevens said. “They both take great pride in what it takes to be a student-athlete here at the University of South Florida. They both represent our athletic department, golf program, and this preeminent university in a first-class way.”
View the complete list of WGCA All-American Scholars for 2019-20 HERE.
About USF Women’s Golf
Veteran head coach Erika Brennan completed her first full season with USF in 2018-19 and helped the Bulls become the second-fastest rising program in the country, as they climbed 75 spots in the national Golfstat rankings. The 2019-20 Bulls posted a wire-to-wire win at the Old Friends Invitational on Feb. 18, which marked the program’s third tournament title since spring 2019.
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