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Women's Golf Becca Ball

HPU Sweeps Major Big South Yearly Awards

FRIPP ISLAND, S.C. — High Point University swept three major awards of the Big South Conference women's golf yearly awards as announced by the conference Thursday afternoon.

Julia McLaughlin was awarded the Big South Newcomer of the Year, while Anna Howerton took home Big South Freshman of the Year and Ella Perna was named the Big South Golfer of the Year.

Perna, a native of Durham, N.C., entered the Big South Championship as the conference leader in stroke average at 73.19.  She has the third-most Top 10 finishes in the league this season with five, and tied for 11th in the conference's postseason event with a 10-over 226.  A three-time Big South Golfer of the Week honoree in 2023-24, Perna tied for runner-up at the Charlotte Invitational with a 1-over 217, tied for third with a 2-over 218 at the River Landing Classic and tied for fourth at the Golfweek/AGT Intercollegiate -- which included a collegiate-low of 4-under 67.  Perna's best 54-hole score was a 2-under 214 at the UNCG Collegiate.  Perna is High Point's second consecutive Big South Golfer of the Year recipient, and the program's second overall winner.
 
Howerton, a native of Winston Salem, N.C., is the second-ever High Point golfer to receive Freshman of the Year honors.  She was the conference's highest-ranked golfer entering the conference championship at 370, and held the third-leading stroke average at 74.12.  Howerton earned Big South Freshman of the Week honors four times in 2023-24, and finished solo third at the Big South Championship with a 3-over 219 for her fourth Top 10 finish of the year as well as a spot on the Big South All-Championship Team.  Howerton captured medalist honors at the UNCG Collegiate in October with a 15-under 201 (66-67-68), in which her first round 66 broke the school 18-hole record, and is tied for the lowest in the Big South this season.  She earned Big South Golfer of the Week recognition for her winning performance.



McLaughlin is the first Big South Women's Golf Newcomer of the Year, which recognizes the top non-freshman transfer playing in the Big South for the first time.  In her first season with the Panthers, McLaughlin, who is from Princeton, N.J., tied for fifth in the Big South Championship at 7-over 223 to earn a spot on the All-Championship Team, had the 10th-lowest stroke average entering the postseason at 75.54, and was the Big South Golfer of the Week for her sixth-place effort at the Golfweek Red Sky Classic in September.



On top of her Newcomer of the Year award, McLaughlin was honored as a member of the All-Championship Team due to her T5 finish at the Conference Championship and landed in the Honorable Mention category of the All-Conference Team alongside senior leader, Danielle Suh. Suh also secured a spot on the All-Academic team on top of her Honorable Mention award.

On top of Perna and Howerton's Golfer and Freshman of the Year honors, the two of them also landed a spot on the All-Conference First Team. Additionally, Howerton made the All-Freshman Team and the All-Championship Team due to her third-place finish in stroke play.

2024 Big South Conference Women's Golf Award Winners

All-Conference Team

First-Team                                                       
Ella Perna, High Point
Anna Howerton, High Point
Caroline Engelbredt, Charleston Southern
Neza Siftar, Gardner-Webb
Preaw Nontarux, USC Upstate

Second-Team
Madyson Gold, UNC Asheville
Odette Font Garcia, Charleston Southern
Katie Stephens, Charleston Southern
Madison Freeman, Charleston Southern
Suwarin Yord-In, USC Upstate 

Honorable Mention
Danielle Suh, High Point
Rylie Kosney, USC Upstate
Julia McLaughlin, High Point
Eugenie Varet, Charleston Southern
Claudia Salvador, UNC Asheville

All-Freshman Team
Anna Howerton, High Point
Constanca Mendonca, Winthrop
Macy Johnson, Radford
Supatta Puttanavarat, USC Upstate
Grace Addison, Radford (tie)
Bre Hoese, Longwood (tie)

All-Academic Team
Elsie Verhoeven, Charleston Southern
Neza Siftar, Gardner-Webb
Danielle Suh, High Point
Emma Landis, Longwood
Taylor Reaves, Presbyterian College
Shea Smith, Radford
Madyson Gold, UNC Asheville
Suwarin Yord-In, USC Upstate
Emilie Marceliussen-Dahl, Winthrop

Golfer of the Year
Ella Perna, High Point

Freshman of the Year
Anna Howerton, High Point

Newcomer of the Year
Julia McLaughlin, High Point

Coach of the Year
Chan Metts, Charleston Southern

Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Neza Siftar, Gardner-Webb

All-Championship Team (Top 5 finishers plus ties)
Odette Font Garcia, Charleston Southern (Medalist)
Preaw Nontarux, USC Upstate
Anna Howerton, High Point
Madyson Gold, UNC Asheville
Emma Landis, Longwood
Suwarin Yord-In, USC Upstate
Julia McLaughlin, High Point
#GoHPU
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Players Mentioned

Ella Perna

Ella Perna

5' 3"
Sophomore
Danielle Suh

Danielle Suh

5' 7"
Senior
Julia McLaughlin

Julia McLaughlin

Graduate Student
Anna Howerton

Anna Howerton

Freshman

Players Mentioned

Ella Perna

Ella Perna

5' 3"
Sophomore
Danielle Suh

Danielle Suh

5' 7"
Senior
Julia McLaughlin

Julia McLaughlin

Graduate Student
Anna Howerton

Anna Howerton

Freshman