Kim, Borja Earn Spots on All-Big Ten Teams
5/18/2020 3:05:00 PM | Women's Golf
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Junior Ashley Kim (first team) and freshman Hailey Borja (second team) of the University of Michigan women's gold team were named All-Big Ten, the conference announced Monday (May 18). The pair of all-conference honors marked the fourth time in program history the Wolverines had multiple selections in the same season, while Borja became the first U-M freshman to be named all-conference.
Additionally, Hannah Ghelfi was U-M's Big Ten Sportsmanship honoree for the second straight year.
With the spring season, Big Ten and NCAA postseasons canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the conference and Big Ten coaches voted to continue with selecting the women's golf postseason awards.
Kim and Borja become U-M's 14th and 15th all-conference selections after pacing U-M during the 2019-20 season. The pair combined to finish as the top Wolverine in five of the seven events, with Kim nabbing Michigan's top spot in the final four events of the season.
Kim was having a career year, leading Michigan with a 72.67 scoring average -- nearly a stroke and a half better than her prior best in 2018-19 (74.86). Helping her lead the Wolverines, she posted 11 of her 21 rounds at or below par with a team-best seven sub-par tallies, including her season-low 68 (-2) in the final round of the Florida Gators Invitational (March 7-8) -- one of four sub-70 scores.
A two-time Big Ten Golfer of the Week, Kim posted five top-20 individual finishes in her seven events, with three in the top five, including her first individual win at Miami's Hurricane Invitational (March 2-3). She carded four of the top five 54-hole tournament totals, with three sub-par tallies.
Borja made an immediate impact in her first season in Ann Arbor as she tied for fourth in her collegiate debut at the Glass City Invitational (Sept. 16-17) -- the best U-M freshman debut finish since 1995. She was just over one shot behind Kim for the team lead, posting a 73.76 scoring average with three sub-par rounds -- including a career-low 69 (-1) in the Gator Invitational.
Kim and Borja are the fourth U-M pairing to earn All-Big Ten honors in the same year, joining former Wolverine greats Sharon Park (first team) and Wendy Westfall (first) in 1997; Brianna Broderick (first), Laura Olin (first) and Ali Stinson (second) in 2005; and Grace Choi (first) and Catherine Peters (second) in 2016.
2020 Big Ten Women's Golf Awards
Big Ten Player of the Year: Valery Plata, Michigan State
Big Ten Freshman of the Year: Irene Kim, Northwestern
Mary Fossum Award: Kate Smith, Nebraska
All-Big Ten
First Team
Allyson Geer-Park, Michigan State
Ashley Kim, Michigan
Valery Plata, Michigan State
Priscilla Schmid, Indiana
Kelly Sim, Northwestern
Kate Smith, Nebraska
Yurika Tanida, Michigan State
Second Team
Hailey Borja, Michigan
Irene Kim, Northwestern
Paz Marfa, Michigan State
Tristyn Nowlin, Illinois
Virun Olankitkunchai, Maryland
Brooke Riley, Northwestern
Sifat Sagoo, Purdue
Aneka Seumanutafa, Ohio State
Kornkamol Sukaree, Illinois
Sportsmanship Award
Reena Sulkar, Illinois
Mary Parsons, Indiana
Jacque Galloway, Iowa
Elena Verticchio, Maryland
Hannah Ghelfi, Michigan
Valery Plata, Michigan State
Grace Curran, Minnesota
Kate Smith, Nebraska
Kelly Su, Northwestern
Adeena Shears, Ohio State
Sarah Willis, Penn State
Kan Bunnanodee, Purdue
Maeve Rossi, Rutgers
Tess Hackworthy, Wisconsin
