Women's Golf Continues to Boast Athletic, Academic Excellence
May 26, 2015 | Academic Services
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The delicate yet difficult balance between academics and athletics for student-athletes isn't the easiest feat, especially at an institution that enjoys excellence in both realms.
Many programs excel in just one area, but the University of Louisville women's golf team is taking pride in being able to achieve the stability successfully.
Louisville's senior leadership - consisting of Haley Andreas, Emily Haas, Sara Karlsson, and Katie Petrino - has helped shape the program. Since 2012, when Courtney Trimble was introduced as head coach, Louisville has reached a pair of NCAA Regionals along with attaining the 2014 American Athletic Conference title.
Impressively, the senior group, in just three years, has played a major factor in the Cardinals registering eight team victories - equal to what the program achieved over a six-year span (2006-12).
On top of that, Louisville's student-athletes have recorded six all-conference distinctions, six individual crowns, and 24 top-five finishes. Katie Mitchell, who earned one of those wins this year, tied for 14th at the 2015 NCAA South Bend Regional. It is the highest finish by a Louisville student-athlete at an NCAA regional since Sara-Maude Juneau tied for runner-up honors in 2008.
Though the hardware is impressive, it doesn't outweigh Louisville's successes in the classroom.
On Wednesday, the women's golf program received the NCAA Public Recognition for the third-consecutive year for ranking in the top-10 percent of the sport based on the most recent multi-year APR. Even more notable, it is the fifth-straight year the team has produced a perfect 1000 APR score to rank among the nation's top programs.
"We are thrilled to be recognized by the NCAA," Trimble added. "It is a great award and a tribute to all the hard work the team has put forth in the classroom."
Louisville, which consecutively earned the BIG EAST and American Athletic Conference Team Academic Excellence for women's golf, is chasing more honors for its schoolwork. This year's group produced a collective 3.72 grade-point average. Between the two semesters, the Cardinals accounted for 16 Dean's List honors, and Andreas, Haas, and Karlsson each earned their bachelor's degrees in the spring of 2015 while Petrino graduated in 2014.
Individual accolades haven't been limited either. Haas twice earned Capital One all-district academic first-team honors, and she has been one of six Louisville golfers to secure WGCA All-American Scholar status, with more expected this season.
"It is truly remarkable the way our seniors and the rest of the team have been able to balance their academics and athletics," Trimble, the 2013-14 AAC Coach of the Year, said. "They have created a culture of competing at a high level all while achieving high marks in the classroom. The legacy the seniors leave behind will prove great for our future teams on and off the course."
For the latest information on Louisville women's golf, log on to GoCards.com, or, for up-to-the-minute updates, follow the team's Twitter account at www.twitter.com/UofLWGolf or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LouisvilleWomensGolf.
