Smith Earns All-Big Ten Honors

Big Ten Champion Kate Smith added another award to her historic senior season when she was named first-team All-Big Ten by the conference coaches on Wednesday, April 28.

The recognition for Smith followed her winning performance at the 2021 Big Ten Championship at TPC River’s Bend in Maineville, Ohio (April 23-25). Smith tied the school record with a final-round 64 (-8) to storm to a three-stroke win over Northwestern’s Irene Kim, who was named the Big Ten Golfer of the Year. Smith finished with a three-round score of 207 (-9) to give Nebraska just its third conference individual champion in school history, joining Sarah Sasse (2003, Big 12) and Rachelle Tacha (1996, Big Eight).

Smith, who became Nebraska’s first-ever Mary Fossum Award winner for carrying the best stroke average relative to par in the Big Ten Conference in 2019-20, earned her second straight first-team All-Big Ten honor. She becomes just the third Husker women’s golfer in history to win multiple all-conference honors, joining three-time All-Big 12 selection Sasse (2000, 2001, 2003) and Rachelle Tacha (1996, 1997).

Smith leads the Huskers with a 72.44 stroke average this season, just off her own school-record pace of 72.18 a year ago. Her 73.30 career stroke average through 122 rounds is also a school record. She owns 30 career top-25 tournament finishes as a Husker, including all six of Nebraska’s tournaments this season. She carries 21 career top-10 performances, including five in the spring of 2021.

In addition to Smith’s All-Big Ten award, Megan Whittaker was named Nebraska’s Big Ten Sportsmanship Award winner for 2020-21. The junior from Elkhorn, Neb., notched a top-20 finish at the Big Ten Championship by tying for 18th with a career-best three-round total of 219. Whittaker is a two-time WGCA Scholastic All-American and is a two-time member of the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team. She also earned Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and Academic All-Big Ten selections in 2020. Her mother, Kim (Lefler) Whittaker, lettered as a golfer for Nebraska from 1991 to 1994, and was a senior on Nebraska’s first NCAA Regional team in 1994.

2021 Big Ten Women’s Golf Individual Awards

Golfer of the Year: Irene Kim, Northwestern

Freshman of the Year: Monet Chun, Michigan

Coach of the Year: Diana Cantu, Maryland

 

First-Team All-Big Ten

Virunpat Olankitkunchai, Maryland

Laura Van Respaille, Maryland

Monet Chun, Michigan

Ashley Lau, Michigan

Valery Plata, Michigan State

Kate Smith, Nebraska

Irene Kim, Northwestern

Aneka Seumanutafa, Ohio State

 

Second-Team All-Big Ten

Tristyn Nowlin, Illinois

Crystal Wang, Illinois

Xiaolin Tian, Maryland

Hailey Borja, Michigan

Paz Marfa Sans, Michigan State

Yurika Tanida, Michigan State

Kelly Sim, Northwestern

Thitapa Pakdeesettakul, Purdue

 

Big Ten Sportsmanship Awards

Tristyn Nowlin, Illinois

Angela Aung, Indiana

Morgan Goldstein, Iowa

Laura Van Respaille, Maryland

Ashley Lau, Michigan

Paz Marfa Sans, Michigan State

Grace Curran, Minnesota

Megan Whittaker, Nebraska

Brooke Riley, Northwestern

Kristin Jamieson, Ohio State

Megan McLean, Penn State

Kan Bunnabodee, Purdue

Maeve Rossi, Rutgers

Bobbi Stricker, Wisconsin