Valery Plata Named B1G Golfer of the Year; Record Four Spartans Earn All-Conference Honors
5/18/2020 3:08:00 PM | Women's Golf
EAST LANSING – Four members of the Michigan State women's golf team were named to the All-Big Ten Team, announced by the conference office on Monday (May 18). Leading the way was sophomore Valery Plata, who was named the Big Ten Golfer of the Year. Plata was joined on the All-Big Ten First Team by senior Allyson Geer-Park and junior Yurika Tanida. Senior Paz Marfa Sans was selected to the second team.
"It's a very exciting day for us to have four players earn All-Big Ten honors and for Valery to be named Player of the Year," MSU head coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll said. "Valery is an amazing young woman and had a breakout year. She finished in the top 20 of all but one tournament and winning the Tar Heel Invitational in the fall was an outstanding accomplishment. We're really happy for Valery and this should put a smile on the faces of all those that follow Spartan golf.
"These awards go to show that the hard work, effort and dedication that these young women put into our program is appreciated."
The four All-Big Ten selections are the most ever for the Spartan program. Plata is the sixth Big Ten Golfer of the Year from MSU as it marks the third time in the last four seasons a Spartan has garnered the honor (2018, 2017 – Sarah Burnham).
Plata led the Spartans with a 72.37 scoring average and got off to a fast start in the fall as she tied for second place in the Spartans' home Mary Fossum Invitational (Sept. 22-23) for what was then the best finish of her career. The next time out, she earned her first-career win as she claimed medalist honors in helping MSU to the team title at the prestigious Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational (Oct. 11-13) in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Plata recorded the second-lowest 54-hole tournament total in school history with an 11-under-par 205, carding all three of her rounds in the 60s (69, 68, 68). She and the Spartans outdueled a field that included second-ranked Wake Forest, 2019 national champion Duke and ninth-ranked Arkansas, and a total of seven teams in the top 20.
Plata, who hails from Floridablanca, Colombia, finished no lower than 17th in the Spartans' three spring tournaments, capped by a first-place finish in a duel vs. No. 9 Florida in early March.
Geer-Park ended her career with Michigan State as the all-team leader in scoring average at 72.87. The native of Brighton is the first player in program to be a four-time First Team All-Big Ten honoree. She ranked second on the team in 2019-20 with a 72.79 scoring average, had three top-10 finishes and was in the top-20 of all seven tournaments. The Brighton native started the season with consecutive sixth-place finishes at the Glass City Invitational at the Inverness Club (Sept. 16-17) and Mary Fossum Invitational (Sept. 22-23).
Geer-Park's 4-under-par 68 in the final round of the Tar Heel Invitational helped the Spartans secure the team title and give her a third straight top-10 finish.
Tanida had the best year of her career as her 72.84 scoring average was nearly a stroke and a half lower than her sophomore year average. Tanida had three top-five finishes on the year, including tying for fourth place in each of the Spartans' first two tournaments – the Glass City Invitational at the Inverness Club and the Mary Fossum Invitational. Tanida, native of Kanagawa, Japan had the best finish of her career in the spring as she tied for second place at 7-under-par 209 at the UCF Challenge (Feb. 2-4) in Orlando.
It's the second All-Big Ten honor for Tanida as she was voted to the second team last season.
Marfa Sans is now a three-time All-Big Ten selection. Her 72.94 scoring average in 2019-20 was the second-lowest of her career. She had four top-10 finishes on the season, including her first-career tournament win as she claimed medalist honors at the home Mary Fossum Invitational (Sept. 22-23) with a 2-over-par 218. The native of Barcelona, Spain's best finish in the spring came at the Allstate Sugar Bowl (Feb. 16-18) where she tied for 10th place.
Plata was also the Spartans' recipient of the Sportsmanship Award. The honorees chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. In addition, the students must be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.
2020 BIG TEN WOMEN'S GOLF ALL-CONFERENCE AND INDIVIDUAL AWARD WINNERS
(as selected by the B1G coaches)
Women's Golf 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 Teams
First Team
Priscilla Schmid, Indiana
Valery Plata, Michigan State
Allyson Geer-Park, Michigan State
Ashley Kim, Michigan
Kate Smith, Nebraska
Kelly Sim, Northwestern
Yurika Tanida, Michigan State
Second Team
Tristyn Nowlin, Illinois
Irene Kim, Northwestern
Virun Olankitkunchai, Maryland
Brooke Riley, Northwestern
Aneka Seumanutafa, Ohio State
Paz Marfa Sans, Michigan State
Kornkamol Sukaree, Illinois
Hailey Borja, Michigan
Sifat Sagoo, Purdue
Sportsmanship Honorees
Reena Sulkar, Illinois
Mary Parsons, Indiana
Jacque Galloway, Iowa
Elena Verticchio, Maryland
Hannah Ghelfi, Michigan
Valery Plata, Michigan Sate
Grace Curran, Minnesota
Kate Smith, Nebraska
Kelly Su, Northwestern
Adeena Shears, Ohio State
Sarah Willis, Penn State
Kan Bunnabodee, Purdue
Maeve Rossi, Rutgers
Tess Hackworthy, Wisconsin
"It's a very exciting day for us to have four players earn All-Big Ten honors and for Valery to be named Player of the Year," MSU head coach Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll said. "Valery is an amazing young woman and had a breakout year. She finished in the top 20 of all but one tournament and winning the Tar Heel Invitational in the fall was an outstanding accomplishment. We're really happy for Valery and this should put a smile on the faces of all those that follow Spartan golf.
"These awards go to show that the hard work, effort and dedication that these young women put into our program is appreciated."
The four All-Big Ten selections are the most ever for the Spartan program. Plata is the sixth Big Ten Golfer of the Year from MSU as it marks the third time in the last four seasons a Spartan has garnered the honor (2018, 2017 – Sarah Burnham).
Plata led the Spartans with a 72.37 scoring average and got off to a fast start in the fall as she tied for second place in the Spartans' home Mary Fossum Invitational (Sept. 22-23) for what was then the best finish of her career. The next time out, she earned her first-career win as she claimed medalist honors in helping MSU to the team title at the prestigious Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational (Oct. 11-13) in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Plata recorded the second-lowest 54-hole tournament total in school history with an 11-under-par 205, carding all three of her rounds in the 60s (69, 68, 68). She and the Spartans outdueled a field that included second-ranked Wake Forest, 2019 national champion Duke and ninth-ranked Arkansas, and a total of seven teams in the top 20.
Plata, who hails from Floridablanca, Colombia, finished no lower than 17th in the Spartans' three spring tournaments, capped by a first-place finish in a duel vs. No. 9 Florida in early March.
Geer-Park ended her career with Michigan State as the all-team leader in scoring average at 72.87. The native of Brighton is the first player in program to be a four-time First Team All-Big Ten honoree. She ranked second on the team in 2019-20 with a 72.79 scoring average, had three top-10 finishes and was in the top-20 of all seven tournaments. The Brighton native started the season with consecutive sixth-place finishes at the Glass City Invitational at the Inverness Club (Sept. 16-17) and Mary Fossum Invitational (Sept. 22-23).
Geer-Park's 4-under-par 68 in the final round of the Tar Heel Invitational helped the Spartans secure the team title and give her a third straight top-10 finish.
Tanida had the best year of her career as her 72.84 scoring average was nearly a stroke and a half lower than her sophomore year average. Tanida had three top-five finishes on the year, including tying for fourth place in each of the Spartans' first two tournaments – the Glass City Invitational at the Inverness Club and the Mary Fossum Invitational. Tanida, native of Kanagawa, Japan had the best finish of her career in the spring as she tied for second place at 7-under-par 209 at the UCF Challenge (Feb. 2-4) in Orlando.
It's the second All-Big Ten honor for Tanida as she was voted to the second team last season.
Marfa Sans is now a three-time All-Big Ten selection. Her 72.94 scoring average in 2019-20 was the second-lowest of her career. She had four top-10 finishes on the season, including her first-career tournament win as she claimed medalist honors at the home Mary Fossum Invitational (Sept. 22-23) with a 2-over-par 218. The native of Barcelona, Spain's best finish in the spring came at the Allstate Sugar Bowl (Feb. 16-18) where she tied for 10th place.
Plata was also the Spartans' recipient of the Sportsmanship Award. The honorees chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. In addition, the students must be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.
2020 BIG TEN WOMEN'S GOLF ALL-CONFERENCE AND INDIVIDUAL AWARD WINNERS
(as selected by the B1G coaches)
Women's Golf 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 Teams
First Team
Priscilla Schmid, Indiana
Valery Plata, Michigan State
Allyson Geer-Park, Michigan State
Ashley Kim, Michigan
Kate Smith, Nebraska
Kelly Sim, Northwestern
Yurika Tanida, Michigan State
Second Team
Tristyn Nowlin, Illinois
Irene Kim, Northwestern
Virun Olankitkunchai, Maryland
Brooke Riley, Northwestern
Aneka Seumanutafa, Ohio State
Paz Marfa Sans, Michigan State
Kornkamol Sukaree, Illinois
Hailey Borja, Michigan
Sifat Sagoo, Purdue
Sportsmanship Honorees
Reena Sulkar, Illinois
Mary Parsons, Indiana
Jacque Galloway, Iowa
Elena Verticchio, Maryland
Hannah Ghelfi, Michigan
Valery Plata, Michigan Sate
Grace Curran, Minnesota
Kate Smith, Nebraska
Kelly Su, Northwestern
Adeena Shears, Ohio State
Sarah Willis, Penn State
Kan Bunnabodee, Purdue
Maeve Rossi, Rutgers
Tess Hackworthy, Wisconsin
Players Mentioned
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