PORTLAND, Ore. – The Great Northwest Athletic Conference announced its Women's Golf Postseason Awards on Friday afternoon, with Seattle Pacific's Zoe Garcia named the GNAC Newcomer of the Year.
 
Garcia led the Falcons throughout most of their inaugural season in the GNAC. She set many standards for the first-year program. Now, she's the first-ever Falcons to earn a GNAC Women's Golf specialty award as the conference's Newcomer of the Year. 
 
"Our entire roster dealt with a lot of change this year," head coach Tyler Copp said. "A new University, a first-year golf program, and living in a new area. Zoe had a tremendous year and did a great job representing our program. Competing as the number one in the lineup means you've earned the respect of your teammates and get the chance to compete with other programs ' best. She handled this honor very well and learned a lot from fall to spring season."
 
Garcia showed everyone that she was capable of a big year back in September. She shot a 77 in round two of the Grisham Memorial Shootout on Sept. 21 at The Home Course. She'd continue to get better and better throughout the season.
 
The Falcons competed in the True North Classic on Sept. 23 and 24, and Garcia returned to
playing well. She shot a single-round program record at 71. The round featured four birdies, the most in a single round by an SPU player. She turned in scores of 79, 71, and 86 for 236 and a 21st-place individual finish at that event.
 
When things picked back up in the spring, Garcia was back to setting program bests. At the SMSU Classic on March 18, Garcia shot a 75 after lighting up the back nine. Garcia's final nine holes featured three birdies, all on par fours. Garcia's score was tied for the second-best individual performance from round one.  
 
Garcia followed the strong opening-round performance with a solid effort to close out the tournament. She birdied the 145-yard par three, fourth hole. She earned another birdie on the 14th hole, a short par four. Garcia finished the second round with an 82. She finished five strokes back from the top of the individual leaderboard.
 
Great performances at the SMSU Classic made Garcia the GNAC Player of the Week on March 24. It was the first GNAC weekly award won by a Falcon in school history. Garcia wrapped up her season with a 21st-place individual finish at the GNAC Championships.
 
"Zoe has bought into the vision we are building," Copp said. "She will continue to earn more accolades in her career and is hungry to take this program to new heights."
 
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