DALLAS — UTSA head coach Summer Batiste, sophomore Ana Gonzalez and senior Julie Houston all collected Conference USA postseason honors Tuesday, as the league office announced its all-conference teams and superlative awards.
Batiste was voted C-USA Coach of the Year presented by Ready Nutrition, while Gonzalez and Houston were named to the first and second teams, respectively.
Batiste was voted the league's coach of the year by her peers for the second straight season after guiding the Roadrunners to three tournament titles in 2018-19, including their second consecutive conference crown on April 17 in Fort Myers, Fla. The second-year head coach helped UTSA rally from a one-shot deficit entering the final round to a 12-stroke victory en route to the program's fourth overall league title. The Roadrunners fired a school-record, 7-under-par 281 on the final day to secure the program's fifth NCAA postseason appearance.
A four-year letterwinner, two-time second-team all-conference performer and member of UTSA's back-to-back Southland Conference championship teams in 2011-12, Batiste now joins former head coach Carrie Parnaby (2011-12) as two-time conference coach of the year honorees.
Gonzalez was one of five players named to the first team, her second career all-conference award. The sophomore carded a 9-under 207 (69-67-71) to capture C-USA medalist honors by five shots and become the second straight and fifth overall conference champion in program annals. The C-USA Freshman of the Year and a second-team all-conference selection a year ago, she collected her first collegiate victory at the LSU Tiger Classic on March 31 and was named C-USA Golfer of the Week for the second time in her career for her performance.
A native of Monterrey, Mexico, Gonzalez leads UTSA with six top-10 finishes and a 73.13 stroke average this season. She shared seventh place with a 75-78-68—221 to help lead the Roadrunners to the Lady Maxwell Invitational team title in September and she also tied for seventh with a 70-71-74—215 to help UTSA capture the Texas State Invitational in February. She currently owns UTSA's career scoring average record (73.52) and now has matched the program's single-season standard of two wins held by Houston (2015-16) and Allie Jordan (2008-09).
With this year's second-team selection, Houston earned her fourth career all-conference certificate and joined Fabiola Arriaga, Taylor Newlin and Paola Valerio as the program's only four-time all-league performers. The senior from Allen, Texas, ranks second on the squad with a 73.84 stroke average and she has registered four top 10s this season, including a tie for eighth place with a 216 (76-69-71) to help lead UTSA to the conference crown.
The C-USA medalist and a first-team pick a year ago, Houston was the Texas State Invitational runner-up with a 5-under 208 (71-68-69) to help guide the Roadrunners to the team title and she tied for fourth (73-72-73—218) to help UTSA win the season-opening Lady Maxwell Invitational. Earlier this month, the five-time C-USA Golfer of the Week was named to the InTouch Credit Union C-USA All-Academic Team for the second straight season.
UTSA now has garnered 32 all-conference certificates, including 11 first-team awards, in its 14-year history.
The Roadrunners will find out their NCAA Regional assignment at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday when the NCAA Division I Women's Golf Selection Show airs on the Golf Channel. The four regional sites include Tumble Creek Golf Club in Cle Elum, Washington, hosted by the University of Washington; Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club in Norman, Oklahoma, hosted by the University of Oklahoma; Forest Akers West Golf Course in East Lansing, Michigan, hosted by Michigan State University and Greater Lansing Sports Authority; and Saugahatchee Country Club in Opelika, Alabama, hosted by Auburn University. All four regionals will be contested on May 6-8 and 24 teams and 12 individuals will advance to the national championships to be played May 17-22 at Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
2019 All-Conference USA Teams
First Team
Lauren Cox, North Texas
Charlotte De Corte, Old Dominion
Cecile Finne-Ipsen, Charlotte
Ana Gonzalez, UTSA
Hanley Long, Middle Tennessee
Second Team
Shelby Brauckmuller, Marshall
Valentina Gilly, FIU
Julie Houston, UTSA
Jana Melichova, Old Dominion
Leah Onosato, Old Dominion
Third Team
Sophie Burks, Middle Tennessee
Lily Downs, UTEP
Mary Joiner, WKU
Sierra Stout, Charlotte
Sana Tufail, Old Dominion
Coach of the Year
Summer Batiste, UTSA
Player of the Year
Hanley Long, Middle Tennessee
Freshman of the Year
Jana Melichova, Old Dominion
Most Improved Player
Jillian Farrell, Charlotte
