Colorado University Athletics
Women's Golf Celebrates Seniors At Awards Reception
April 28, 2016 | Women's Golf
BOULDER – The University of Colorado women's golf team celebrated its 2015-16 accomplishments on Wednesday evening at Folsom Field's Rooftop Terrace Bar. The Buffaloes, set to leave for NCAA Regional Championships early next week, were joined by school administrators, donors, support staff and family members as they honored their four graduating seniors and handed out several awards.
Junior Esther Lee was named the team's Most Valuable Player for a second straight year, junior Natalie Vivaldi earned the Most Improved Player Award and the four seniors—Megan Haase, Alexis Keating, Jamie Oleksiew and Allie Zech were recognized for their academic achievements.
Lee, a Los Alamitos, Calif. native leads the team with a 72.48 stroke average and has tallied a team-best 10 top 20 finishes this season, which is tied for second-most all-time in a single season. This past fall, Lee won her second career event when she shot a school-record 64 in the second round of stroke play at the East & West Match Play Challenge in Madison, Wisc. Lee has registered a team-leading three rounds in the 60s this season and her eight subpar rounds on the year is tied for fourth in the Colorado record book. A 2016 All-Pac-12 team selection, Lee is currently ranked 21st in the nation.
Vivaldi has made great strides in her golf game as a junior, improving her average by more than two strokes. The Oceanside, Calif. native owns a 76.04 stroke average this season and has played in 25 rounds with 21 of those counting toward team scoring (84.0 percent). She matched a career-high with 21 rounds in the 70s and earned her first career top 10 finish earlier this month at the Buffaloes' own Silverado Showdown, posting a 219 or 3-over par to finish tied for 10th place.
The four academic honorees all hold a 3.0 GPA or higher and are scheduled to graduate next month. Haase, a journalism major has played 39 rounds of golf in her career and has earned a pair of top 20 finishes, including one in the top 10 during her junior year. She finishes her career with 13 rounds in the 70s. Keating is majoring in communication and has been a mainstay in the Buffs' rotation throughout her four-year career. She owns a 76.15 career stroke average, which is on pace to be the third-best all-time in program history. Keating holds the two lowest round scores in CU postseason history after shooting a 66 in the second round of the 2016 Pac-12 Championships, matching her final round 66 in last year's league championships. Oleksiew is an economics major and closes out her career with a 77.66 stroke average over 89 rounds. She played in a pair of events this season and earned a top 25 finish at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate when she tied for 22nd overall. An international affairs major, Zech has played the best golf of her career this season. She has competed in six events and owns a 77.56 stroke average. One of Zech's best performances of her career came this past fall at the Minnesota Invitational, where she finished tied for 15th place.
The Buffaloes, tied a program-best with their fifth place team finish at the Pac-12 Championships earlier this month and earned an invitation to the NCAA Regionals for a third straight year. Colorado, a No. 9 seed, will finish finals and then depart for Stanford, Calif. to compete in the NCAA West Regionals, May 5-7 at Stanford Golf Course. The top six teams then advance to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore.
