Bettel Tabbed UK Women’s Golf’s First All-SEC Selection Since 1997

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Leonie Bettel became Kentucky women’s golf’s first all-conference honoree in more than two decades with selection to the All-SEC Second Team on Thursday.
 
Bettel, a three-time individual champion in 2018-19 who completed her collegiate career this week at the NCAA Auburn Regional, is the first All-SEC player of the Golda Borst era and the first All-SEC player from the UK women’s program since Lauri Berles made the second team for a second consecutive season in 1997.
 
In addition to Bettel, junior Josephine Chang was named to the annual SEC Community Service Team for her leadership and dedication to helping others. It’s the first time she’s made the team.
 
Bettel is the 10th all-time Wildcat to earn All-SEC selection (12 total honors) and one of eight members on the All-SEC Second Team in the nation’s premier golf conference. Twelve of the league’s team’s made NCAA Regionals with six moving on the NCAA Championships in less than two weeks.
 
Among the nation’s best collection of talent, Bettel managed to stand out with the best single-season stroke average in school history. She edged Isabelle Johansson’s 2016-17 mark of 73.42 with a 73.16 average over 32 rounds in 2018-19. She also set the single-season school record with 14 rounds of par or better, which included six rounds in the 60s.
 
Bettel posted five top-10 finishes with two additional top-20 showings, including three individual championships. She won both Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship and the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational in back-to-back appearances in the fall.
 
At the Mercedes-Benz, she fired a tournament-record 65 in the final round, one shy of the school record. At the Bettie Lou, Kentucky’s home tournament, Bettel carded a 205 (11-under par) to set the 54-hole school record.
 
Bettel added a third championship in the spring with a victory at the Clover Cup for the second-most titles in a single season in school history. Only Kate Rogerson, who won four events in 1987-88, recorded more titles.
 
She was also an ANNIKA Award (national player of the year) midseason candidate and won SEC Women’s Golfer of the Week honors on March 20, just the fourth player in school history to do so.
 
Bettel qualified for this past week’s NCAA Auburn Regional as an individual and all 29 of her rounds in team competition were counted.  
 
Chang has been a mainstay in the community during her UK career. Below is just a sample of some of the community service work she has done while at Kentucky.

• Frequent volunteer at the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge, including baking cookies for residents and participating in a tree lighting ceremony during the holidays
• Annual participant in the UK’s God’s Pantry program to help pack and distribute lunches to students across the city
• Participated in the On the Move Art Studio after-school program at a local high school
• Bell ringing for the Salvation Army during the holiday season to raise money for homeless families
• Read Across America participant
• Visited patients at Shriners Hospitals to spend time with the patients and play games with the children undergoing care.
• Went bowling with Special Olympics athletes over the winter
• Volunteered for the Louisiana flood relief drive to supply those affected by a devastating flood
• Breakfast with Santa volunteer

On the course, Chang enjoyed a solid bounce-back junior campaign. She averaged 76.4 stokes per 18 holes, just a few fractions off her career-best freshman average, and tied for second place at the Colonel Classic in March. She appeared in nine events this season.
 
The annual SEC Community Service Team recognizes the superior community service efforts of the league’s student-athletes. The SEC Community Service Team consists of one student-athlete from each SEC institution, as nominated by the school’s personnel. The SEC names a community service team for each of its 21 league-sponsored sports.
 
Maria Fassi from Arkansas was named the SEC Player of the Year. Emily Price of South Carolina won SEC Freshman of the Year and her teammate Lois Kaye was named SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Vanderbilt’s Greg Allen won SEC Coach of the Year.
 
For the latest on the Kentucky women’s golf team, follow the team on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, as well as on the web at UKathletics.com.