RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas Tech sophomore golfer
Jacqueline Klemm was unanimously named the Great American Conference Women's Golf Player of the Year and head coach
Luke Calcatera was named the league's Coach of the Year as the two headlined the 2021 GAC Women's Golf Awards for the Golden Suns.
In addition to Klemm and Calcatera's honors, the Golden Suns placed three other golfers on All-GAC teams as it was announced by the league office at the conclusion of the 2021 GAC Championship Tournament on Tuesday.
Sophomore
Katie Whitfield joined Klemm as a unanimous First Team selection while freshman
Josie Roberson was named to the Second Team. Senior
Allie Weiner rounded out the All-GAC plaudits for the Golden Suns by landing on the Honorable Mention team.
Luke Calcatera
After spending the previous nine years as head coach of the men's golf program at Arkansas Tech, Calcatera successfully added head coaching duties for the highly-competitive Golden Suns program this year and has continued the tradition of excellence established by now volunteer assistant coach
Amy Anderson.
The Coach of the Year Award is the first in the career of Calcatera on the women's side, but it is the seventh overall time that a Golden Suns head coach as won the award with Anderson laying claim to the previous six.
In Calcatera's first year at the helm, the Golden Suns have been competitive in every tournament played in and captured the team title in the loaded Central Region Preview. That victory over a field made up entirely of teams from the Central Region vaulted the Golden Suns to the top spot in the final NCAA Regional Rankings. The Golden Suns are also currently ranked No. 26 nationally in the latest GolfStat rankings.
Jacqueline Klemm
A native of Frankfurt, Germany, Klemm earned her second First Team All-GAC award after garnering the honor as a freshman in 2019. That year, Klemm was named the league's Freshman of the Year and was also named the National Freshman of the Year by the WGCA. Despite having the 2020 season cut short due to COVID-19, Klemm was still named as to the WGCA All-America Second Team. This year, Klemm also added the title of unanimous Player of the Year.
This season, Klemm is the top-ranked golfer in the Central Region and ranks 54
th overall in DII according to the latest GolfStat rankings. Having played in all five tournaments this season for the Golden Suns leading into the GAC Tournament, Klemm has a current stroke average of 75.2 and has finished in the Top-10 in each event.
Twice this season, Klemm has been named as the GAC Golfer of the Week with her most-recent honor coming after her dominant individual victory at the Central Region Preview in which she shot even-par and won by six strokes.
Katie Whitfield
A native of Clemson, S.C., Whitfield is the second unanimous First Team All-GAC selection this season for the Golden Suns.
In what has been a breakout year, Whitfield as finished as one of the top-two on the Golden Suns in four of their five tournaments played. A two-time recipient of the GAC Golfer of the Week award, Whitfield turned in her best performance of the year at the HSU Spring Invite as she won the individual title by four strokes over teammate and fellow unanimous First Team All-GAC selection,
Jacqueline Klemm.
Having played in all five tournaments leading into the GAC Championships, Whitfield has a current stroke average of 76.8.
Josie Roberson
A native of Maumelle, Ark., Roberson earned her first career All-GAC honor with inclusion on the second team.
The 2020 Arkansas State Golf Association (ASGA) Women's Amateur Player of the Year, Roberson has been consistent and finished as the third low score for the Golden Suns in all five tournaments played in. Her best showing on the individual leaderboard this season came at the Natural State Classic where she tied for seventh overall and shot a seven-over (151) for the 36-hole event.
Heading into the GAC Tournament, Roberson has a current stroke average of 78.2.
Allie Weiner
A native of Maumelle, Ark., Weiner earned her first All-GAC honor as she was lauded on the honorable mention team in her senior campaign.
At the last competed GAC Championship in 2019, Weiner was the individual medalist after shooting a career-low 219 (+3). Fueling her to the victory was a GAC Tournament record-setting round of five-under (67) in the final round.
This year, Weiner has played in all five tournaments with the Golden Suns and competed as an individual in one. In 12 rounds of play heading into the GAC Tournament, Weiner is currently averaging 79.4 strokes per round.
In addition to her conference award for her efforts on the course, Weiner also was named a GAC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete for her efforts in the classroom.
