2011-12 NGCA All-American Scholar Team

Coral Springs, FL -- After standout campaigns on and off the golf course, Andrea Nieto, Mariana Pazos, and Crystal Superal proudly represented Academy of Art University women's golf on the National Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholar Teams. Announced in July, a total of 602 women's collegiate golfers were recognized with this prestigious honor which uses some of the most stringent criteria in all of college athletics.


“Obviously I'm very proud of their achievements,” head coach Cheryl Lala said. “It's really nice to see Andrea and Crystal continuing their legacy year after year and sort of passing the torch to Mariana as well. But it's just a great accomplishment for all three and a testament to their strong work ethic.”

To earn a place on the All-American Scholar Team, the minimum cumulative GPA is 3.50 and student-athletes must have competed in at least 50% (Division I) or 66% (Division II & III) of the school's regularly scheduled competitive rounds during the year. Notably, the three Urban Knights were the most from any Pacific West Conference institution. The PacWest will add women's golf as a conference sport beginning in the 2012-13 season.

Nieto, Pazos, and Superal all carried GPAs among the individual Top 20 student-athletes at Academy of Art University with Pazos claiming number one overall. Pazos, a Fashion Merchandising major, posted 3.925 GPA during a season in which she was co-winner of the Dominican Duel (Feb. 13) with her teammate Superal. Pazos also finished in the Top 13 on three occasions, helping an ART U squad that at one point made program history by winning four consecutive tournaments.


Nieto, who majors in Fashion with an emphasis in Textile Design, finished with a 3.75 GPA in addition to her success on the golf course. The Columbia native had one of the best stretches in her Urban Knight career during Academy of Art University's win streak as she captured four consecutive Top 7 finishes, culminating with a career-best second place at Chico State's Lindsay Olive Invitational (Mar. 19-20). The 2011-12 season marks the third consecutive year in which Nieto has received a NGCA All-American Scholar honor (2010-11, 2009-10).

Finally, Superal's 3.675 GPA and was the third overall among student-athlete Multimedia Communications majors at Academy of Art University. In the Top 70 of all Division II women's golfers, Superal posted a total of nine Top 17 finishes in 2011-12, highlighted by her ties for first at the Dominican Duel (Feb. 13) followed by second at Cal State San Marcos' Lady Cougar Invitational (Feb. 27-28). Like Nieto, Superal is also a three-year recipient of this prestigious NGCA award (2010-11, 2009-10).

“I'm just really proud of three of them,” Coach Lala said. “Last year was a very hard year with workouts, practice, and juggling school and life so it's great to see them receive a national award like that.”

In addition to the successful trio, the ART U women's golf team itself, which ranked 36th in all of NCAA Division II by GolfStat this season, earned the highest GPA of all Urban Knights squads. Women's golf led the way in both fall and spring, ultimately finishing with a team GPA of 3.525.

“There's really not enough can say about this women's team,” Coach Lala said. “They go above and beyond in golf, school, and just over-achieve in life too. I feel lucky and fortunate to be their coach now and I really think their performance on and off the field speaks for itself.”