SAN FRANCISCO – Returning the entire squad from a unit that finished as the runners-up in last year's Pacific West Conference Championship Tournament, the 2021-22 Academy of Art women's golf squad featured a pair of seasoned veterans who led four younger talents though a number of tournaments, collecting a win as a unit along the way in a year that ultimately ended with junior Anahi Servin taking home the nation's top prize. 

 "It was a very up-and-down season, and yet they remained positive and upbeat during every practice," said ART U Head Coach Mitch Lowe.

Beginning the Fall at the PLNU Sea Lion Invite on Sept 13-14, the Urban Knights rested in first place after the opening day's action and would take fourth as a squad. Propelling ART U to the finish was the defending PacWest individual champion and Golfer of the Year Servin, who claimed fourth place after turning in back-to-back 2-over-par 74's with a total of eight birdies, tied for most in the tournament.

The following week was perhaps one of the most successful of the season for Academy of Art, as the Urban Knights started and ended Birdie Fest hosted by Dominican on Sept. 20-21 in first place as a team, outdueling Sonoma State by two strokes with a final combined score of 15-over-par 583. To open the tournament, the Urban Knights and Servin set program records for the lowest respective team and individual round scores, as Servin broke her own record for lowest single-round score in ART U history with a 8-under-par 63 while the combined 2-over-par 286 set the ART U program record for lowest team tournament round score. Servin would ultimately capture her first tournament victory of the season by three strokes after she ended the action at 6-under-par 136. Just as important in the victory was a trio of Urban Knights that would finish as a pack just behind Servin, beginning with junior Iveta Posledni in a tie for ninth place at 6-over-par 148, while sophomore Jae Eun Park placed 11th at 7-over-par 149 and freshman Napat "Plern" Rattanaprakarn came in 12th place at 8-over-par 150. For her efforts, Servin earned her first PacWest Golfer of the Week honor of the season on Sept. 23.

"Our team victory at the Birdie Fest was really fun," Lowe said. "Of course Anahi shooting such a low score helped tremendously, and the entire team played solid."

Fall action closed with a crowded field at the Sonoma State Fall Invitational on Oct. 4-5 where Servin was just one stroke shy of her second consecutive individual tournament victory, ultimately finishing in second place at 1-under-par 143. It was the 24th top-10 finish in Servin's career, breaking the ART U women's golf program record of 23 previously held by Lyra Roe (2009-2011). Also finishing in the top-10 for the Urban Knights was Rattanaprakarn, claiming sixth place after she shot a 5-over-par 149. However, ART U finished fourth as a squad with a combined total of 35-over-par 611. On Oct. 6, Servin collected her second PacWest Golfer of the Week honor of the campaign. 

After a tough start to the Spring portion of the season when the Knights ended in a tie for 14th place while at the Visit Stockton Invitational on Feb. 14-15, Academy of Art responded with a top-5 finish the next time out at the Tim Tierney Pioneer Shootout on Feb. 28-Mar. 1. Park was the top ART U finisher with back-to-back 1-over-par 73's, while freshman Tessa Geenen matched her round one score with a 3-over-par 75 to wind up knotted with five others for 15th place at a 6-over-par 150.  

While at the CSUSM Fujikura Invitational on Mar. 7-8, Servin climbed four spots in the final round to capture a tie for third place at 4-over-par 148 as ART U claimed fifth place as a unit at 41-over-par 617. Thanks to a total of six birdies across two rounds, Servin was announced as the PacWest Golfer of the Week for the third time on Mar. 10. Despite the Urban Knights finishing ninth as a team at The Patriot Invitational on Mar. 21-22, Servin tied for the best individual mark by a PacWest golfer when she ended in a tie for 13th place at 10-over-par 223. That finish led to Servin's fourth PacWest Golfer of the Week award on Mar. 24, as she became the single-most decorated student-athlete in all of PacWest history with her record 16th PacWest Golfer of the Week honor of her career. 

Regular season action ended with a pair of tournaments over one week, with ART U tying for 12th place of 28 teams while at the RJGA Palm Valley Classic on Apr. 1-2, jumping up six spots on the leaderboard in the final round when a trio of Knights carded identical scores of 2-over-par 74. While Academy of Art was once again in the middle of the pack in ninth place of 18 teams at the West Texas A&M Desert Invitational on Apr. 4-5, Servin captured her first individual tournament win of the Spring and second in 2021-22 as she used a 2-under-par 142 to win by three strokes. That would result in the fifth and final PacWest Golfer of the Week award for Servin on Apr. 8. 

Ready for the PacWest Championship Tournament on Apr. 18-20, Servin was aiming for her fourth consecutive individual PacWest title in as many tries, but unfortunately she ended just one stroke shy of her quest after she combined for a final score of 6-over-par 222. However, her placement was still good enough to earn her a spot at the NCAA Division II West Regional, as well as accumulate her fourth PacWest All-Tournament Team award. Meanwhile, ART U took fourth place as a unit, with Rattanaprakarn just missing a top-10 finish after she tied for 12th place at 22-over-par 238.

Shortly after the tournament, Servin was announced as the PacWest Golfer of the Year for a PacWest-record fourth time, as she is the only women's golfer in PacWest history to be named the Golfer of the Year in four collegiate seasons, and is just the third student-athlete in PacWest history across all sports to win a Golfer/Runner/Player of the Year award four times. Additionally, Servin picked up her fourth All-PacWest First Team honor while Park was named to the All-PacWest Second Team for the first postseason honor of her ART U career. 

Moving on to the NCAA DII West Regional in Stockton, Calif. on May 2-4, Servin never fell out of the top-10 during any point of the tournament, and was even in second place upon the conclusion of the opening round. It wasn't until she dropped an eagle on the 16th hole in her final round that Servin could rest easy, ending in fifth place with a combined score of 2-under-par 214 to clinch her third trip to the NCAA DII National Championship of her career. 

Looking at the final tournament of her athletic career with graduation just upon the horizon, Servin went out on top by dominating the field at the NCAA DII National Championship on May 10-12, holding first place from the end of the first round through the end of the tournament to become the DII national champion with a final score of 5-under-par 211. Much like she did in the opening round of the West Regional, Servin did not record a single bogey during the first 18 holes of the National Championship, though it was not until the end of the second round that she captured possession of first place over the field. After consecutive rounds of 3-under-par 69, Servin breezed through the final round and watched her win solidify from the clubhouse to become ART U's first non-track & field student-athlete to become a national champion. Based upon her finish, Servin was also named an NCAA All-American for the fourth time in her career.

"Such a great ending to a stellar college career," Lowe said. "It's impossible to measure just what she has meant to the team and the program during her time. Not only the great play, but also the tremendous attitude she brings literally everyday. She loves golf and she loves being with her teammates. It has helped the program so much in the way she brings attention to what we do, and that helps recruiting for sure. It will be pretty difficult to replace, but she has set a good example for the rest of the team that will continue on."

Also graduating from the program in addition to Servin is fellow Architecture major Posledni, who has also been a pillar of the ART U women's golf program since the 2017-18 season. Along the way, Posledni was a 2019 All-PacWest Second Team selection while also making the 2019 PacWest All-Tournament Team, 2019 Mikuni Sushi Shootout All-Tournament Team, and 2019 Tim Tierney Shootout All-Tournament Team. During the 2019-20 season Posledni was named PacWest Golfer of the Week twice, and over her career she has been a four-time Academic All-PacWest honoree in addition to being named a 2020-21 WGCA All-American Scholar. 

"Iveta also was such an important part of the team," Lowe said. "Her solid-to-great play throughout the years has been so key to the success of the team on the course. Her leadership has been invaluable on and off the course with her attention to detail and academic excellence. It is so sad personally to see her move on, but I know that she will be on to great things in her career." 

But while the two most senior members of the squad will not be returning, the future remains bright according to Lowe. 

"This year was a little bit up-and-down score wise, but we really enjoyed everyone on the team and the effort is certainly there," Lowe said. "We lose a couple of players, but have the talent to fill in and, with some talented players coming in the Fall, next year looks to be a lot of fun."