2023-24 All-PacWest Teams

LONG BEACH, Calif. – A pair of Urban Knights from Academy of Art women's golf were recognized in Friday's award announcement from the Pacific West Conference, as freshman Chantel Tsai was named the PacWest Freshman of the Year while sophomore Nicole Yang earned herself a spot on the All-PacWest Second Team.

"I am thrilled for both Chantel and Nicole," said Head Coach Beth Allen. "Chantel is like the ideal student-athlete. She is like a sponge as she works really hard, learns really quickly, shows she wants to get better, and does all the right things. I'm so pleased that the work she has put in this season has paid off and I know she is going to get better and better from here. Nicole has made big strides this year and she's only a sophomore. To earn All-PacWest Second Team is a big achievement and her game has matured a lot this season. She works just as hard as anybody and I know she wants to get even better from here."

Tsai's Freshman of the Year award comes after a season where the native of New Taipai City, Taiwan averaged a 77.89 round over the course of 18 rounds and eight tournaments. Tsai recorded two top-10 finishes in the campaign while finishing within the top-16 four times, as she also held the best win percentage over individual competitors among PacWest freshmen (60.8%). Most recently, the Communications & Media Technologies major also held the best finish among PacWest freshmen at the conference tournament on Apr. 17, as she concluded the final round tied for eighth place to earn herself PacWest All-Tournament Team honors.

As Yang also played in 18 rounds total within eight different tournaments, the sophomore maintained the lowest average round score on ART U, as she put together a 77.22 average in the campaign while scoring a two-round 155 score or less on four occasions, the most on the squad. With four top-13 finishes on the year, Yang's best rank came from the Westmont Invitational on Oct. 10 as she placed herself tied for eighth by tournament's end. Most recently, the Illustration major finished tied for 11th at the PacWest Tournament on Apr. 17.

"Chantel is my first recruit ever and I'm so pleased she is Freshman of the Year," Allen said. "This is a huge achievement for her and I'm very happy with what she's done for the program this season. Nicole will be the oldest returner and I'm excited to see what she has in store for the upcoming season."

While this is the first PacWest award of Tsai's career, it is the fourth time an Urban Knight has been named PacWest Freshman of the Year, with Nattavadee "Baipor" Khunsri doing so in 2019, Anahi Servin earning the award in 2018, and Shu-lin Lin taking it home in 2015. This is also the first time Yang has been named to an All-PacWest team in her career.