Esther Lee Sweeps SCIAC Athlete of the Year, Newcomer of the Year Awards

CLAREMONT, Calif. - First-year Esther Lee earned both the SCIAC Athlete of the Year and the SCIAC Newcomer of the Year honors in a vote of the league's coaches, the conference office announced today.

Lee was also joined on the All-SCIAC first team by Jeissy Lee, while Stella Cheng and Irene Jun earned spots on the All-SCIAC second team. 

Esther Lee captured the award after winning individual medalist honors at the SCIAC Championships at Olivas Links last week. Lee finished the tournament at -10 over three rounds, shattering the league record for the low score of the tournament while leading the Athenas to a first-place finish.

Lee was also named the SCIAC Athlete of the Week on March 13 after leading CMS to the team title at the Westbrook Invite at the Lakes in Arizona, against a field which included No. 2 Redlands and No. 4 George Fox. She was the top individual for CMS at the prestigious Jekyll Island Invitational on March as well, finishing in ninth place

Jeissy Lee, Cheng and Jun all finished in the top 10 at the SCIAC Championships as well, with Jun ending in fourth place, Cheng in seventh and Lee in ninth. Jeissy Lee finished in the top 10 in all three SCIAC events this season, coming in tenth at SCIAC No. 1 in February, and then finishing as the top CMS scorer at SCIAC No. 2 earlier in April, ending in seventh. 

Cheng had an impressive fall season, which included a program record 67 at the Claremont Challenge (a figure Esther Lee matched in the final round of the SCIAC Championships, and a two-round record of 137, and had a solid showing at the Jekyll Island Invitational finishing 11th. Jun was the top individual finisher in a dual with Biola, and was the only player in the red (-2) on the opening round of the Westbrook Invite, before finishing fifth.

CMS earned a bid to the NCAA Division III Championships and will be in action next week in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida from May 9-12.