Esther Lee Earns First-Team All-America Honors, Stella Cheng Named to Second Team

HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. - First-year Esther Lee earned first-team All-America honors from the Women's Golf Coaches Association, and sophomore Stella Cheng captured a spot on the second team, the WGCA announced at its annual awards banquet on Wednesday night.

The banquet came at the midway point of the NCAA Championships, in which Lee and Cheng have helped CMS into second place after 36 holes. Lee is tied for eighth in the field at +9, while Cheng is two shots back at +11 in a tie for 18th (out of 152 golfers). 

Lee earned first-team All-America honors on the heels of earning both the SCIAC Athlete of the Year and the SCIAC Newcomer of the Year awards. She was the individual medalist at the SCIAC Championships, when she set a league record by shooting -10 over three rounds, including matching the CMS record for a low round in any tournament with a 67 on the final day. 

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. 

Cheng captured second-team All-America honors after earning honorable mention distinction last year. She first set the program record with a 67 at the Claremont Challenge this fall and had a two-round record at the same tournament with a score of 137. She also had a solid showing in the spring at the Jekyll Island Invitational, finishing 11th and tied for seventh at the SCIAC Championships. 

The third round of the NCAA Division III Championships takes place on Thursday, with the final round on Friday as the Athenas will try for their second national championship in program history.