Three Wolf Pack golfers named to SSAC Scholar-Athlete Team

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Southern States Athletic Conference released its annual men's and women's golf Scholar-Athlete Team awards on Monday, honoring three Loyola Wolf Pack golfers in the process. Chase Venn earned his second career spot on the seven-golfer team, while Blair McKenzie and Lainey Cristan collected the recognition during their first eligible year. 
 

To be eligible, student-athletes must be a sophomore or above in both academic and athletic standing, must be starters or important reserves, have at least a 3.3 cumulative GPA and have competed in 50 percent of competitions.
 

McKenzie, who made the SSAC All-Conference Second Team this season, had four Top 10 finishes to start her sophomore campaign with the first coming in Gulf Shores in October. She placed in a tie for seventh at that event, then recorded an eighth-place and 10th-place finish at the Ram Spring Invite and the Wolf Pack Invitational this spring. The sophomore saved her best performance for last, though, placing in a tie for fourth place at the Argonaut Invitational in April. She's currently ranked 72nd with a 77.26 adjusted scoring average as an individual in the Golfstat.com rankings.
 

Cristan, who was also on the SSAC All-Conference Second Team, is the 75th-ranked NAIA golfer in the Golfstat.com individual rankings with a 78.26 adjusted scoring average. She earned her first Top 10 finish in the second tournament of the year in October, finishing in ninth at the WCU Gulf Shores Invitational in October. The sophomore added an eighth-place finish in March at Loyola's Wolf Pack Invitational as well, as her third-round score of 71 is tied for the 10th-best round score in program history.
 

Venn competed in five tournaments this year with his best finish coming at the Steve Hodges Classic in February, placing in a tie for fifth place. The senior also took ninth place at the Lagniappe Cup and 11th place at the Wolf Pack Spring Invitational in March to highlight the season. In a match play event in October, Venn went 1-2 in a third-place team effort, winning his semifinal match 2&1 over his Faulkner competitor.  
 

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