Four Cougars named to All-WCC Preseason Team, BYU picked to finish second

SAN MATEO, Calif. — BYU golfers Allysha Mae Mateo, Kerstin Fotu, Lila Galeai and Naomi Soifua were named to the All-WCC Preseason Team and BYU was picked to finish second in the 2020-21 WCC Preseason Coaches’ Poll that was released on Thursday.

BYU was picked to finish behind Gonzaga and Pepperdine who were picked to finish first, both receiving two first-place votes, the Cougars receiving the last first-place vote.

Mateo was named to the WCC All-Conference Team a year ago after posting 7 top-10 finishes in 10 events and a scoring average of 73.5.

Fotu played in 9 events last season, her best finish coming at the WCC Championship finishing tied for 14th.  Over the summer, Fotu won the Utah Women’s Open, received an exemption to play in the Utah Open and became the first woman to make the cut in the 97-year history of the event.

Galeai played in 7 events during her freshman campaign, posting 3 top-25 finishes including ninth place finish at the BYU Spring Classic.  She comes into the season as the reigning Utah Women’s Amateur and Utah Women’s Stroke Play Champion, winning both tournaments this summer as well as qualifying for the USGA Girl’s Junior Amateur Championship.

Soifua comes into the 2021-22 season after a fourth-place finish at the WCC Championships in April of 2021. She had three top-25 finishes last year including an 11th place finish at the Juli Inkster Invitational at the Meadow Club.

The Cougars started the 2021-22 campaign with a victory at the Dick McGuire Invitational where they came back from six strokes down entering the final round, shooting 8-under par in the final round to win by six shots. They now travel to Knoxville, Tennessee for the Mercedes Benz Collegiate Championship on September 20-21.