SAN BRUNO, Calif. — BYU women’s golfers Naomi Soifua and Allysha Mae Mateo were selected to the All-WCC Preseason Team while the Cougars were picked to finish second in the 2019-20 WCC preseason coaches' poll released Thursday.
Soifua is coming off a strong sophomore season after posting four top-20 finishes and a 74.32 scoring average during the 2018-19 campaign. The former WCC Freshman of the Year finished fifth at last season’s WCC championship and was named to the All-WCC First Team shortly after.
Mateo, who is heading into her sophomore year, competed in all 10 of BYU’s tournaments last season and posted a 75.61 scoring average. The Honolulu, Hawaii native tallied two top-20 finishes during her freshman year.
BYU was picked to finish second only to the defending WCC champions Pepperdine, who tallied 16 total points in the poll compared to the Cougars’ 12. BYU narrowly lost to the Waves at last season’s WCC championship, falling just four strokes short of what would have been the Cougars’ fourth consecutive conference title.
San Francisco, Gonzaga and Santa Clara rounded out the 2019-20 WCC preseason poll.
BYU will compete next at Coeur d’Alene Resort Collegiate Invitational Sept. 23-24. The Cougars’ are coming off their season-opening tournament at the WSU Cougar Cup, where they finished tied for ninth.
2019-20 WCC Women's Golf Preseason Coaches Poll
| Rank | Team (First Place Vote) | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pepperdine (4) | 16 |
| 2 | BYU | 12 |
| 3 | San Francisco (1) | 11 |
| 4 | Gonzaga | 6 |
| 5 | Santa Clara | 5 |
2019-20 All-WCC Women's Golf Preseason Team
| Name | Institution | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Annika Borrelli | San Francisco | So. |
| Sarah Busey | Santa Clara | Jr. |
| Katherine Chan | Pepperdine | So. |
| Quynn Duong | Gonzaga | So. |
| Samantha Gong | San Francisco | Sr. |
| Momoka Kobori | Pepperdine | Sr. |
| Allysha Mae Mateo | BYU | So. |
| Pearl Rojanapeansatith | San Francisco | Jr. |
| Naomi Soifua | BYU | Jr. |
| Emily Sumner | Santa Clara | Jr. |