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Women’s Golf Receives Major Awards from The American

ORLANDO – Highlighted by Tunrada Piddon's Player of the Year and Zoe Allaux's Freshman of the Year awards, the American Athletic Conference announced it 2022 Women's Golf postseason honors on Tuesday and three Knights are receiving honors.

In addition to Piddon and Allaux's major awards, the pair were both named to the All-Conference team along with Camille Banzet.

"It has been a great season for us and these three have really been instrumental to our team's success all year," said head coach Emily Marron. "Their recognition from The American is well deserved and we are excited to celebrate all three of them in this accomplishment!"
 


Picking up her second straight All-Conference selection and first Player of the Year award, junior Tunrada Piddon has led the charge for UCF all season, posting a team-best 71.36 scoring average to this point. The Bangkok, Thailand native was named Player of the Week twice this season and was the Player of the Month in October.

After placing second at the AAC Women's Golf Championship, Piddon now has six top-10 finishes under her belt, including a win at the Evie Odom Invitational, where she shot 67-66-67=200(-10).

Piddon's Player of the Year award marks the first for UCF since 2016-17 (Ashley Holder).
 


Dominating as a true freshman, Allaux was nothing short of stellar for the Black and Golf all season long to pick up UCF's first Freshman of the Year nod since 2018-19 (Elizabeth Moon). The Narbonne, France native was UCF's top finisher at the Bryan National Collegiate (Sept. 26-28) and she finished in the top 20 in six events. On 27, Allaux finished a round at 7-under-par 65 in the Bryan National Collegiate, tying the program record for lowest round. On the season, Allaux owns a 72.39 scoring average.

Earning her first career All-Conference selection, sophomore Camille Banzet has posted a 73.55 scoring average after participating in all 10 events for UCF this season. Also hailing from France, Banzet has posted four top 20 finishes to this point in the season and was the Knights' top finisher at two events (Cougar Classic and Landfall Tradition).

UCF, along with Tulane and Houston, led all AAC programs with three All-Conference selections. Tulsa and SMU both had a pair while ECU and South Florida had one each.

After finishing third at the conference championship, the Knights secured their seventh top-five finish of the season. The Black and Gold have won two tournaments to this point in the season in the Evie Odom Invitational (Oct. 3-5) and the Brickyard Collegiate (April 4-5).

The Knights will now await word on where they will compete in the NCAA Regional round, which is slated for May 9-11. The selection show will air on Wednesday, April 27 at 4 p.m. ET on the Golf Channel. The team will be hosting a selection show watch party at Burger U. All are welcome to attend.

If the Black and Gold earn a spot in an NCAA regional on Wednesday, it will mark the third straight time the Knights have done so (excluding the COVID-shortened 2019-20 season).

Last season, head coach Emily Marron's squad made it to the NCAA regional championship in Louisville, Kentucky, where the Knights finished tied for eighth place out of 18 teams. In 10 years as UCF's head coach, Marron has led the Knights to six NCAA Tournament appearances, two conference championships, and has twice been named AAC Coach of the Year.

This year's regional round will take place from May 9-11.

2022 American Women's Golf Awards
Player of the Year
Tunrada Piddon, Jr., UCF

Freshman of the Year
Zoe Allaux, UCF

Coach of the Year
Stew Burke, Tulane

All-Conference Team
Zoe Allaux, Fr., UCF
Camille Banzet, So., UCF
Tunrada Piddon, Jr., UCF
Kathryn Carson, Sr., East Carolina
Nicole Abelar, So., Houston
Annie Kim, Sr., Houston
Maria Jose Martinez, Sr., Houston
Melanie Green, So., South Florida
Serena Shah, Sr., SMU
Kennedy Pedigo, Sr., SMU
Carla Bernat, Fr., Tulane
Daozeng Liu, So., Tulane
Sandra Vazquez, Jr., Tulane
Sydney Seigel, Fr., Tulsa
Lilly Thomas, Jr., Tulsa