MALIBU, Calif. – Four from the Pepperdine men's golf team earned All-West Coast Conference honors and
William Mouw and
Derek Hitchner garnered co-WCC Player of the Year recognition, the conference announced today.
Mouw, Hitchner,
Sam Choi and
Luke Gifford all earned All-WCC first team honors, as the Waves took nearly half of the 10 spots available. Mouw and Hitchner have become the fifth and sixth Waves to earn WCC Player of the Year acclaim and it is the third-consecutive year a Wave has taken the honor. Prior to 2008, the WCC Player of the Year award was given to the WCC medalist.
Hitchner (Minneapolis, Minn./The Blake School) picked up his second All-WCC first team honor this season after posting an impressive 70.55 scoring average, which currently ranks fifth in the Pepperdine single-season record books. He won his first collegiate tournament at the Western Intercollegiate and has had five top-10 finishes and seven top-20 finishes this season. He was named to the U.S. Arnold Palmer Cup team last month as well and is currently ranked #15 in Golfweek, #19 in PGA Tour University, #23 in Golfstat and #29 in the USGA rankings.
Mouw (Chino, Calif./Ontario Christian HS) leads the Waves with a 70.42 scoring average, which ranks fourth in the Pepperdine single-season record books to earn his second first team nod. He is also a three-time All-American as well and is ranked #6 in the PGA Tour rankings, #7 in the USGA rankings, #20 in the Golfstat and #23 in Golfweek. This season, he has finished in the top-10 in six tournaments and top-20 in nine, while leading the Waves with 17 below-par rounds.
Choi (Anaheim, Calif./New Mexico) earns his first All-WCC honor, though he had tabbed All-American honors three times, as well as All-Mountain West first team acclaim for four seasons with New Mexico. He has produced a 71.03 scoring average with three top-10 finishes and nine top-20 finishes. Choi is ranked #17 in the PGA Tour rankings, #24 on Golfstat and #39 in the USGA rankings.
Gifford (Boca Raton, Fla./South Florida) also picked up his first All-WCC nod, though he earned American All-Conference honors at South Florida prior to joining the Waves. This season, he has posted a 72.29 scoring average and finished in the top-20 in five tournaments with 12 below-par rounds.
The Waves finished third at the West Coast Conference Championships last weekend. The NCAA Selection Show will air live on Golf Channel on Wednesday, May 3 at 10 a.m. PT.
WCC Player of the Year: Derek Hitchner, Pepperdine; William Mouw, Pepperdine
WCC Freshman of the Year: Jakob Melin, San Francisco
WCC Coach of the Year: Bruce Brockbank, BYU
All-WCC first team: Matthew Anderson, USF;
Sam Choi, Pepperdine;
Luke Gifford, Pepperdine;
Derek Hitchner, Pepperdine; Zac Jones, BYU; Riley Lewis, LMU, Carson Lundell, BYU;
William Mouw, Pepperdine; Julien Paltrinieri, Santa Clara; Andi Xu, San Diego
All-WCC honorable mention: Max Brenchley, BYU; Jakob Melin, USF; Benjamin Partridge, USF; Kelvin Si, San Diego
