The Gate December 2018 | Page 8

STUDENT-ATHLETE ACCOLADES Classic in 2017 and the AJGA Judie Oppenheimer Memorial Junior. “Yingting has the ability to take it low on any given day,” O’Neil said. “She has a ton of club head speed and her distance is one of the most positive attributes of her game. She has also seen tremendous success in the short time she’s been playing golf and has proven she can win with six victories in 2017. Yingting’s love of competition and great energy will no doubt have a positive impact on our team.” YINGTING HSIEH - UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS (DI) Yingting Hsieh committed to play on the DI University of Kansas women’s golf team. Head women’s golf coach Erin O’Neil announced Hsieh signed her National Letter of Intent (NLI) to continue her education and golf career at the University of Kansas. “We are very excited to add a talented player like Yingting to our team next year,” O’Neil said. “She brings a tremendous amount of experience competing against the best and will definitely help us achieve our goals of being a top ranked team.” Hsieh joins the Jayhawks as the 114th-ranked player in the AJGA polo golf rankings (all graduation years combined). She secured six victories in 2017 and held a scoring average of 73.40 at BGGA. She medaled numerous times on the junior golf scene, including at the International Junior Golf Tour (IJGT) Thanksgiving Day Classic, posting two even-par rounds as well as an under- par round. She also medaled at the JHGT Disney 8 THE GATE | DECEMBER 2018 “Congratulations Ying Ting on signing with Kansas,” said BGGA Senior Coach Nate Dougherty. “We are all proud of you for believing in yourself and trying to get better each day. The journey was sometimes difficult, but you showed students at BGGA what could be accomplished when you put all of your energy and attention toward a goal. We wish you the best at Kansas and look forward to helping you along the way.” SIYAN CHEN - UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS (DI) Siyan Chen (Hangzhou, China) signed a National Letter of Intent with University of Illinois. Chen will join the Fighting Illini for the 2019-20 season. “We are excited to welcome Siyan to the Illini women’s golf family. She has experienced success at the state, national, and international level,” said Illinois head coach Renee Slone. BGGA’s Chen is a two-time qualifier for the U.S. Girls Junior Championship (2017-2018) and qualified for the 2017 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship. She is a member of BGGA’s ambassador group for her senior year. She is also a two-time BGGA Player of the Year. Currently ranked No. 50 in Golfweek’s Girls Junior rankings, Chen has had 12 top-10 AJGA finishes, including