Trio of Deacs Named to First Spring ANNIKA Award Watch List
3/9/2023 10:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
COLUMBUS, Ga. - Three Wake Forest women's golfers, Carolina Chacarra, Rachel Kuehn and Lauren Walsh, have all been named to the first Spring Watch List for the ANNIKA Award presented by Stifel.
The award is given annually at the conclusion of the NCAA Championships to the top female collegiate golfer.
Chacarra has been in the lineup for seven of the Deacs' eight events this year and has finished inside the top 20 in six of them. Her best came at the Jackson T. Stephens cup where she finished T3 with a five-under-par score of 211. Her best score of the season was a nine-under-par 204 at the Mercedes Benz Intercollegiate in September where she finished fourth. She shot an eight-under 208 at the UCF Challenge to start off the spring slate in February. She is third on the team with a stroke average of 71.48 over 21 rounds.
Kuehn leads the Demon Deacons with a stroke average of 70.46 over 24 rounds this spring. She won the individual title of stroke play in October at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup at Seminole Golf Club. Her best performance of the spring came at the UCF Challenge where she fired a 15-under-par score of 201 to finish in third place. She followed that up with a sixth-place finish at the Nexus Collegiate. The Asheville, North Carolina native has finished inside the top 21 in all eight events of the season so far.
Walsh was just named the Atlantic Coast Conference's Women's Golfer of the Month Monday (March 6) after opening the spring season with two top-5 finishes at the UCF Challenge (T4) in Orlando and the Nexus Collegiate (2nd) in the Bahamas. She currently has a 71.08 scoring acreage over 24 rounds, second-best on the team.
Walsh fired a 204 (12-under-par) total at the UCF Challenge, which included five top-25 teams. She had three consecutive rounds in the 60s and turned in an unblemished scorecard in the final round that included four birdies and no bogeys. She posted back-to-back birdies on the final two holes to shoot 4-under on the day and 12-under for the event. She recorded 14 total birdies over the three-day event.
Her highest collegiate finish came at the Nexus Collegiate the following week, where she finished in second place with a one-under-par score of 215. The field included eight top-25 teams in the 10-team field and Walsh was one of just two players to finish the event under par. Both of Walsh's top-five finishes help lead the Deacs to back-to-back team titles to start the spring season.
The Deacs play their final regular-season spring event March 11-12 at the Valspar Augusta Invitational in Augusta, Georgia.
Complete List
Jenny Bae, Georgia
Zoe Campos, UCLA
Jensen Castle, Kentucky
Hannah Darling, South Carolina
Megha Ganne, Stanford
Charlotte Heath, Florida State
Rachel Kuehn, Wake Forest
Andrea Lignell, Ole Miss
Ingrid Lindblad, LSU
Carolina Chacarra, Wake Forest
Julia Lopez Ramirez, Mississippi State
Silje Ohma, Baylor
Lauren Walsh, Wake Forest
Lottie Woad, Florida State
Rose Zhang, Stanford
About the ANNIKA Award presented by Stifel:
Created in 2014, the ANNIKA Award presented by Stifel is annually given to the top female Division 1 collegiate golfer; the winner voted on by players, coaches and members of the college golf media. Named for Annika Sorenstam, the award was created in partnership with the Haskins Foundation to acknowledge the top female golfer and to match the Haskins Award presented by Stifel, which acknowledges the top male Division I collegiate golfer. Rose Zhang (Stanford) became the 9th ANNIKA Award winner in 2022, and the second consecutive winner from Stanford.
Stifel, one of the nation's leading wealth management and investment banking firms, serves as the presenting sponsor of both the ANNIKA and Haskins Awards, recognizing annually the most outstanding NCAA Division I female and male college golfers. Stifel also serves as a presenting sponsor for the NCAA Division I Women's and Men's Golf Championships on GOLF Channel.
The award is given annually at the conclusion of the NCAA Championships to the top female collegiate golfer.
Chacarra has been in the lineup for seven of the Deacs' eight events this year and has finished inside the top 20 in six of them. Her best came at the Jackson T. Stephens cup where she finished T3 with a five-under-par score of 211. Her best score of the season was a nine-under-par 204 at the Mercedes Benz Intercollegiate in September where she finished fourth. She shot an eight-under 208 at the UCF Challenge to start off the spring slate in February. She is third on the team with a stroke average of 71.48 over 21 rounds.
Kuehn leads the Demon Deacons with a stroke average of 70.46 over 24 rounds this spring. She won the individual title of stroke play in October at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup at Seminole Golf Club. Her best performance of the spring came at the UCF Challenge where she fired a 15-under-par score of 201 to finish in third place. She followed that up with a sixth-place finish at the Nexus Collegiate. The Asheville, North Carolina native has finished inside the top 21 in all eight events of the season so far.
Walsh was just named the Atlantic Coast Conference's Women's Golfer of the Month Monday (March 6) after opening the spring season with two top-5 finishes at the UCF Challenge (T4) in Orlando and the Nexus Collegiate (2nd) in the Bahamas. She currently has a 71.08 scoring acreage over 24 rounds, second-best on the team.
Walsh fired a 204 (12-under-par) total at the UCF Challenge, which included five top-25 teams. She had three consecutive rounds in the 60s and turned in an unblemished scorecard in the final round that included four birdies and no bogeys. She posted back-to-back birdies on the final two holes to shoot 4-under on the day and 12-under for the event. She recorded 14 total birdies over the three-day event.
Her highest collegiate finish came at the Nexus Collegiate the following week, where she finished in second place with a one-under-par score of 215. The field included eight top-25 teams in the 10-team field and Walsh was one of just two players to finish the event under par. Both of Walsh's top-five finishes help lead the Deacs to back-to-back team titles to start the spring season.
The Deacs play their final regular-season spring event March 11-12 at the Valspar Augusta Invitational in Augusta, Georgia.
Complete List
Jenny Bae, Georgia
Zoe Campos, UCLA
Jensen Castle, Kentucky
Hannah Darling, South Carolina
Megha Ganne, Stanford
Charlotte Heath, Florida State
Rachel Kuehn, Wake Forest
Andrea Lignell, Ole Miss
Ingrid Lindblad, LSU
Carolina Chacarra, Wake Forest
Julia Lopez Ramirez, Mississippi State
Silje Ohma, Baylor
Lauren Walsh, Wake Forest
Lottie Woad, Florida State
Rose Zhang, Stanford
About the ANNIKA Award presented by Stifel:
Created in 2014, the ANNIKA Award presented by Stifel is annually given to the top female Division 1 collegiate golfer; the winner voted on by players, coaches and members of the college golf media. Named for Annika Sorenstam, the award was created in partnership with the Haskins Foundation to acknowledge the top female golfer and to match the Haskins Award presented by Stifel, which acknowledges the top male Division I collegiate golfer. Rose Zhang (Stanford) became the 9th ANNIKA Award winner in 2022, and the second consecutive winner from Stanford.
Stifel, one of the nation's leading wealth management and investment banking firms, serves as the presenting sponsor of both the ANNIKA and Haskins Awards, recognizing annually the most outstanding NCAA Division I female and male college golfers. Stifel also serves as a presenting sponsor for the NCAA Division I Women's and Men's Golf Championships on GOLF Channel.
Players Mentioned
Football Media Availability (9/18/25)
Thursday, September 18
Matt Barrie SportsCenter at Wake Forest with Demond Claiborne
Wednesday, September 10
Matt Barrie SportsCenter on Wake Forest Campus (Arnold Palmer Complex)
Wednesday, September 10
Football Media Availability (9/9/25)
Wednesday, September 10