Following a very successful first campaign as a member of the Morehead State women’s golf program, redshirt junior Bridget Connolly has garnered postseason honors from the Ohio Valley Conference.
The Auckland, New Zealand, native was named to the All-OVC Newcomer Team. The selection makes Connolly the 14th Eagle golfer to be named to the OVC’s All-Newcomer squad while also marking the 36th time a year-end award has been bestowed upon a Morehead State golfer.
“We are very proud of Bridget, her hard work, as well as her accomplishments,” said Head Coach Stephanie Barker. “Bridget has one of the top-five winning percentages in the OVC and has proven to be a very strong player in our region. We are thrilled that Bridget has earned this well-deserved honor.”
Connolly came to Morehead State after transferring from Western Illinois, helping the Eagles to five top 10 finishes this season. Individually, she collected five top 10 finishes, two of which she fell inside the top five on the leaderboard.
During her first season, Connolly led all Eagle golfers with a 76.91 stroke average, competing in 23 of the 24 total rounds played by the team this season. Her play was also instrumental in helping Morehead State to two victories at the Mid-American Match Play Challenge, finishing the event 2-1 over three matches.
Amongst OVC golfers, Connolly ranks fourth in the conference with an average winning percentile finish of 75.46. She also ranks 14th in the OVC with a stroke average of 76.9.
On the season, Connolly fired five of the team’s 11 lowest scores, including one of the team’s two scores that fell below par. Her lowest mark of the year was her two-under 70 in the opening round of the Amelia Island Collegiate, an event in which she finished tied for fourth.
She fired a season-low, 54-hole total of 221 at the Amelia Island Collegiate to earn a top-five finish while also posting a season-low 36-hole total of 149 at the Dayton Flyer Invitational in earning a top-ten finish. Both totals tied for the lowest event totals for both 54 and 36-holes on the year.
Connolly raced out of the gate during the fall portion of Morehead State’s schedule, finishing top 15 in all but of the team’s six events. She collected a season-best runner-up finish in the season’s opening event, tying for second at the MSU Eagle Invitational. She’d turn this momentum into two additional top 10 finishes at the NKU Fall Classic and MSU Greenbrier Invitational before adding a ninth-place finish at the Dayton Flyer Invitational to total four top-ten finishes in her first six events.
She would tack on one more top-ten placement during the spring portion of the 2018-19 slate, placing tied for fourth at the Amelia Island Collegiate. During the event, Connolly fired the lowest round relative to par for an Eagle golfer since 2017-18 while also tying her career-low round with an opening round 70 (-2).
For more information on MSU Women’s Golf and other MSU Athletics teams, visit www.msueagles.com.
