COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – San Diego State's Gioia Carpinelli (Boppelsen, Switzerland), Sara Kjellker (Hollviken, Sweden) and Fernanda Escauriza (Asunción, Paraguay) each landed a spot on the all-Mountain West Women's Golf team, as announced Tuesday by the league office. Carpinelli was a first-team selection, while Kjellker and Escauriza received second-team recognition in a vote of the conference's nine head coaches.
With their honors, the Aztecs have garnered multiple all-MW accolades in nine consecutive seasons.
Carpinelli earned her first career all-conference honor after leading SDSU with a 73.64 scoring average during the 2019 and was the team's top finisher or was tied for the No. 1 spot in six stroke play tournaments. The Aztec sophomore won two events this spring, highlighted by her first collegiate victory at the Arizona Wildcat Invitational in Tucson, Ariz., where she fired a season-best 1-under-par 215 to merit MW Women's Golfer of the Week distinction. She also captured the medal round of SDSU's own Lamkin Invitational at The Farms Golf Club, where she was the lone competitor to break par with a 2-under 70, before posting a 2-0-1 record in match play to help the Aztecs to a third-place finish.
In addition, Carpinelli tied for second at the season-opening Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M., where she carded a collegiate-low 6-under 210, highlighted by a career-best 68 in the final round. For the season, the Swiss native owns eight top-20 finishes and leads the Scarlet and Black with 10 rounds at or below par. She is currently ranked 54th nationally by Golfstat.
Kjellker, who picked up her second all-MW certificate, was the team's top golfer at the Mountain West Championship last week, tying for second with a 3-over 219 to help the Aztecs claim their second conference title in the last five years. The Aztec sophomore ranks second on the squad with a 73.89 scoring average and has five other top-20 placements to her credit this year. She was also the lone SDSU golfer to win all three of her matches at the aforementioned Lamkin Invitational.
Additionally, Kjellker landed in the fifth position as an individual competitor at the UC Irvine Invitational, highlighted by a career-best 66 in the opening round, which is tied for third for lowest 18-hole score in the San Diego State record book. For the season, she ranks second on the squad with eight rounds at or below par, including a team-best four in the 60s.
Escauriza, meanwhile, received her second all-conference nod after collecting second-team honors as a freshman in 2017. The reigning South American Women's Amateur champion ranked third on the Aztecs with a 74.71 scoring average this season and posted her highest finish of the year when it mattered the most with a solo fourth-place effort of 5-over 221 at the MW Championship, where her par putt on the 18th green secured the Scarlet and Black's title by one shot over Nevada.
Escauriza has logged three other top-20 finishes this year, including a third-place tie with Carpinelli (+8, 224) under adverse conditions in late February at the Bruin Wave Invitational in San Luis Obispo, Calif. She was also the team's top player earlier this month at the Silverado Showdown in Napa, Calif., landing in the 18th spot at 8-over 224. For the season, Escauriza has compiled six rounds at or below par, highlighted by a 67 during the second round of the Branch/McGuire Invite, where she tied for 15th at 1-over 217.
San Diego State, which secured a regional berth for the sixth consecutive year, will learn its postseason destination on Wednesday, when the NCAA Selection Show is aired live on the Golf Channel, starting at 2:30 p.m. PT.
2018-19 Mountain West Women's Golf Honors
First Team All-MW
Gioia Carpinelli, San Diego State
Brigitte Thibault, Fresno State
Abegail Arevalo, San José State
Natasha Andrea Oon, San José State
Polly Mack, UNLV
Second Team All-MW
Sara Kjellker, San Diego State
Fernanda Escauriza, San Diego State
Tara Finigan, Boise State
Victoria Gailey, Nevada
Elizabeth Prior, UNLV
Player of the Year: Abegail Arevalo, San José State
Freshman of the Year: Natasha Andrea Oon, San José State
Coach of the Year: Dana Dormann, San José State