Shelly
MartinezPaola
ValerioSummer
BatisteFRISCO —
UTSA Senior Shelly Martinez and freshman Paola Valerio were named first-team All-Southland Conference, while sophomore Summer Batiste collected second-team all-conference honors, the league office announced on Monday.
“Being selected to the all-conference team is a very prestigious honor,” second-year Carrie Cole said. “This shows your consistency throughout the year and how well your performance was at the conference tournament. For Shelly to be awarded in her senior year is special, and well deserved. She has been one of the hardest workers here and very dedicated to her game and the team throughout the entire season. Paola had an impressive start as a Roadrunner. She accomplished quite a bit in just one semester. I am proud to see her honored by the conference in this capacity. Summer receiving second-team honors is very satisfying. She worked hard last year and over the summer. She has been one of our top contributors all season long and has improved leaps and bounds. I am extremely proud of the entire team, they each have been dedicated to raising the bar of UTSA Women’s Golf and they have been a lot of fun to coach.”
Martinez, who was honorable mention all-conference in 2008, played in all 11 tournaments for the Roadrunners. The Pecos native recorded the second-best stroke average at 76.51 in 29 rounds of action. She paced the squad with a team-best four top 10 finishes, including a season-best fourth place showing at the Husky Invitational on April 6. Martinez wrapped up her four-year career with 39 tournaments played, one individual title (Stripes Islander Spring Classic) and a 78.89 career stroke average.
Valerio, the reigning conference Player of the Month for April, concluded an impressive rookie season as the team’s leader with a 75.73 stroke average, which stood second in the circuit. The Mexico City, Mexico, native appeared in five of the six spring events and collected her first individual title at the Husky Invitational with a scorecard of 224 (76-73-75) on April 6. Valerio ended the year tied for sixth place at the Southland Conference Championship last week.
Batiste earned her first career league honor. The Spring native played in all 11 tournaments for the Runners. Her 76.97 stroke average ranked third on the team. She registered three top 10 finishes, including a runner-up outing at the Northern Migration Invitational on March 17. Batiste closed the season tied for seventh at the Southland Conference Championship a week ago.