CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – As if draining a long putt with a tricky downhill break isn’t stressful enough, successfully balancing competitive golf with demanding schoolwork would challenge even the most focused undergraduate. During the 2009-10 season, Chico State women’s golfers Shelby Hooper and Katie Canadas had no problem rising to the occasion in both the sport and classroom arenas, and their impressive efforts have resulted in national recognition. Hooper and Canadas were among 494 women’s collegiate golfers to be named to the National Golf Coaches Association’s (NGCA) Division II All-American Scholar golf team.

Hooper, majoring in business finance, and Canadas, an applied computer graphics major, were two of only four California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) golfers from the just-completed 2009-10 season to be included on the national All-American Scholar golf team. This marks the second straight year that Hooper has received the honor. Canadas joins her sister and former Wildcat golfer Denise Canadas as an NGCA All-American Scholar recipient.

In all, 102 Division II golfers earned All-American Scholar distinction, meeting some of the most stringent selection criteria in all of college athletics. Student-athletes were required to maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.50 while competing in 66 percent of their school’s regularly scheduled rounds during the season to qualify for NGCA All-American Scholar golf team honors.