Katina Ruest (left) and Nikki Stewart were named NAIA All-Americans.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Two Savannah College of Art and Design women’s golfers have been named All-Americans by the NAIA. Katina Ruest and Nikki Stewart were both named to the honorable mention team.
Ruest, a 5-foot-6 senior from Guatemala City, Guatemala, was named to the All-America team for the second time in her career as she was a first-team selection in 2008. The three-time all-conference performer (2008, 2009 and 2010) had a 79.3 stroke average in 16 rounds this season.
Ruest recorded seven top-20 performances in the nine events played, including five in the top 10 and two in the top five. She earned medalist honors in the Bees’ dual match against the University of Dayton and came in fifth place at the Oklahoma City Stars Classic. Ruest also tied an university record for the low-18 hole score with a 71 in the first round of the Great Smokies Women’s Collegiate back in September.
Stewart, a 5-6 sophomore from Aliso Viejo, Calif., also tied the university record for low-18 hole score with a 71 in the final round of the NAIA National Championship in Rapid City, S.D. Stewart finished in sixth place overall - the highest finish by a SCAD golfer at nationals - with a university-record 72-hole score of 307, slicing seven strokes off the previous record, as she became the fourth SCAD player to be named to the All-NAIA Tournament Team in the program’s history.
Stewart, who was named to All-The Sun Conference Team in 2010, had a 78.6 stroke average in 18 rounds this season. She had seven top-20 finishes in nine events during 2009-10, including five in the top 10. She also recorded wins in the Arizona Intercollegiate in February and followed it up by capturing the SCAD Spring Invitational a month later.
SCAD, which finished the season ranked at No. 12 in the NAIA, qualified for their seventh consecutive appearance at the NAIA National Championship last month where the Bees came in 15th place.