Tulane Golf Programs Bring Home Louisiana Honors

Mary Ellen Jacobs

Tulane women’s golf’s Sue Bower and sophomore Liliana Alvarez were named Coach and Player of the Year, respectively, and rookies Mary Ellen Jacobs and Michael Thompson were Freshmen of the Year as the Louisiana Sports Writers Association announced its 2004 All-Louisiana Teams on Monday.

Alvarez and Jacobs were named to the first-team and were joined by LSU’s Brooke Shelton and Vicky Meyer, as well as McNeese State’s Lisa Westman. On the men’s side, Thompson and junior Chris Wheeler earned first-team recognition, and were joined on the top team by Steve Tiley of
Southeastern Louisiana, Heath West of LSU and Craig Trahan of Louisiana-Lafayette.

Bower, Jacobs and Thompson claimed their respective honors for the second time in 2004 as the trio also earned the titles from Conference
USA. Jacobs’ title marked the third consecutive season that a Green Wave golfer earned the Freshman of the Year hardware as Alvarez picked up the honor last season and Alexis Wooster earned rookie recognition in 2002. Thompson, meanwhile, is the men’s second Freshman of the Year in the past three seasons as Wheeler earned the honor two seasons ago.

Bower, meanwhile, earned the 10th Coach of the Year title of her 12-year coaching career with the Green Wave and the fourth state honor after
earning the LSWA honor in 2000, 2002 and 2003. She earned the 2004 title after leading Tulane to its first ever Conference USA title and guiding
the Green Wave to its third consecutive trip to the NCAA Regionals and fourth appearance in the NCAA postseason in the past five years.

Alvarez is coming off a season when she earned first-team All C-USA honors after winning the league’s individual title and claiming the
Mexican Amateur Championship. She posted four Top 10 finishes, shot par or better four times, and finished second on the team with a 75.52
stroke average.

Jacobs paced the team with a 75.33 stroke average, shot par of better six times, and like Alvarez, earned first-team all-league honors. As a
freshman, she posted four Top 10 finishes, including the individual title at the NOKIA Sugar Bowl/Tulane Invitational and a third-place showing at the 2004 C-USA Championship.

Both Thompson and Wheeler earned first-team All C-USA honors in 2004, and just one stroke separated the two for the top scores on the Green Wave squad as the duo averaged 72.9 strokes per round. Thompson edged Wheeler for the overall lead, however, with 2,405 total shots in 11 tournaments to Wheeler’s 2,406.

Thompson won a pair of tournaments as a rookie – the Moe O’Brien Invitational and the LSU Spring Invitational – posted another Top 10 finish, three Top 25 showings and nine Top 40 scores. He shot 14 rounds of par or better, including a career-best 66 in the second round of the
NOKIA Sugar Bowl/Tulane Invitational. Thompson was named Men’s Collegiate Player of the Week by Golf World Magazine on March 12, and was named C-USA Golfer of the Month for March.

Wheeler tied Thompson for the team lead with 14 rounds of par or better, including a 68 in the first round of the Moe O’Brien when he posted a
season-best third-place finish. He also finished in the Top 25 in nine tournaments and in the Top 40 on 10 occasions.

2004 LSWA All-State Men’s Team
First Team
Steven Tiley Southeastern Louisiana So. Canterbury, England
Craig Trahan Louisiana-Lafayette Jr. New Orleans, La.
Michael Thompson Tulane Fr. Tucson, Ariz.
Heath West LSU Jr. Dothan, Ala.
Chris Wheeler Tulane Jr. Allen, Texas

Second Team
Brett Bergeron Southeastern Louisiana So. Reserve, La.
Bryan Elliot Centenary College Fr. Haughton, La.
Andrew Lanahan LSU Jr. Jacksonville, Fla.
Andrien Mork McNeese State Sr. Montbeliard, France
Preston Smith Louisiana Tech Fr. Monroe, La.

Player of the Year: Steven Tiley, Southeastern Louisiana
Freshman of the Year: Michael Thompson, Tulane
Newcomer of the Year: Andrew Lanahan, LSU
Coach of the Year: Greg Jones, LSU

2004 LSWA All-State Women’s Team
First Team
Liliana Alvarez Tulane So. Durango, Mexico
Mary Ellen Jacobs Tulane Fr. Godfrey, Ill.
Vicky Meyer LSU So. Cotia, Brazil
Brooke Shelton LSU Jr. Plano, Texas
Lisa Westman McNeese State Fr. Stockholm, Sweden

Player of the Year: Liliana Alvarez, Tulane
Freshman of the Year: Mary Ellen Jacobs, Tulane
Coach of the Year: Sue Bower, Tulane