CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – The Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) announced on Friday that Carleton College's Alyssa Akiyama (Terrace Park, Ohio/Seven Hills School) was named the recipient of the inaugural Division III Juli Inkster Senior Award presented by WorkDay.
 
Alyssa Akiyama acceptance video: https://vimeo.com/418108643
 
The Juli Inkster Senior Award recognizes the highest-ranked women's collegiate golfer, as determined by Golfstat, who is in her final year of NCAA eligibility. The award is presented separately to the top Division I, II and III players. The recipient must be academically eligible per NCAA rules and have played a minimum of 12 rounds (reduced to five for the shortened 2019-20 season) during the year.
 
Akiyama finished the 2019-20 season ranked No. 4 in the nation on Golfstat with an adjusted scoring average of 74.21.
 
Although the year was cut short by COVID-19, Akiyama had one of the best seasons in Carleton College and Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) women's golf history. She placed first in three of five tournaments (and in the top-5 at the other events) during her senior campaign, with a trio of MIAC Athlete of the Week Awards. This included a record-breaking performance at the 2019 MIAC Championships where she set conference tournament records for both 36-hole score (146) and 54-hole score (220) en route to winning her second individual title.
 
Akiyama concludes her Carleton career with a 77.31 stroke average over 72 rounds, the second-best career stroke average in program history.
 
This spring, Akiyama has already been named to the WGCA's All-Region Team for the fourth time in her career and followed that up with her second career All-America selection, this time being voted to the first team. She was selected as the MIAC Player of the Year (for the second time in her career) and MIAC Senior of the Year after becoming the 15th player in conference history to earn four All-MIAC honors.
 
"I think it is quite fitting for Alyssa to win the 1st annual Juli Inkster Senior Award presented by WorkDay," said Carleton head coach Matt Stangl. "Juli is the epitome of golf greatness, and so is Alyssa, both being amazing athletes and people. Alyssa will be the perfect role model for other women who aspire to win this distinguished award in the future.
 
"What's more is that she has accomplished all of this with a smile on her face and being kind to everyone. It requires an extraordinary person like Alyssa to be the best athlete and one of the most-liked players. Her mental toughness, positivity, humility, and coachability are second to none."
 
Career accolades for Akiyama:
• 2x WGCA All-American (second team in 2016-17 and first team in 2019-20)
• 4x WGCA All-Region
• 2x MIAC Player of the Year (2016-17 and 2019-20)
• 2x MIAC Championships individual winner (2016 and 2019… 7th player in conference history with multiple titles)
• 4x All-MIAC Team (2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19, and 2019-20… 15th in conference history to achieve the feat)
• MIAC Senior of the Year (2019-20)
• MIAC Rookie of the Year (2016-17)
• 7x MIAC Athlete of the Week