ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) announced the recipients of their 2025 women’s golf awards on Wednesday. The awards are nominated and voted on by the conference’s head coaches.
 
The University of Northwestern’s Morgan Eckman was named UMAC Player of the Year for the third year in a row. She becomes the first individual in UMAC women’s golf history to be a three-time consecutive honoree. The junior led the conference with a season average score of 77.8 (adjusted to 77.2 for awards voting per the coaches’ guidelines) through 12 rounds. Eckman also helped Northwestern win the conference title; the Eagles’ third in a row, fourth in the past five years, and seventh overall.
 
Teammate Bri Brandt of the Eagles was named the UMAC Rookie of the Year. The freshman had a season average score of 80.4 (adjusted to 80.00 for awards voting per the coaches’ guidelines) through 12 rounds, which ranked second in the conference. Brandt finished second at the UMAC Championships with her 243, just four strokes behind the individual winner.
 
Northwestern Head Coach Billy Aune was named the UMAC Coach of the Year. In his 20th season leading the Eagles, Coach Aune led Northwestern to win the UMAC Championship for the third-straight year, the fourth time in the past five years, and the seventh time in the program’s history. Aune’s Eagles won the conference championship with a team score of 986 for the three-round tournament, finishing 57 strokes ahead of the runner-up. At the Championship, Northwestern set the team records for 18-, 36-, and 54-hole scores. In addition, Paige Johnson set new marks in 36- and 54-hole individual scores in Championship history.
 
Martin Luther won the team sportsmanship award, an accolade that is selected by the UMAC coaches and awarded to the team that best represents sportsmanship throughout the entire season, including the championship event.

15 student-athletes were named all-conference. Each team also had one representative named to the all-sportsmanship team.
 
Player of the Year: Morgan Eckman, Northwestern
Rookie of the Year: Bri Brandt, Northwestern
Coach of the Year: Billy Aune, Northwestern
Team Sportsmanship Award: Martin Luther College
 
First-team All-Conference

Morgan Eckman	Northwestern	Jr.	Jordan, Minn./Jordan
Paige Johnson	Northwestern	Jr.	Zimmerman, Minn./Homeschool
Kendall Clark	Crown	Sr.	Vail, Ariz./Empire
Olivia Weyenberg	UW-Superior	Jr.	Stacy, Minn./North Branch
Abby Schintz	UW-Superior	So.	Duluth, Minn./Duluth East

 
Second-team All-Conference

Bri Brandt	Northwestern	Fr.	Blaine, Minn./Legacy Christian Academy
Shelby Cash	Crown	Jr.	Clovis, Calif./Clovis
Brielle Lenz	Northwestern	Fr.	Marshfield, Wis./Marshfield
Ellie Roland	Northwestern	So.	Otsego, Minn./Rogers
Lydia Schmid	Bethany Lutheran	So.	Mankato, Minn./Immanuel Lutheran

 
Honorable Mention All-Conference

Lexi Thomas	Crown	Sr.	Eagle River, Wis./Northland Pines
Makayla Ammerman	UW-Superior	Fr.	Hinckley, Minn./Hinkley-Finlayson
Ashton Parnell	UW-Superior	Sr.	Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti
Sophia Otto	UW-Superior	So.	Mequon, Wis./Homestead
Brooklyn Barton	North Central	Fr.	Roseville, Calif./West Park

 
All-Sportsmanship Team

Bethany Lutheran	Lydia Schmid	So.	Mankato, Minn./Immanuel Lutheran
Crown	Allie Johnson	Sr.	Madelia, Minn./Lake Crystal
Martin Luther	Erin Pulice	So.	Green Lake, Wis./Green Lake
Minnesota Morris	Sonja Habedank	Sr.	Park Rapids, Minn./Nevis
North Central	Claire Nelsen	Fr.	Elkton, Minn./Southland
Northwestern	Brielle Lenz	Fr.	Marshfield, Wis./Marshfield
UW-Superior	Ashton Parnell	Sr.	Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti

 
The UMAC is an NCAA Division III member comprised of seven full-time member schools from Minnesota and Wisconsin: Bethany Lutheran College, Crown College, Martin Luther College, North Central University, University of Minnesota Morris, University of Northwestern, and University of Wisconsin-Superior.