July 5, 2018
CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. -- San Diego State women's golfers Mila Chaves and Gioia Carpinelli were named to the Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) Scholar All-American Team for their excellence in the classroom during the 2017-18 academic year.
The Aztec teammates were among 1,011 collegiate golfers from Division I, II and III institutions to earn the academic honor from the WGCA, which maintains some of the most stringent criteria in all of intercollegiate athletics for selection to the prestigious group. In order to be considered for the WGCA All-American Scholar Team, candidates are required to retain a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or higher.
With their awards, Chaves and Carpinelli give the Scarlet and Black nine WGCA Scholar All-Americans since Leslie Spalding took over the head coaching reins prior to the 2011-12 campaign.
A native of Asuncion, Paraguay, Chaves completed her senior season in memorable fashion, capturing medalist honors at the 2018 Mountain West Championship, where she carded a 3-under-par 213 to give the Aztecs their second consecutive individual champion at the conference tournament.
Chaves, a two-time all-MW honoree, also set an SDSU individual record for lowest three-round score in a postseason tournament, finishing a solo 12th at the NCAA San Francisco Regional with a 2-under 214, lifting the Aztecs to their best regional placement in program history with a tie for seventh place.
Chaves was the team's top golfer during the spring schedule, posting a 74.95 scoring average in 19 rounds and ranked second on the team with a 75.21 clip for the season overall. This is her second WGCA Scholar All-American nod after meriting such distinction in 2015.
Chaves, who recently completed her bachelor's degree in finance, was also a recipient of the Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award last May.
Carpinelli, meanwhile, enjoyed a spectacular freshman campaign in which she was the lone competitor to start all 12 of San Diego State's tournaments. The Boppelsen, Switzerland, product was fourth on the squad with a 75.84 scoring average and logged four top-25 placements, highlighted by a second-place tie at the Hawkeye-El Tigre Invitational to claim MW Women's Golfer of the Week honors on March 21.
A business major, Carpinelli also recorded two victories in match play at the SDSU March Mayhem event at The Farms Golf Club, including a triumph over NCAA tournament participant Brittany Fan of Colorado.
San Diego State completed another successful season in 2017-18, netting its fifth consecutive regional appearance as a team and eighth in the last nine years before finishing with a No. 44 national ranking by Golfstat.
About the WGCA
The Women's Golf Coaches Association, founded in 1983, is a non-profit organization representing women's collegiate golf coaches. The WGCA was formed to encourage the playing of college golf for women in correlation with a general objective of education and in accordance with the highest tradition of intercollegiate competition. Today, the WGCA represents over 600 coaches throughout the U.S. and is dedicated to educating, promoting and recognizing both its members and the student-athletes they represent.