LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – West Chester University's Hanna Lignell, Cara Murphy, and head coach Chris Merce were all selected as Major Award winners as the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference announced its 2025-26 Women's Golf All-Conference teams on Thursday afternoon.
The All-Conference Teams and Major Award winners are selected by a vote of the conference's head coaches.
West Chester senior Hanna Lignell was named Athlete of the Year after a stellar season with the Golden Rams. For the season, she tallied a scoring average of 76.4 with one win, three runner-up finishes, and eight top 10 finishes. Lignell capped off her season finishing 13
th at the 2026 NCAA East Regional. This was the top finish among PSAC golfers at the championship.
The Freshman of the Year award went to another Golden Ram, Cara Murphy. Murphy carried a scoring average of 80.21 over 24 rounds and finished seventh at the 2026 PSAC Women's Golf Championship. For the season, she earned two tournament wins and six top 10 finishes.
West Chester head coach Chris Merce earns his first PSAC Women's Golf Coach of the Year award. He guided the Golden Rams to a runner-up finish at the 2026 PSAC Women's Golf Championship. Merce led West Chester to qualify for the NCAA East Regional Championship for the second time in program history. This was the first time the Golden Rams were selected since the 2018-19 season.
The complete 2025-26 PSAC Women's Golf All-Conference Teams are listed below.
Athlete of the Year: Hanna Lignell, West Chester
Freshman of the Year: Cara Murphy, West Chester
Coach of the Year: Chris Merce, West Chester
First Team
| Athlete |
Class |
School |
| Alexandria LeCureux* |
So. |
Gannon |
| Hanna Lignell |
Sr. |
West Chester |
| Cloe Mateo** |
Jr. |
Gannon |
| Fatima Rizvi |
So. |
West Chester |
| Sara Veara^ |
Sr. |
Shepherd |
Second Team
| Athlete |
Class |
School |
| Taryn Brandt |
Fr. |
West Chester |
| Brooke Graham** |
Jr. |
Kutztown |
| Ari Kaser^ |
Sr. |
California |
| Anastasia Lopes |
Fr. |
Gannon |
| Cara Murphy |
Fr. |
West Chester |
*Previous PSAC First Team selection
^Previous PSAC Second Team selection