NSU’s Changkija Selected 2009-10 Female Athlete of the Year
Nova Southeastern junior golf standout Sandra Changkija has been selected as the 2009-10 Sunshine State Conference Female Athlete of the Year.
Voting for the award was conducted among the league’s sports information directors.
A native of Orlando, Changkija posted the finest season of any student-athlete in NCAA Division II women’s golf. She claimed the individual title at the DII Women’s Golf Championship after leading her team to its second straight NCAA crown. Changkija entered the final round of the tournament four strokes behind the golfer who led each of the first three rounds and calmly shot a one-over-par 72 to win the individual championship by a six-stroke margin.
Changkija’s title came just days after she was named the PING/NGCA National Player of the Year for the third straight season. At the same ceremony, she was also recognized as a first-team All-American for the third consecutive year. Changkija concluded the season ranked as the No. 1 golfer in Division II and the fourth-ranked golfer in the Golfstat Cup, which ranks the top collegiate golfers regardless of division.
Changkija registered seven individual victories in 11 events in which the Sharks competed. In addition to her medalist performance at the DII Championship, she was the top finisher at the SSC Championship and was subsequently voted SSC Women’s Golfer of the Year. She also notched first-place finishes at the Furman Lady Paladin Invitational, Ross Resorts Invitational, Lady Moc Classic, Peggy Kirk Bell Invitational, and Georgetown’s Hoya Invitational.
Posting a school-record 72.13 stroke average, her lowest round of the season was a 67 in the second round of action at the DII Championship. She carded a below-70 round in four different events.
With one year of eligibility remaining, Changkija has already set a program record with 10 wins. She is the first Nova Southeastern student-athlete to be named SSC Athlete of the Year.