ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia’s Caterina Don and Savannah De Bock were selected All-SEC and SEC All-Freshman, respectively, in balloting of the league’s women’s golf coaches announced by the conference office on Wednesday.
Don, a fifth-year senior from Pinerolo, Italy, was tabbed second-team All-SEC for the third time in her career. She also was honored in 2020 and 2021. Don has enjoyed a stellar season with the Bulldogs and is currently ranked No. 29 nationally. In 12 tournaments, she has recorded three runner-up, seven top-10 and 10 top-20 individual finishes. Don leads the Bulldogs in virtually every statistical category, including stroke average (71.35), par-or-better rounds (20) and birdies (115). She has covered 34 rounds at a combined 7-under par this season.
“Caterina has had a special year,” head coach Josh Brewer said. “She’s already had an amazing senior season, and we still have two more tournaments to go. For her to be named All-SEC is a tremendous honor considering we all believe the SEC is the deepest conference in college golf both from the team and individual perspectives. Hopefully, she has a few more accolades come her way in the near future.”
De Bock, a freshman from Ecaussinnes-d’enghien, Belgium, is mid-year enrollee and ranked No. 83 nationally. Last fall, she finished fourth at the World Junior Girls Championships and compiled a 3-0 record to help Europe win the Junior Solheim Cup before joining the Bulldogs in January. In seven tournaments since arriving on campus, De Bock has compiled a 73.43 stroke average with five par-or-better tallies in 19 rounds. She has notched five top-20 performances, with a best effort of fifth place at the San Diego State Classic.
“We all knew Savannah was an elite player when we signed her,” Brewer said. “She has been able to fit in and give us a huge boost since she arrived in January. For her to be able to earn SEC All-Freshman honors in one semester is a tremendous achievement. I think the last players we had to do that were Jenny (Bae) and Jo (Hua Hung). They graduated last spring after having amazing careers at Georgia, and I’m hopeful Savannah will have similar success as a Bulldog.”
No. 23-ranked Georgia will compete in the NCAA Auburn Regional next Monday-Wednesday looking to advance to the NCAA Championships for the fourth consecutive year. There are 12 teams competing at six different Regional sites next week, with the top-5 teams from each advancing to the NCAAs on May 17-22 at the Omni Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.
The Bulldogs swept team and individual titles at the 2021 Columbus and 2023 Athens Regionals. Georgia also is attempting to finish in the top-20 at the NCAA Championships for the fourth year in a row after placing 18th in 2021, tying for fifth in 2022 and tying for 14th in 2023.