For the third straight year, Valparaiso golfers Michelle Kleckner (New Brighton, Minn./Irondale) and Erika Pfaender (Pewaukee, Wis./Arrowhead) have been named All-American Scholars by the Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA).

Kleckner and Pfaender were among 664 collegiate golfers spanning Division I, II and III to earn the academic honor from the WGCA.  The criteria for selection to the All-American Scholar Team are some of the most stringent in all of college athletics, including maintaining a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.50.

Kleckner closed her Crusader career by repeating as a member of the All-Horizon League team and earning All-Tournament honors at the Horizon League Championship, posting a team-best scoring average of 78.7 and finishing as Valpo’s career scoring average record holder.  Kleckner graduated from Valparaiso with a 3.97 GPA as a mathematics and secondary education double major and was one of seven Crusader student-athletes to earn the athletic department’s Finishing at the Top honor.

Pfaender ranked second on the team in scoring average in 2013-14 as a senior, posting an average of 80.8.  She recorded two top-five finishes and a third finish inside the top-10 among her nine events.  Pfaender graduated with a 3.67 cumulative GPA as a psychology and communication double major this spring.