Green Bay's Collard, Detroit's Thorne and Youngstown State's Merling pick up Weekly Golf Awards

INDIANAPOLIS -- Green Bay junior Joe Collard (Marinette, Wis.) has been named Horizon League Men’s Golfer of the Week while Detroit senior Christina Thorne (Kingston, Ont.) and Youngstown State junior Aislynn Merling (York, Pa.) have been named Horizon League Co-Women’s Golfers of the Week.

Collard helped Green Bay defend its title at the Chicago State Cougar Classic on Tuesday. The junior shot a pair of 73’s at Harborside International Golf Center. His two-day total of 146 (+2) was good for a tie for second, one-shot behind medalist Ricardo Solis of Texas-Pan American. This is Collard’s first Horizon League Player of the Week honor.

Thorne and Merling are the Horizon League Co-Women’s Golfers of the Week. Both golfers shot a two-day total of 150 at the Cleveland State Invitational, just one-shot off the pace set by medalist Sami Khan of Lipscomb. After opening with a 76, Thorne closed with a 74 to finish runner-up for the fifth time in her career. The second place finish is her 13th career top-10 effort. Merling opened the tournament with a 77, then fired a tournament best 73 on the final day to finish runner-up. Merling’s strong finish led the Penguins to a third place team finish. This is the second time Throne has been named Horizon League Golfer of the Week, and the first time Merling has been named to the honor.

Green Bay is in action next on Sept. 30-Oct. 1 at the John Dallio Memorial. Detroit and Youngstown State are off next week. The Penguins will tee it up next on Oct. 7-8 at the Robert Morris Golf Classic, while the Titans compete next at the Rocket Classic on Oct. 14-15.

Top Golfers for the Week:
Michelle Kleckner, Valparaiso - Helped lead the Crusaders to its second team title in program history at the SIUE DoubleTree Invitational. The senior shot rounds of 81-76 (157, +13) to finish tied for third.
Micaela Cronin, Cleveland State - The senior carded rounds of 79-77 (156, +10) to finish in a tie for 10th at the Cleveland State Invitational.
Alex Turner, Oakland - Shot a career best 226 (+9) at the Wolf Run Intercollegiate. The junior from Ontario, Canada shot rounds of 75-73-78.

Golfers of the Week:
Sept. 11 Peter Webb (Valparaiso); Michelle Kleckner (Valparaiso)
Sept. 18 Tom Boockmeier (Green Bay); Micaela Cronin (Cleveland State)
Sept. 25 Joe Collard (Green Bay); Christina Thorne (Detroit); Aislynn Merling (Youngstown State)