CORAL SPRINGS, FLORIDA (November 28, 2012) - Past University of Georgia great Vicki Goetze-Ackerman and Pepperdine University legend Katherine Hull will be inducted into the WGCA Players Hall of Fame on Tuesday afternoon, December 11, 2012. The Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place at Planet Hollywood Resort in Las Vegas, NV. Goetze-Ackerman and Hull become the 59th and 60th members respectively of the Hall of Fame.

Vicki Goetze-Ackerman

Vicki Goetze-Ackerman came to the University of Georgia as the most decorated junior golfer in U.S. history. During her two seasons of collegiate golf, she only furthered her legend.

Goetze-Ackerman captured the 1989 U.S. Women's Amateur title during the summer after her sophomore year of high school at Athens Academy. Before she arrived on campus, Goetze-Ackerman also already had claimed low-am honors at two U.S. Women's Opens, was a six-time AJGA All-American and three time National Junior Golfer of the Year. She then rewrote the Georgia record book in her two seasons with the Lady Bulldogs.

As a freshman, Goetze-Ackerman won or shared four tournament titles, the last of which was the biggest. With a record-setting, 7-under-par 65 on the final day, Goetze-Ackerman overtook defending champion Annika Sorenstam of Arizona to claim 1992 NCAA medalist honors with a three-stroke victory. Her single-round and 72-hole tallies (8-under 280) were NCAA Championship records.

She was then named National Golfer of the Year by Golfweek and the Honda/Broderick Award, was voted SEC Golfer and Freshman of the Year and also earned SEC Female Athlete of the Year recognition for all sports.

After winning a second U.S. Amateur crown and finishing as low am at the U.S. Women's Open for a third time in the summer of 1992, Goetze-Ackerman returned to Athens and secured the PING WGCA Player of the Year honors. She did so after winning three more individual championships, setting a school record of seven titles that still stands as the record for Georgia Women's Golf. Goetze-Ackerman wrapped up her collegiate career with the fifth-place showing at the 1993 NCAA Championships at the University of Georgia Golf Course.

Goetze-Ackerman turned professional in 1993 and played on the LPGA Tour until 2009.

Katherine Hull

In the past 26 years, only one women's golfer from a non-BCS school has won PING National Player of the Year honors from the Women's Golf Coaches Association, and that recipient was Pepperdine's Katherine Hull back in 2003.

Hull was a standout junior player from Sunrise Beach, Queensland, Australia, and graduated from Good Shepherd Lutheran College. She arrived at Pepperdine in January 2000 and spent four seasons accumulating one of the top careers in Pepperdine history. In addition to her WGCA National Player of the Year honor, Hull also won the Dinah Shore Award in 2003. She was a three-time WGCA All-American, earning first team honors as a junior and senior and second team acclaim as a sophomore. All four seasons, Hull earned a spot on the All-WCC first team. She finished in the top 10 of her first nine tournaments during the 2002-03 season.

The Waves won three WCC titles in her four seasons, with Hull placing in the top five all four seasons, including a second-place finish in 2002. She played a key role in Pepperdine's co-championship at the 2002 NCAA West Regional, tying for second place overall. The Waves advanced as a team to the NCAA Championships all four years, with three top 10 finishes and a program-best second-place result in 2003.

Hull won medalist honors at seven tournaments during her Pepperdine career. She was a three-time winner of the UCLA Pioneer Electronic Bruin Classic (2001, 2002 and 2003) and also captured the 2001 Southern California Intercollegiate, the 2003 Comcast/Dick McGuire Invitational, the 2003 Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge and the 2003 San Jose State Spartan Invitational. In winning San Jose State's event, she set NCAA records with a 16-under 200 and a first-round, 9-under 63.

She still holds the top two spots on the Pepperdine's single-season records list for scoring average, with a 72.19 in 2001-02 and a 72.82 in 2002-03. For her career, she ranks second at Pepperdine with a 73.52 average.

Hull turned professional following her senior year, first playing on the Futures Tour in 2003 before qualifying for the LPGA Tour in 2004. She has over $3 million in career earnings including two victories. Hull, who graduated with a degree in sports administration in 2003, was also a standout in the classroom, earning 2003 WGCA All-American Scholar honors and being named to the WCC All-Academic squad twice.

About Women's Golf Coaches Association
The Women's Golf Coaches Association, founded in 1983, is a non-profit organization representing women's collegiate golf coaches. The WGCA was formed to encourage the playing of college golf for women in correlation with a general objective of education and in accordance with the highest tradition of intercollegiate competition. Today, the WGCA represents over 500 coaches throughout the U.S. and is dedicated to educating, promoting and recognizing both its members and the student-athletes they represent.

Vicki Goetze-Ackerman and Katherine Hull to be inducted into Women's Collegiate Golf Hall of Fame

Related Articles