CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – Becoming the first Nova Southeastern player to be recognized since Lilliana Camisa did so eight years ago, Valentina Albertazzi has officially been named the 2020 Division II Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) Freshman of the Year, announced Friday morning.

Albertazzi joins Camisa, along with Abbey Gittings (2010), Sandra Changkija (2008) and Maria Garcia Austt (2007) as the fifth player in program history to earn the award. The five combined WGCA Freshman of the Year honors for the Sharks mark the most of any school nationally since the award was introduced back in 1998.  

A native of Benahavis, Spain, Albertazzi burst onto the scene in a massive way in her first collegiate season, climbing as high as No. 1 in the Golfstat player rankings before eventually wrapping up the year at No. 3 – the highest ranking among all freshmen in NCAA Division II. Albertazzi collected seven Top-10 finishes in as many tournament appearances, registering a team-best scoring average of 72.15. She also set two single-season program marks along the way, taking over the top spots in the record books for versus par scoring average (+0.30) and Par-4 scoring average (4.0558). Additionally, Albertazzi posted 10 rounds of par or better, including six throughout her final seven rounds of the season. Following a season-best effort of (-5) 67 in the opening round, she went on to capture her first career victory at the Lady Moc Golf Classic. Her 54-hole score of (-11) 205 at the event marked the second lowest in program history, trailing only NSU Hall of Famer Taylor Collins, who carded a (-13) 203 through the first three rounds of the 2011 NCAA Division II Championship.

Albertazzi was previously selected on Tuesday as a First Team All-American by the WGCA.

"Val is a very special person and I am so proud of her," said NSU head coach Heather Wall. "Her relentless work ethic, desire to win, eagerness to learn, and love for her team, led to her vast improvement throughout the year. She is able to elevate those around her, and this award is a true testament to the hard work she has put in throughout the season. There are a lot of talented players across the country. Receiving this honor is huge and I couldn't be happier for her."

As a team, NSU collectively won four of the seven tournaments it competed in during 2019-20, running its overall win total to 17 over the past three years, and wrapped up the season at No. 1 in both the Golfstat and WGCA national polls.

About the 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 650 coaches throughout the U.S. and is dedicated to educating, promoting and recognizing both its members and the student-athletes they represent.

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