DETROIT -- Sonia Bayahya (Casablanca, Morocco / Lycée Français International Louis-Massignon),
Ting-Yu Kuo (Taipei, Taiwan / Taipei Municipal Zhong-zheng Senior) and
Clara Laffitte (Montevideo, Uruguay / Colegio Seminario) of the Wayne State University women's golf team were named to the Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) All-American Scholar Team on Monday afternoon.
The criteria for selection to the All-American Scholar Team are some of the most stringent in all of college athletics. To be selected, a student-athlete must:
- Have an overall cumulative grade point average of 3.50 or higher.
- Be an amateur and on the team's roster through the conclusion of the team's season.
- Have played in 50 percent of the college's regularly scheduled competitive rounds during the year nominated through the team's conference championship.
As a whole, the team featured 1,551 women's collegiate golfers.
Bayahya (Finance - 3.83 GPA), who garnered Second Team All-GLIAC recognition, played in all 26 of the team's rounds with 2,032 strokes, good for a a 78.2 scoring average, the 10th-best mark in program history. The freshman finished in the top 25 for six tournaments and among the top 10 for three of those six. After finishing outside the top 25 for three of her first four collegiate events, she accomplished said achievement in five of her final six tournaments, including a stretch of five in a row. The highlight of that span came on April 10 at the Walsh/Tiffin Spring Christmas Classic at Hidden Creek Golf Club in Lima, Ohio. There, she captured Medalist Honors among 41 players with a five-under 139 (71-68). Not only was that 36-hole mark of 139 the lowest by a Warrior all season (by nine strokes), but those individual rounds ranked first and second, respectively, a chart in which she's also ranked third, tied-for-fourth, and tied-for eighth. Bayahya's best 54-hole mark in six such events was a 222 for the GLIAC Championships.
Kuo (Marketing - 3.95 GPA) adds this 2025-26 academic honor to GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team recognition and a CSC Academic All-District distinction as well as being a recipient of the D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award. Her second go-around in the Green and Gold saw her register a 79.35 scoring average, which included 2,063 strokes spread across all 26 of the team's rounds. The one top-10 finish came at the Belterra Classic on March 30-31 where she tied-for-10th of 37 players thanks to a three-round score of 236 (+23, 83-74-79). That placing was one of her six in the top 25. Best round of the season was a 73 for round one of the Davenport Panther Invitational, tied-for-fourth on the squad. Also shot a 36-hole best of 154 at the Walsh/Tiffin Spring Christmas Classic, also tied-for-fourth on the team. When it came to 54 holes, carded a low of 235 at the GLIAC Championships.
Laffitte (Pre-Medical Lab Science - 4.00 GPA), just like Kuo, adds this 2025-26 academic honor to GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team recognition and a CSC Academic All-District distinction as well as being a recipient of the D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award. After missing the entire 2024-25 season due to injury, she played in all 26 of the team's rounds as a redshirt sophomore with 2,084 total shots taken, good for a scoring average of 80.2, over two strokes better than the clip she put up as a true freshman in 2023-24. Was among the top 10 for two of her 10 showings and finished in the top-25 individuals for two other events.
About the WGCA
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 750 coaches throughout the U.S. and is dedicated to educating, promoting and recognizing both its members and the student-athletes they represent.
