NEW YORK – In the first weekly honors of the spring season, Marquette freshman Aidan Lafferty has been named BIG EAST Male Golfer of the Week and Seton Hall junior Mia Kness has been selected BIG EAST Female Golfer of the Week.  Lafferty posted a strong finish in the Puerto Rico Classic and Kness finished under par at the FAU Winter Warm-up.          
 
BIG EAST Male Golfer of the Week
Aidan Lafferty, Marquette, Fr. – Competing in a loaded field at the Puerto Rico Classic, Lafferty led the Golden Eagles for the first time in his career, firing a career-low 212 and tying for 13th place.  He shot a two-under 70 in the first and third rounds and tied for 13th overall at the Rio Mar Country Club River Course in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.  The field included seven Golfstat top-50 teams, including No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Georgia Tech and No. 18 Georgia.  The Golden Eagles tied for 10th in the team standings.
 
BIG EAST Female Golfer of the Week
Mia Kness, Seton Hall, Jr. – Kness shot a 1-under par 215 (73-70-72) at the FAU Winter Warm-Up and finished second, one stroke behind the winner, Yale’s Ami Gianchandani.  Kness birdied two of the final four holes to finish even par for her final round.  It is Kness’ third career sub-par tournament and her fifth top-five finish.  As a team, the Pirates took second place, three strokes behind Arkansas State.
 
Women’s Notes – Xavier and Butler also competed with Seton Hall in the FAU Winter Warm-Up.  The Musketeers’ Mikayla Fitzpatrick tied for eighth place with a 5-over par 221 (71-76-74) for her second top-10 finish of the year.  Xavier placed sixth in the team standings at 898 (+34).  Butler finished 14th and was led by junior Katelyn Le, who shot a 10-over par 226 (76-73-77) and tied for 23rd place…Katie Allen of Creighton went 2-1 in match play at the Motor City Cup, helping the Bluejays to a second-place finish.  The sophomore’s performance included an ace on a par 3 175-yard hole.  Allen lost her final match 2-Up to IUPUI’s Marion DeBove, the defending Horizon League Golfer of the Year.
 
Men’s Notes – Nate Vontz led Creighton at the Pizza Hut-Pat Hicks Thunderbird Invitational in St. George, Utah, with an even-par 144.  The junior shot a 69 and a 75 to tie for seventh place.  It is his third top-10 finished in seven tournaments this year.  The Bluejay team tied for 10th place in the 12-team field…DePaul and Xavier competed in the eight-team Earl Yestingsmeier Match Play Tournament in Dade City, Fla.  The Blue Demons finished third with a 2-1 record that included wins over Ball State and Dayton.  Conor Glennan won two of his three matches.  The Musketeers and dropped matches to Dayton, Bowling Green and Loyola Chicago.  XU’s Brian Jennings and Trey Rath both went 2-1 in their matches…Patrick Algeier of Butler tied for ninth place at the Orange County Collegiate Classic in Coto de Caza, Calif.  He finished with a 6-over-par 222.  Algeier had four birdies in his first-round score of 73 followed by rounds of 76 and 73.  The Bulldogs took ninth place in the team standings at 913 (+49)…Junior Andres Acevedo was the top Seton Hall competitor at the UNCG/Martin Downs Collegiate in Palm City, Fla.  He tied for 29th place with a 2-over-par 218 (71-72-75).  The Hall finished ninth in the team standings with a 12-over-par 876 (289-291-295).  Villanova finished in 14th place.  Sophomore Noah Peck led the team by carding a 223 (76-75-72).