Tubert honored as All-American

BURBANK — Emily Tubert’s résumé is getting so long she will probably need a notebook to list all of her accomplishments.

As a girls’ golfer at Burroughs High, Tubert was a two-time Pacific League champion, a two-time All-Area player of the year, a two-time All-American and a CIF Southern Section champion.

Before heading to the University of Arkansas, Tubert captured a U.S. women’s amateur title.

That success has carried over to her freshman season with the Razorbacks. Tubert, won tournaments, earned Southeastern Conference player-of-the-week accolades, made the All-SEC team, was named to the All-SEC Freshman Team, the All-Central Region Team and helped lead Arkansas to the 2011 NCAA Women’s Golf National Championship, where it finished tied for fifth.

However, Tubert earned her biggest honor of the year following the championship tournament Saturday when garnered First-Team All-America honors by the National Golf Assn.

“It’s such an exciting thing, and it’s just an honor to make it on one of the All-America teams,” said Tubert, a 2010 Burroughs graduate. “And to be recognized as a first-team All-American, and being a freshman, is incredible.”

Tubert helped the Razorbacks to their best-ever finish in the NCAA tournament at the Traditions Golf Club in Bryan, Texas, tying USC for fifth place with a team total of 1,190. UCLA won the team title with a 1,173, beating out Purdue (1,177), LSU (1,181) and Virginia (1,186).

The Razorbacks tied for fifth after moving up from 10th place after the conclusion of Friday’s third round.

As a team, the 1,190 was a program best for Arkansas, which fired rounds of 305-296-296-293 for the week. Arkansas’ final round 293 is also a program-best.

Tubert finished tied for 19th, the best-ever for an Arkansas freshman. Tubert shot 76-73-71-74 on the par-72 course for a 294.

“This year has been great for me and I’ve learned a lot playing my first year in college,” Tubert said. “I learned a lot about myself and I think my game has just improved so much in just a short period of time.”

Teammate Kelli Shean, a senior, fired a final round four-under 68 to finish second in the tournament.

Heading into the NCAA finals, Tubert had a 72.00 stroke average and a 0.27 average against par.

In the wake of her squad’s fine performance, and with much of her team returning, Razorbacks Coach Shauna Estes-Taylor is excited about the future of the program.

“This team has been special all year,” Estes-Taylor told the university’s website “It’s been an awesome year to coach these guys, and our future looks bright. [Assistant coach] Mike [Adams] and I work hard to put together a group of young women who want to work hard in the classroom and on the golf course and we are definitely headed in the right direction.”

Tubert is also looking forward to the next three years.

“I still can’t believe I still have three more years of college play, it’s crazy,” she said. “Our program is going nowhere but up and I think we have a bright future.”

Tubert said she will spend her summer playing in various amateur tournaments across the U.S.