#24 Women's Golf 4/1/2020 2:00:00 PM

2019-20 Jim Wade Award winner: Melissa Eldredge, women's golf

Senior-To-Be Set 72-hole program Record in 2019 NAIA Championship

Eldredge earns The 2020 Jim Wade Award for women's golf

OKLAHOMA CITY - As she teed off in the first round of the 2019 NAIA National Championship at Lincoln Park Golf Course in Oklahoma City, Melissa Eldredge stood on the precipice of making history for the Oklahoma City University women's golf team.

Of course, she couldn't have known it at the time.

Eldredge fired a career-best round of 67 in the opening round of the Championship, and she parlayed that into a top-five finish and an OCU 72-hole record. She took full advantage of the conditions at the Stars' home course, which was the site selected for the 2019 and 2020 Championships, breaking par in three of the four rounds of the event, and finishing fourth with a total of 289 - 1-over par for the event and five strokes off the individual medalist honors.

"Shooting the 67 [in the opening round] was the easiest part," Eldredge said of the performance. "We had prepared so much coming into the Championship last year. I knew the course and felt very comfortable that day. I knew that the work we had put in beforehand had prepared me for that moment."

She continued," I teed off and coach [McCauley] just said, 'let's go win this thing.' I kept that mindset the whole round. I was aggressive when possible and played it safe when necessary. I made a couple birdies on the front and two early on the back. Most importantly, though, I didn't make any bogeys. There are days when it's going your way, and that was one for sure. Coming down 18, I saw all my teammates and people waiting. I hit a nice shot into the green and ended up making a birdie which felt great. All I wanted was to bring that great round in for my team, and it felt good to finish it off with a birdie."

The annual Jim Wade Awards recognize those Stars who best represent OCU and reflect Wade's spirit as the student-athletes of the year. Each OCU team chose its 2019-20 Wade Award winner, who will each be spotlighted on the OCU athletics Web site.
Gen. Jim Wade competed for Oklahoma City as a baseball, basketball and football student-athlete before becoming a trustee to the university, OCU Athletics Hall of Famer and one of the most prominent benefactors and supporters of the athletic department.
Wade attained the rank of brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force. Wade became decorated for service in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. He flew 55 missions in Korea. His list of citations includes the Order of the Sword, Legion of Merit Cluster, Distinguished Flying Cross, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters, Air Force Commendation Medal, Presidential Unit Citation with one oak leaf cluster, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award, Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Gold Palm and Combat Readiness Award. These are the first Jim Wade Awards since Wade died in November.

The senior leader of the OCU squad was off to a great start in what was to be her senior campaign, as more than halfway to her season best total of rounds at or below par when the coronavirus pandemic struck and canceled the remainder of the 2020 spring athletic seasons. But the story does not end there for Eldredge.

She will take advantage of a ruling from the NAIA which granted an extra year of eligibility to all spring athletes whose season were cut short, and she will return to the Stars' lineup for a fifth season in 2020-21. The announcement was made on social media by head coach Marty McCauley shortly after the NAIA made the decision to pull the plug in the name of public safety.

The impact Eldredge has had on the OCU program is hard to understate.

She ranks fourth on the OCU all-time list for scoring average at 76.92 trailing only Jessica Schiele (2011-13; 74.60), Elia Folch (2012-14; 74.98), and her current teammate Natalie Gough (2018-present; 76.41). She is one of only seven players at OCU to shoot a round of 67 or better, and she ranks second in OCU history with four career rounds in the 60s. Eldredge is the program's all-time leader in round at or below par with 15, and she is tied for 10th in OCU history for individual tournament victories.

She has earned NAIA All-American honors three times, and has a litany of individual awards and honors to go with those as well. She won the 2019 Sooner Athletic Conference individual title, which also earned her SAC Player of the Year honors. She also has NAIA and SAC All-Tournament honors, a WGCA All-America award, CoSIDA Academic All-District(R) and Academic All-America(R) spots in 2019, and multiple All-SAC and Academic All-SAC awards.

Now, she adds a prestigious OCU honor to that list.

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Players Mentioned

Melissa Eldredge: 5' 6"; Senior

Natalie Gough: 5' 7"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Melissa Eldredge
: 5' 6"; Senior

Natalie Gough
: 5' 7"; Sophomore