NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- After the inaugural season in the Colonial Women's Golf Conference, the league announced the first ever Conference Awards on Friday morning. Under the direction of first-year head coach Oda Kilsti, five Christopher Newport women's golfers earned All-Conference honors headlined by three first team All-Conference selections in Maddie Cameron, Julia Pelletier, and Katie Watson. Taylor Davis was named a second team All-CWGC pick while rookie Gabi McGehee earned honorable mention plaudits. 

The five All-Conference selections matches the most all-time in program history after CNU earned five All-CAC picks in 2018 and 2019. CNU tied for the league lead with three first team All-Conference picks and was one of only two teams with five representatives on the All-CWGC teams. Babson was the other, who boasts the Player and Rookie of the Year in Vanya Bansal, along with Coach of the Year Jeff Page. The 2026 Scholar-Athlete of the Year was Emma Wivell from Salisbury University. 

The trio of first team All-Conference picks included a pair of seniors in Julia Pelletier and Katie Watson alongside rookie Maddie Cameron. Taylor Davis, a sophomore, was the second team pick, and another freshman, Gabi McGehee, rounded out the inaugural selections. 

Pelletier rounded out her career with one of the single best seasons in program history while shattering her previous personal bests in nearly every statistical category. The senior from Gatineau, Quebec fired a team-leading 78.8 scoring average while participating in all 22 rounds during her final season. That mark ranks as the ninth-best single season in program history while standing as the third-best performance by a senior. 

She finished the ten events played this season with five top-20 efforts, three in the top ten, and a pair of top-five finishes. Pelletier tied for third at the VSGA Women's Intercollegiate and added a fourth-place showing with a career-best 150 (76-74) at the Pfeiffer Spring Invitational. With her impressive final season, Pelletier moved up to eighth all-time at CNU with an 82.0 career scoring average. 

Finishing her career two spots ahead of Pelletier, fellow senior Katie Watson rounded out her storied career sixth all-time with an 80.6 scoring average. Watson ranked second on the team in her senior season with a 79.7 single-season scoring average and was the only other CNU player to participate in all 22 rounds during the 2025-26 season. 

In her last year, Watson notched four top-ten finishes including a seventh-place showing at the VSGA Women's Intercollegiate. She also had back-to-back ninth-place efforts at the CWGC Championship and the Pfeiffer Spring Invitational. 

Rounding out the trio of first team All-CWGC selections, Cameron burst onto the scene in her first season with the Captains. The Arlington, Va. fired the third lowest scoring average for a freshman in program history with a 79.9 mark. That average trails only Erica Whitehouse (77.8 in 2018) and Ayla Browning (78.4 in 2025) in CNU lore among first-year players. 

Cameron's consistenchy led to three top-20 performances including one finish in the top five as she tied for third place at the 2026 VSGA Women's Intercollegiate. She posted her finest score with an 11-over 155 (80-75) at the Tartan Invitational in the Fall and started all 10 events in her rookie season. 

Making an appearance on the second team, sophomore Taylor Davis put her name in the record book with the third-finest single performance by a second-year player. She finished with an 80.4 average behind Whitehouse (76.3 in 2019) and Alex Delgado (79.3 in 2023). Davis set the program scoring record for a single round and a 36-hole tournament with a three-under 70 at the Savannah Invitational to finish out a one-under 145 (75-70), good for 10th. The performance broke the record for a two-round tournament by two strokes. 

Finally, Gabi McGehee earned honorable mention accolades after her first year. The Mineral, Va. native finished fourth on the team with an 80.2 stroke average while playing in 17 rounds. She finished with four top-20 performances including three top-ten and two-top five efforts. McGehee fired one of the two rounds at par or under when she finished with a one-under 72 at the Transylvania Kickoff Classic in her second career tournament. 

The Captains rounded out a successful first season under Kilsti with a record-breaking team performance. Christopher Newport finished the year with a scoring average of 315.9, ranking second in program history. During the season, the Captains signed for the second-lowest single round performance ever with a 298 at the Transylvania Kickoff Classic and notched the finest 36-hole performance ever with a 19-over 603. 

2025-26 Colonial Women's Golf Conference Awards
Player of the Year: Vanya Bansal, Babson
Rookie of the Year: Vanya Bansal, Babson
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Emma Wivell, Salisbury
Coach of the Year: Jeff Page, Babson

First Team
Vanya Bansal, Babson
Maddie Cameron, Chris. Newport
Hannah McCarthy, Babson
Julia Pelletier, Chris. Newport
Katie Watson, Chris. Newport
Katie Yang, Babson

Second Team
Camila Amaya, Babson
Krista Brosius, Salisbury
Elenora Byrne, Stockton
Meadow Ciccerella, JWU Charlotte
Taylor Davis, Chris. Newport
Loren Preyor, Kean

Honorable Mention
Laura Lu, Babson
Maci Lorigan, Carlow
Gabi McGehee, Chris. Newport
Nellie Brewer, JWU Charlotte
Joelie Rae Riley, Kean
Alexis Peacock, Penn State Altoona
Sydney Lynott, Salisbury
Ava Kinkler, Stockton