On the eve of the 2017 BIG EAST Women's Golf Championship, Butler's Lauren Tibbets and Abigail Gleixner were selected to the All-BIG EAST Second Team. The selections were made by the league's head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own players. The BIG EAST made the announcement Thursday, April 20.
 
The BIG EAST Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Coaching Staff of the Year will be announced after the BIG EAST Championship. 
 
Tibbets and Gleixner have been the team leaders for the Bulldogs. A sophomore from Converse, Ind., Tibbets, an All-BIG EAST Second Team selection for a second straight season, has compiled a 77.33 stroke average and has put together six finishes in the top 5. Gleixner, a junior from Greenwood, Ind., has finished seventh or better in her four tournaments. Her stroke average is 77.78.
 
The 2017 Championship begins Friday in Callawassie Island, S.C. The 54-hole competition runs through Sunday. The Bulldogs placed fourth in the six-team field in 2016, highlighted by Kelsey McDougall's sixth-place finish.
 
The BIG EAST will crown a team champion, which earns an automatic berth to the NCAA Championship. The competition is scheduled to begin each day at 8 a.m. ET. All rounds of the Championships, which will be played on the Dogwood and Magnolia Courses, are free and open to the public. The following week, the BIG EAST Men's Golf Championship also will be held at Callawassie Island (April 30-May 2).
 
Friday's threesomes will be determined by team and player seedings while Saturday's and Sunday's groupings are assembled from the previous day's leaderboard. 
 
Butler heads into the championship on a high note after winning the Jaguar/Crusader Challenge at the Trophy Club in Lebanon, Ind. Gleixner, McDougall and Rachel Gathof each won their respective matches in the team match play competition Monday as Butler defeated host IUPUI. The Bulldogs won two team matches on Sunday to set up the Monday showdown.
 
The BIG EAST Digital Network (BEDN) will provide coverage of the final rounds on www.bigeast.com. Additional information on the championship courses is available at www.callawassieisland.com.
 
All-BIG EAST First Team
Jacquelyn Eleey, Georgetown, Jr., Quincy, Mass.
Christina Parsells, Georgetown, So., Bernardsville, N.J.
Alexa Popowitz, Georgetown, So., Boca Raton, Fla.
Kirsty Beckwith, St. John's, So., Leeds, England
Mikayla Fitzpatrick, Xavier, Fr. Phoenix, Ariz.
 
All-BIG EAST Second Team
Abby Gleixner, Butler, Jr., Greenwood, Ind.
Lauren Tibbets, Butler, So., Converse, Ind.
Ashley Fitzgibbons, Georgetown, Fr., Sammamish, Wash.
Cassie Pantelas, Seton Hall, Jr., Canton, Ohio
Lizzie Win, Seton Hall, Fr., Loveland, Ohio