USC's Amari Avery Earns All-Pac-12 First Team Honor; Katherine Muzi, Xin (Cindy) Kou On Honorable Mention

Freshman Amari Avery was named to the 2022 All-Pac-12 Conference first team while senior Katherine Muzi and freshman Xin (Cindy) Kou were selected to the Pac-12 Honorable Mention team, the conference announced this week.

Avery punctuated her selection to the All-Pac-12 team with a tie for fifth at the Pac-12 Championships this week, her sixth top 8 finish for the Trojans in seven starts since joining the team as a freshman early enrollee in January.

Avery leads USC with a stroke average of 71.48 to go with a team-high-tying seven rounds in the 60s among 10 rounds under par and 11 of par or better in 21 rounds.

She won her first college hardware at 15-under 201 (65-71-65) at the Icon Invitational. Her 15-under tied the USC record for most under par in a 54-hole event and she became the first Trojan to post a pair of 65s in one tournament. She won at The Gold Rush at 5-under 211 (69-74-68) for her second straight crown.

Her five top 8s to start her season is the best freshman start in at least two decades.

Kou opened her career with four top 15s in the fall, also among USC's best-ever starts by a freshman.

She is third on the team with a stroke average of 73.36 and is tied with Avery with seven rounds in the 60s. She has 10 rounds under par and is second on the team with 13 rounds of par or better.

Kou has four top 5 finishes, five top 10s and six top 15 results in 11 starts. She showed no signs of freshman jitters in her debut tournament as a Trojan, taking third at 8-under 208 (68-73-67). It was the most under par in a USC opener since Malia Nam, also as a freshman, took second at the same event at 12-under in 2018.

Muzi's honor is the first of her career as she continues to put together the best season of her time at USC.

She is second on the team with a stroke average or 73.36 while leading USC 11 rounds under par and 15 rounds of par or better. She is third on the squad with four rounds under 70.

Including her win at the Pac-12 Preview, Muzi has five top 12 finishes, which also includes a second at The Gold Rush, and seven Top 20s.

Muzi was the Pac-12 Golfer of the Month for November after closing the fall by winning the Pac-12 Preview by one stroke at 9-under 210 (68-71-71), securing the title with a birdie on the final hole. Her win came one event after she posted a then-career-best 10th-place effort at the Stanford Intercollegiate.

She joined Avery as a participant in the 2022 August National Women's Amateur.