Starkute Named Pac-12 Women's Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year

TUCSON, Ariz. – Graduate senior Gile Bite Starkute has been named the 2024 Pac-12 Women's Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year, becoming the third golfer in program history to receive the conference's highest individual academic honor. Starkute is completing her fifth and final season with the Wildcats while finishing her master's degree.

The Lithuania native earned All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention a year ago as well as a selection to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team. Starkute is also a three-time WGCA All-American Scholar and Pac-12 Spring Academic Honor Roll member. She graduated from the Eller College of Management at Arizona with a bachelor's degree in finance with a 3.945 GPA and is focusing on Marketing in her graduate studies.

On the course, Starkute's 2023-24 scoring average ranks among the top five in season averages in program history. She picked up her first collegiate win earlier this year, shooting a 64 in the 18-hole Match in the Desert. The 8-under round of 64 tied the lowest round carded in school history, matching Haley Moore's 64 at the 2017 GolfWeek Conference Challenge. Starkute was named Pac-12 Golfer of the Week for her performance at the one-day event.

Starkute joins Wanasa Zhou in 2017 and Alison Walshe in 2008 as Arizona Women's Golf's Pac-12 Scholar-Athletes of the Year.