Charlottesville, Va. – Virginia women’s golf coach Ria Scott announced today (Nov. 11) a two-player signing class to join the Cavalier program in the fall of 2022. The latest additions to the Virginia program are Ally Black (Austin, Texas) and Maline Kraus (Düsseldorf, Germany).
“The student-athletes we are adding to our team in 2022 both have a relentless work ethic, crave challenges, and have a passion to be part of something greater than themselves,” Scott said. “Both Ally and Maline have experience on successful teams, and we believe they can bring that valuable experience to further enhance our program.”
Black has been ranked in the top-50 of the American Junior Golf Association’s Rolex rankings and had eight top-five finishes at AJGA opens and invitationals. She placed second at the AJGA Reynolds Invitational. She helped Westlake High School to a third-place finish in the Texas 6A High School Championship in 2021 after winning the state title in 2019. As the co-chair of the Texas Cup, she helped to fundraise more than $150,000 for the AJGA’s Ace Grant program.
“Ally is an exceptional, well-rounded student-athlete,” Scott said. “We look forward to supporting her pursuit of excellence on the golf course, in the classroom, and in the community. She’s already made a great impact at the junior level and we are excited to support and experience the impact she’ll make in college.”
Kraus was 11th in stroke play at the R&A Girls Championship, finished 12th at the French International Ladies Stroke Play and was 13th at the German International Amateur during 2021. In 2020 she finished fourth in the German Amateur U18 Championship, and had a pair of top-six finishes on the German Golf Federation Youth Challenge tour.
“Maline is driven, strong, and passionate about her improvement both in golf and academics,” Scott said. “In golf, she has developed into an elite ball striker in a short period of time, and we look forward to helping her build on her competitive experience here in the U.S. She continues to test herself in events all over Europe, and the adaptability she shows will also be a great factor to add to our squad.”