CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – California women's golf head coach Nancy McDaniel was named as one of two recipients of the Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) Division I Kim Moore Spirit Award. The award was announced today on the Golf Channel's Morning Drive show.
 
The award is given every year to a student-athlete or coach who exemplifies a great spirit toward the game of golf, a positive attitude on and off the golf course, is a role model for her team and showcases mental toughness in facing challenges.
 
In August of 2015, McDaniel was diagnosed with stage I breast cancer. She underwent treatments to shrink the size of the tumor throughout the 2015-16 season, but those were unsuccessful. In June 2016, she underwent a full mastectomy and found the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes. McDaniel started undergoing chemotherapy and radiation.
 
McDaniel went to as many practices and contests as she was able to during the 2016-17 season.  However, caring for herself became a full-time job as she went to radiation every day for a month and did chemotherapy every month. However, she has battled to be around the team whenever she could. She is doing much better now and only needs to take a pill for her symptoms.
 
She returned to coaching during the 2017-18 season and led the Bears to their 19^th consecutive NCAA Regional appearance. The Bears had numerous highlights during the 2018 season including a second-place finish in a crowded field at the Silverado Showdown, which featured five top-10 and nine top-25 teams. Cal will also send individual Marthe Wold to the 2018 NCAA Championship starting on Friday.
 
This award is dedicated to Kim Moore, who played golf for the University of Indianapolis (1999-2003). Moore was a below-the-knee amputee on her right leg and was fit for her first prosthetic at age 2. She has also had numerous surgeries on her left leg, which has no calf muscle, but she picked up golf at 15 and excelled at it. She won seven collegiate events and was ranked eighth in the nation as an undergrad. The award has been given out every year since 2005.
 
This year, McDaniel will share the award with Jacqueline Bendrick a senior on Furman's golf team. Bendrick has battled Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, a compression of the nerves and blood vessels that can only be corrected by surgery. Bendrick underwent the surgery in January of 2017. She has also battled diabetes and vertigo to succeed on the golf course this year, ranking as high as #150 in the Golfstat individual rankings.