Vongvanij, Alexander Headline SEC Men's Golf Awards
Monday, April 25, 2011 | Men's Golf
Florida men's golfer Bank Vongvanij (Bradenton, Fla.) and head coach Buddy Alexander headlined the 2011 SEC Men's Golf Awards, as Vongvanij was voted SEC Golfer of the Year and Alexander was voted SEC Coach of the Year. Vongvanij also received co-SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors.
In addition, teammates Andres Echavarria (Medellin, Colombia) and Phillip Choi (Orlando, Fla.) joined Vongvanij on the All-SEC first-team.
Vongvanij is fourth in the SEC in scoring average at 70.85 strokes per round. He has three tournament championships under his belt this year, including wins at the Jacksonville Invitational, Schenkel Invitational and the Isleworth Invitational. He finished in the top six in eight of 10 tournaments this season. He is ranked fifth in the nation in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index Rankings.
Academically, Vongvanij has a 3.46 grade point average, majoring in Finance. He is a three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll, is a Byron Nelson finalist, was named a Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-America Scholar by the GCAA and was the recipient of the 2010 SEC Men's Golf Scholar-Athlete honor. Vongvanij shared the honor with Vanderbilt's Ryan Haselden.
Alexander was voted by his peers as SEC Coach of the Year for the eighth time, having previously earning the honor in 1986 (co-recipient), 1991, 1993, 1994, 1999, 2003 and 2004. Since arriving in Gainesville in 1988, the Gators have finished in third-place or better 18 times, including eight SEC titles. Florida won four team titles this year and is currently ranked fifth in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index Rankings.
Vongvanij, Echavarria and Choi join five golfers from the SEC on the first team: Alabama's Bud Cauley and Cory Whitsett, Auburn's Blayne Barber and LSU's John Peterson and Andrew Loupe.
Echavarria, a redshirt-senior, has finished in the top 20 in every tournament he has participated in for the Gators in the 2010-11 season. He has earned two medalist honors, most recently coming at the SEC Championship. He has also participated in several Nationwide Events and finished in second-place at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open.
Choi, a sophomore, has finished in the top 10 in nine-consecutive tournaments, including six finishes in the top five and his first-career medalist honor at the John Hayt Invitational. He has shot a team-high 21 rounds at or under par so far this season and averages 71.1 strokes per round.
Florida has three first-team All-SEC selections for the first time since 1995, when Chris Couch, Josh McCumber and Daniel Stone received the honors. This marks only the fifth time in Gator men's golf history that three players have been named to the first team.
The 2011 SEC Men's Golf Awards are listed below:
COACH OF THE YEAR
BUDDY ALEXANDER, FLORIDA
GOLFER OF THE YEAR
BANK VONGVANIJ, FLORIDA
Co-SCHOLAR-ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
BANK VONGVANIJ, FLORIDA
Ryan Haselden, Vanderbilt
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Cory Whitsett, Alabama
ALL-SEC TEAMS
First-Team All-SEC
ANDRES ECHAVARRIA, FLORIDA
BANK VONGVANIJ, FLORIDA
PHILLIP CHOI, FLORIDA
Bud Cauley, Alabama
Cory Whitsett, Alabama
Blayne Barber, Auburn
John Peterson, LSU
Andrew Loupe, LSU
Second-Team All-SEC
Sebastian Cappelen, Arkansas
Robin Wingardh, Tennessee
Jonathan Randolph, Ole Miss
Russell Henley, Georgia
Bobby Wyatt, Alabama
Harris English, Georgia
Ethan Tracy, Arkansas
Michael Hebert, Auburn
All-Freshman Team
Cory Whitsett, Alabama
Bobby Wyatt, Alabama
Niclas Carlsson, Auburn
Sebastian Cappelen, Arkansas
Danny Keddie, Tennessee
