Ricky Castillo earned his fifth SEC honor and his been named to the second team twice, first team, freshman team and the 2020 Freshman of the Year
Four Gators Earn SEC Awards
Friday, May 13, 2022 | Men's Golf
Fred Biondi and John DuBois were named first team, Ricky Castillo second team and Tyler Wilkes to the community service team.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Four Gators earned SEC awards, the league office announced on Friday.
Fred Biondi and John DuBois both earned first team honors for the first time in their career while Ricky Castillo collected his second straight second team nod followed by Tyler Wilkes on the community service team.
The SEC Individual Champion, DuBois became the 25th Gator to win the title, which is the most by any school in the conference. He tied for the third-lowest round (64, -6) in SEC history as concluded the stroke play portion of the tournament setting career lows in round (64), tournament score (204) and best finish (1). The native of Windermere, Fla., followed his historic performance by sending the Florida men's golf team to the SEC Championship Finals with his victory on the playoff hole in the semifinals vs. No. 1 Texas A&M. He teed off the 18th 1-down and won the hole to force extras. DuBois nearly eagled the hole (565 yards, par 5) as he two putted from seven feet for another memorable moment.
DuBois owned a stroke average of 72.0 and ranked third on the team with 80 birdies and 3.0 per round. The junior went 2-1 in the match play portion of the SEC Championship as he played in all 27 rounds for the first time in his career.
Posting a breakout season, Biondi led the team in stroke average (69.8), 18-hole average (-1.2) and 54-hole average (-3.7) relation to par. A native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, he claimed two collegiate titles, including his first at the VyStar Gators Invitational where he finished 14-under at 196 to tie the tournament record and third all-time in tournament score by par in three rounds in program history..
A member of the Spring Haskins Award Watch List, he was named Golf Week Player of the Week and twice SEC Golfer of the Week this season. He has shot nine rounds in the 60s with five straight and four consecutive tournaments under-par. Biondi also led the team in birdies per round (4.0) and second in total birdies with 83.
Earning his fifth SEC honor, Castillo led UF with four top-5 and five top-10 finishes and ranked third in stroke average (71.2). His 14 under-par rounds also ranked first on the team along with 10 of them in the 60s. The junior posted back-to-back rounds of 68 to finish T5 at the SEC Championship. He carried that momentum into the match play portion of the conference championship going 2-0-1. In the finals vs. Vanderbilt, Castillo didn't lose a hole until the 10th and had five birdies through his first six holes.
Collecting his first community service award, Wilkes worked with Team Impact, a national nonprofit headquartered in Boston, Mass., that connects children facing serious or chronic illnesses with college athletic teams. The sophomore also worked with Shands Children Hospital.
The Florida men's golf team was tabbed the No. 2 seed in the Palm Beach Gardens Regional and will tee off at 7:30 a.m. on Monday at PGA National Resort.
SEC AWARDS
FIRST TEAM ALL-SEC
John DuBois, Florida
Cole Sherwood, Vanderbilt
Sam Bennett, Texas A&M
Fred Biondi, Florida
Trent Phillips, Georgia
Jackson Suber, Ole Miss
Spencer Cross, Tennessee
Gordon Sargent, Vanderbilt
SECOND TEAM ALL-SEC
J.M. Butler, Auburn
Ryan Hall, South Carolina
Walker Lee, Texas A&M
Reid Davenport, Vanderbilt
Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira, Arkansas
Bryce Lewis, Tennessee
Luke Long, Arkansas
Ricky Castillo, Florida
COACH OF THE YEAR
Scott Limbaugh, Vanderbilt
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Sam Bennett, Texas A&M
SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Ford Clegg, Mississippi State
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Gordon Sargent, Vanderbilt
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Cohen Trolio, LSU
Maxwell Ford, Georgia
Gordon Sargent, Vanderbilt
Evan Vo, Auburn
Kye Meeks, Ole Miss
COMMUNITY SERVICE TEAM
Canon Claycomb, Alabama
Wil Gibson, Arkansas
Brendan Valdes, Auburn
Tyler Wilkes, Florida
Connor Creasy, Georgia
Jacob Cook, Kentucky
TBD, LSU
Jack Gnam, Ole Miss
Harrison Davis, Mississippi State
Tommy Boone, Missouri
Ryan Hall, South Carolina
Spencer Cross, Tennessee
Michael Heidelbaugh, Texas A&M
Cole Sherwood, Vanderbilt
Fred Biondi and John DuBois both earned first team honors for the first time in their career while Ricky Castillo collected his second straight second team nod followed by Tyler Wilkes on the community service team.
The SEC Individual Champion, DuBois became the 25th Gator to win the title, which is the most by any school in the conference. He tied for the third-lowest round (64, -6) in SEC history as concluded the stroke play portion of the tournament setting career lows in round (64), tournament score (204) and best finish (1). The native of Windermere, Fla., followed his historic performance by sending the Florida men's golf team to the SEC Championship Finals with his victory on the playoff hole in the semifinals vs. No. 1 Texas A&M. He teed off the 18th 1-down and won the hole to force extras. DuBois nearly eagled the hole (565 yards, par 5) as he two putted from seven feet for another memorable moment.
DuBois owned a stroke average of 72.0 and ranked third on the team with 80 birdies and 3.0 per round. The junior went 2-1 in the match play portion of the SEC Championship as he played in all 27 rounds for the first time in his career.
Posting a breakout season, Biondi led the team in stroke average (69.8), 18-hole average (-1.2) and 54-hole average (-3.7) relation to par. A native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, he claimed two collegiate titles, including his first at the VyStar Gators Invitational where he finished 14-under at 196 to tie the tournament record and third all-time in tournament score by par in three rounds in program history..
A member of the Spring Haskins Award Watch List, he was named Golf Week Player of the Week and twice SEC Golfer of the Week this season. He has shot nine rounds in the 60s with five straight and four consecutive tournaments under-par. Biondi also led the team in birdies per round (4.0) and second in total birdies with 83.
Earning his fifth SEC honor, Castillo led UF with four top-5 and five top-10 finishes and ranked third in stroke average (71.2). His 14 under-par rounds also ranked first on the team along with 10 of them in the 60s. The junior posted back-to-back rounds of 68 to finish T5 at the SEC Championship. He carried that momentum into the match play portion of the conference championship going 2-0-1. In the finals vs. Vanderbilt, Castillo didn't lose a hole until the 10th and had five birdies through his first six holes.
Collecting his first community service award, Wilkes worked with Team Impact, a national nonprofit headquartered in Boston, Mass., that connects children facing serious or chronic illnesses with college athletic teams. The sophomore also worked with Shands Children Hospital.
The Florida men's golf team was tabbed the No. 2 seed in the Palm Beach Gardens Regional and will tee off at 7:30 a.m. on Monday at PGA National Resort.
SEC AWARDS
FIRST TEAM ALL-SEC
John DuBois, Florida
Cole Sherwood, Vanderbilt
Sam Bennett, Texas A&M
Fred Biondi, Florida
Trent Phillips, Georgia
Jackson Suber, Ole Miss
Spencer Cross, Tennessee
Gordon Sargent, Vanderbilt
SECOND TEAM ALL-SEC
J.M. Butler, Auburn
Ryan Hall, South Carolina
Walker Lee, Texas A&M
Reid Davenport, Vanderbilt
Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira, Arkansas
Bryce Lewis, Tennessee
Luke Long, Arkansas
Ricky Castillo, Florida
COACH OF THE YEAR
Scott Limbaugh, Vanderbilt
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Sam Bennett, Texas A&M
SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Ford Clegg, Mississippi State
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Gordon Sargent, Vanderbilt
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Cohen Trolio, LSU
Maxwell Ford, Georgia
Gordon Sargent, Vanderbilt
Evan Vo, Auburn
Kye Meeks, Ole Miss
COMMUNITY SERVICE TEAM
Canon Claycomb, Alabama
Wil Gibson, Arkansas
Brendan Valdes, Auburn
Tyler Wilkes, Florida
Connor Creasy, Georgia
Jacob Cook, Kentucky
TBD, LSU
Jack Gnam, Ole Miss
Harrison Davis, Mississippi State
Tommy Boone, Missouri
Ryan Hall, South Carolina
Spencer Cross, Tennessee
Michael Heidelbaugh, Texas A&M
Cole Sherwood, Vanderbilt
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