Date Posted: 5/4/2006

MACON, Ga. – In his first tour of the Atlantic Sun Conference, ETSU junior Rhys Davies earned A-Sun Player of the Year honors as the league office distributed its annual postseason men’s golf awards.

Jacksonville’s Jim Taketa received the Coach of the Year nod from his peers after leading the Dolphins to a surprising victory in the Atlantic Sun Championship at Eagle Creek Golf Club on April 19. UNF’s Jeff Dennis took home Freshman of the Year accolades after a strong rookie campaign for the Ospreys.

Davies posted a league-best 70.9 scoring average and captured a pair of individual titles as well as finishing in the top-10 nine times in 12 events. The Brigend, Wales native is currently ranked fourth in the GolfStat Cup Standings and fifth nationally in the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index. A whopping 61% of his rounds this season broke par including 13 rounds in the 60’s. Davies won a pair of tournaments, capturing titles at both the Shoal Creek Intercollegiate and Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate at the Ridges.

Jacksonville’s Scottish duo of Russell Knox and Duncan Stewart join Davies on the All-Atlantic Sun First Team. The roommates finished tied at the A-Sun Championship with Stewart finally claiming medalist honors on the second playoff hole. Stewart, who also earned A-Sun April Golfer of the Month honors for his efforts, became only the third player in A-Sun history to win back-to-back conference championships joining Josh Broadaway (1999-2000) and Hal Sutton (1979-80). The junior has won each of the last two events he has entered, posting an impressive 68.8 scoring average over those six rounds. The steady Knox has climbed to eighth in the GolfStat Cup Standings after his showing at the A-Sun Championship. The Inverness, Scotland native has finished in the top-5 five times in seven tournaments to give the Dolphins a lethal one-two punch in every tournament.

ETSU sophomore Gareth Shaw gives the 14th-ranked Bucs a pair of players on the first team as well. The youngest player on the first team, Shaw finished tied for seventh at the A-Sun Championship. Rounding out the first team is Belmont senior Adam Wynia. The Sioux Falls, S.D., native led the Bruins to a pair of team titles this season while recording four top-5 finishes individually.

Belmont, ETSU and Jacksonville each placed one player on the second team as well: Jeff Lanier (BEL); Jordan Findlay (ETSU); Jamie Kennedy (JU). Completing the second five were Dennis of UNF and Fredric Sundberg of Campbell. Dennis and Findlay headline the All-Freshmen Team as well as the pair are joined by Adam Hodkinson (ETSU), Mike McMillan (FAU) and Austin Weathington (MER).

Related Links:
 • Full List of Award Winners