Tuesday, April 28, 2015

PORTLAND, Ore. – Simon Fraser had four golfers named to the GNAC first-team as it took home a plethora of the end-of-season honors Monday.

The Clans Kevin Vigna was selected as the GNAC Player of the Year, Chris Crisologo was the Freshman of the Year and John Buchanan was named by his peers as the Coach of the Year. Vigna and Crisologo were also named first-team all-conference as was Bret Thompson and John Mlikotic who finished first and third, respectively, at the GNAC Championships last Tuesday.

The four SFU golfers had four of the five lowest-round averages in the GNAC this season, combining for 12 top-five finishes and one win individually. As a team, this foursome led the Clan to three tournament victories and two runner-up finishes in nine invitationals.

The coach of the Clan, John Buchanan, earned his first Coach of the Year honor leading SFU to its first-ever GNAC Championship title and to a three-seed in the NCAA regional.

The Newcomer of the Year was awarded to Northwest Nazarene’s Keynan Fanslow. The junior from Olympic Community College finished the season leading the Crusaders in scoring-average. He won the NNU Invitational and matched the school-record by carding a 67 in the process.

The only non-Clan member to be named to the first-team was Montana State Billings senior Jake Hedge. The Billings native had the fourth lowest scoring-average at 73.0 this season, which also is the lowest in MSUB history. Hedge tied for fifth at the GNAC Championships and was named as one of four West Region individuals to make the NCAA regional field Friday.

Hedge’s teammate, Austin Westphal, was selected to the second-team. Westphal ranked in the top 10 in the GNAC this season in low-round average alongside golfers with at least 20 rounds played. The senior also ended his last year of collegiate competition with two top-10 finishes.

The second-team also featured two golfers apiece from Western Washington and Saint Martin’s.

The Vikings landed Mukilteo, Wash., natives Chris Hatch and Mark Strickland on the team. Hatch and Strickland were the Vikings top two golfers this season, having 10 top-10 finishes between them. The pair led the Vikings to a second-place finish at the GNAC Championships last Tuesday by tying for eighth individually. WWU also reached the NCAA Regional for the 17th-straight season Friday as they were named a 10-seed.

Saint Martin’s freshman Matthew Hedges and sophomore Austin Spicer were named to an all-GNAC team for the first times in their careers. Spicer and Hedges not only had the Saints lowest two average scores, but also shared all six of the Saints top-10 finishes this year.

The Clan, the Vikings and MSUB's Hedge continue their seasons May 4-6 when they head to the NCAA Regional at the Hiddenbrooke Golf Club in Vallejo, Calif. The tournament will be hosted by Cal State East Bay.

FIRST-TEAM: Jake Hedge, Montana State Billings (Sr., Billings, MT); Chris Crisologo, Simon Fraser (Fr., Richmond, BC); John Mlikotic, Simon Fraser (Sr., Kelowna, BC); Bret Thompson, Simon Fraser (Jr., Winnipeg, MB); *Kevin Vigna, Simon Fraser (So., Coquitlam, BC).
*First-Team Repeater 

SECOND-TEAM: Austin Westphal, Montana State Billings (Sr., Kennewick, WA); Matthew Hedges, Saint Martin’s (Fr., Ashland, OR); Austin Spicer, Saint Martin’s (So., Gresham, OR); Chris Hatch, Western Washington (So., Mukilteo, WA); *Mark Strickland, Western Washington (Sr., Mukilteo, WA).
*Second-Team Repeater

GNAC Player of the Year – Kevin Vigna, Simon Fraser
GNAC Freshman of the Year – Chris Crisologo, Simon Fraser
GNAC Newcomer of the Year – Keynan Fanslow, Northwest Nazarene
GNAC Coach of the Year – John Buchanan, Simon Fraser