Tide Golf Teams Hold Annual Awards Banquet
4/30/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
April 30, 2008
TUSCALOOSA - Two of the nation's collegiate golf powers gathered together Wednesday night in the Club Room of Coleman Coliseum. The University of Alabama men's and women's golf teams co-hosted their annual awards banquet.
The Crimson Tide men's team is ranked No. 1 in the nation in collegiate golf. The Crimson Tide women's golf team is ranked No. 8 in the nation in the Golf World/Nike College poll and No. 12 in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings. Both will vie for the national championship in the next few weeks, the women at the NCAA Central Regional in Austin, Texas, May 8-10 and the men, who will receive their official bid on May 5, likely at the NCAA East Regional in Chattanooga, Tenn., May 15-17. It's the third straight postseason trip for Mic Potter's Crimson Tide women's team and will be the fourth straight for Seawell and the Alabama men's team.
Wednesday night the teams, who share a facility at the Jerry Pate Center at Ol' Colony Club, shared their successes with one another.
The women were recognized with three awards. The Scholastic Achievement Award went to junior Laura Goodwin. The Birmingham, Ala. native sports a perfect 4.0 in human performance and exercise science and was recently named to the SEC Women's Golf Community Service Team.
 Kathleen Ekey sports the best scoring average in school history.  | |
The Eleanor Dudley Low Stroke Award was won by junior Kathleen Ekey. The Wadsworth, Ohio native currently has the lowest stroke average in program history and recorded the two single lowest rounds in school history and the lowest 56 hole score at the Crimson Tide Classic.
The Conrad Rehling Award was earned by senior Sarah Sturm. The Spartanburg, S.C. native has been an instrumental part of the quick turnaround at the Capstone. Sturm lead the Tide to its first spring tournament title of the season at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic by firing a final round of 71. For her effort she was named the Golf World College Player of the Week.
Team awards given out to the men's golfers included Michael Thompson taking the highest team honor, the Jerry Pate Player of the Year. Thompson leads Alabama and the SEC with his 70.00 stroke average. The Conrad Rehling Coach's Award went to three men, Gator Todd, Ben Moody and Stewart Whitt. The Scholastic Award went to Joseph Sykora.
Jay Seawell, the 2008 Southeastern Conference Men's Coach of the Year, coached Alabama to its first SEC team championship in 29 years and its first men's SEC medalist in 56 years when 2008 SEC Golf of the Year Michael Thompson won the title two weeks ago. Thompson's accomplishments included playing in the 2008 Masters Tournament and winning his way into the finals at the August 2007 U.S. Amateur. He'll play in the U.S. Open in June and represent the United States on the USA's Palmer Cup team in June.
"Alabama golf means a great deal to me because I've had a chance to see where we've been and where we are, and that means a lot to me," said Seawell who told the crowd Alabama golf was ranked No. 98 when he first arrived six years ago. "We had six guys, four from the beginning, who I went to their homes and talked to them and their parents and gave them our vision for Alabama golf, and they believed in me. And they helped us make that vision happen."
The Tide men's team has won 11 tournaments in two seasons, more than any other team in the country in that time frame.
Senior Joseph Sykora was lauded for his year which included not only winning his second collegiate career tournament at the Topy Cup in Japan to open the season but being named the top male student-athlete among all sports and all schools when he was named the 2008 H. Boyd McWhorter SEC Athlete of the Year and the University of Alabama's top male student-athlete by winning the 2008 Bryant Award. Sykora made SEC history this week by also becoming the first three-time winner of the SEC Men's Golf Scholar Athlete Award. Sykora maintains a perfect 4.0 GPA in the classroom is in graduate school and is a two-time ESPN Academic All-America and is nominated and awaiting balloting on a possible third straight national academic award.
Thompson and junior Matthew Swan were voted 1st Team All-SEC and senior Mark Harrell was voted 2nd Team All-SEC by the league's golf coaches. Harrell, who played as an amateur in the June 2007 U.S. Open, won his first collegiate title at this past fall's Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate where he set the school 54-hole record at 198, bettering the record Sykora set last season in winning the JPNI but a single stroke. The team itself made history with a school record six team tournament victories (out of 10 stroke play events) and has a 115-6 overall record in head-to-head play this season going into regionals. It set the team 54-hole record at 810 at the JPNI.
Players Mentioned
