Brizendine And Thorsen Earn All-Conference USA Honors
May 01, 2007 | Men's Golf
May 1, 2007
TEXARKANA, Ark. - East Carolina junior Andre Thorsen has been named second team All-Conference USA and freshman Tripp Brizendine has been selected for the all-freshman team as voted upon by the league's 11 head coaches.
Thorsen is just the third ECU men's golfer to earn All-Conference USA recognition. Jason Harris was named All-Conference USA in 2002 and '03, while Jonathan Hill received first team accolades in 2003.
Thorsen posted the sixth-lowest 18-hole average among all Conference USA players with a 72.77. He recorded five top 10 finishes in nine events this season, including a pair of top three finishes. His best showing of the year came at the Palmetto intercollegiate where he came in second place.
Brizendine, only the second ECU rookie to pick up C-USA all-freshman team accolades, registered a trio of top 25 finishes, including a second place finish at the Bradford Creek Intercollegiate. He had the sixth-lowest scoring average among all C-USA freshmen entering this week's Conference USA Championship.
SMU senior Colt Knost won five Conference USA Golfer of the Week honors during the 2006-07 season and capped off his final season with the Mustangs as the 2007 C-USA Golfer of the Year. Tulsa's Bill Brogden was named the Coach of the Year, Marshall's Christian Brand was selected the Freshman of the Year and UAB sophomore Brad Smith was voted the Newcomer of the Year.
Knost is joined on All-Conference USA first team by a pair of Tulsa golfers, senior Mitch Cohlmia and Brett Myers, Houston junior Jordan Irwin and UAB senior Garrett Osborn.
Brogden led his Golden Hurricane squad to its first Conference USA Men's Golf Championship title. TU finished three-under on the first two days and held a convincing 14-stroke lead entering the final day of competition. Brogden's team has been ranked among the Top 20 nationally by Golfweek and is currently the second-ranked team in the Central Division.
A pair of TU golfers accompanied Thorsen on the All-Conference USA second team. Tulsa seniors Ryan Henry and Sam Korbe each earned a nod for the second team, along with UAB sophomore Zach Sucher and UTEP sophomore Chad Keohane.
Joining Brizendine on the all-freshman team is Marshall's Christian Brand, who was named the Freshman of the Year, Scott Barton from SMU, UAB's Blake West and Nuno Henriques of UCF.
Sophomore Brad Smith of UAB earned the conference's inaugural Newcomer of the Year Award. Smith, a native of Hawthorne, South Australia, transferred to UAB from Indian Hills (Iowa) Community College. He posted three Top 20 finishes during the season.
