Four Pirate Golfers Named All-America Scholars

GREENVILLE, N.C. --- East Carolina senior Patrick Stephenson, juniors Tim Bunten and Stephen Carroll as well as sophomore Attie Giles were named NCAA Division I Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholars by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA).

ECU's four honorees are a program high for a single year, with Stephenson becoming the 11th player in school history to earn multiple GCAA All-America Scholar accolades.

"We are so proud of our team's efforts academically this year," Pirate head coach Andrew Sapp said. "The Spring semester was definitely a challenge switching to online classes after Spring Break, but our guys did well.

"In all my years of coaching I've never had four players earn GCAA All-America Scholar honors. That shows a lot of dedication by each of them to both golf and their studies. We are so proud of them."

Stephenson, who completed his undergraduate requirements during the 2019 fall semester and is currently pursuing his Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree, is a three-time member of the American Athletic Conference All-Academic Team, while Bunten is a two-time selection with Carroll and Giles both attaining all-academic team status previously as well.

The 2019-20 American All-Academic Team has yet to be announced.

Bunten is majoring in finance, while Carroll's and Giles' chosen fields of study are management and political science, respectfully.

To be eligible for Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar status an individual must be a sophomore, junior or senior academically in Division I, II, III, and NAIA, or receiving their Associate's Degree and in their last year of athletic eligibility in the NJCAA. In addition, they must have a stroke-average under 76.0 in Division I, 78.0 in Division II, 78.0 in NAIA and 79.0 in Division III, 77.0 in NJCAA, and maintain a minimum cumulative career grade-point average of 3.2. For 2019-20, they must participate in 40 percent of the team's competitive rounds.

More than 600 student-athletes earned the title of All-America Scholar, the most since the awards inception in 1982. Of the 614 honorees, 376 players were Division I selections, 99 in Division II, 108 in Division III, 18 from NAIA, and 12 from NJCAA. This marks the first year in which sophomores were eligible for the award.

Players Mentioned

Tim Bunten

Stephen Carroll

Attie Giles

Patrick Stephenson

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