Somerset, NJ -- Robert Morris senior Ryan Prokay (Grove City, PA/Grove City) was selected as the Northeast Conference (NEC) Golfer of the Year by the league’s nine head coaches after a record breaking season for the Colonials. Wagner freshman Erik Tedfelt (Malmo, Sweden) was selected as the Rookie of the Year. RMU’s Jerry Stone earned his third NEC Coach of the Year honor.
Prokay posted eight top-10 finishes on the season in nine tournaments for RMU, including earning medalist honors at the Leo Keenan Invitational by shooting a 137 (65, 72), his best score of the year. Prokay’s opening round score of 65 broke the mark for the lowest round in school history. The senior carded a 73.9 average per round in 2014-15, the lowest average amongst NEC golfers. He finished seventh at the NEC Championship, helping the Colonials to their first league title since 1996. Prokay was also named the NEC Player of the Month for October.
Tedfelt posted a 75.5 average per round and posted four top-10 finishes on the season for the Seahawks. Tedfelt finished third overall at the La Salle Finegan Invitational in mid-April with a score of 142 (74, 68), shooting a career-best two-under par. Tedfelt earned Golfer of the Week on April 22nd for his efforts.
Stone earned Coach of the Year honors for the third time in his 15 year tenure after guiding the Colonials to their third NEC Championship and one of the best seasons in Colonial annals. The Colonials smashed records all season long by posting six of the top-10 rounds, three of top-seven 36-hole scores, and the top 54-hole tournament score in program history. Stone led the Colonials to three team titles in eight tournaments, including the school’s first NEC championship since 1996, as RMU carded an 892 (292, 305, 295) to win by 14 strokes over defending champion Bryant.
Fellow Colonial Santiago Mejia (Bogota, Colombia/Blessed Hope) joins Prokay on the All-NEC first team after coming on strong in the second half of the season. Mejia posted top-10 finishes in each of his last four events. The senior’s best showing was a runner-up finish at the Red Flash Invitational, carding a 214 (72, 72, 70) to lead the Colonials to the team title. RMU’s 873 (288, 286, 299) at Saint Francis U marked the best team score of a 54-hole tournament in Colonial history. A return member on the first team, Mejia averaged 74.4 strokes per round for the season.
George Williams (Hertfordshire, England/Sherrardswood School) of LIU Brooklyn earned a spot on the first team following a strong sophomore campaign for the Blackbirds. Williams was a force in the spring season, collecting four top-five finishes in five events. The sophomore, who posted a 74.1 round average on the year, won the individual title at the NEC Championship by one stroke after shooting a one-over 217 (70, 73, 74).
Bryant’s Joe Walp (Portland, ME/Deering) earned his second consecutive NEC first team honor of his career for the Bulldogs, who finished second at the NEC Championship. Walp recorded four top-10 finishes on the season, including two top-five placings to post a 75.4 stroke average per round for the season. The junior claimed medalist honors at the Lonnie Barton Invitational for the second year in a row, winning after a tiebreaker with a score of 150 (78, 72). Walp had the shot of the NEC championship, sinking a 186 yard hole-on-one on the seventh hole on the opening day of competition en-route to a ninth place finish at the event.
Central Connecticut senior Monte Mullen (Farmington, CT/Farmington) was voted to the All-NEC first team a year after earning second team accolades. Mullen posted a 74.2 round average for the 2014-15 campaign. He was the Blue Devils top performer for most of the season with seven top-10 finishes and five top-five showings. Mullen’s best performance of the year came in the opening competition of the fall season, tying for second overall at the Turning Stone Tiger Intercollegiate after shooting a even-par 216 (75, 71, 70). He also finished fifth at the NEC Tournament with a 225 (74-72-77). Mullen was named NEC Player of the Week on April 1.
Robert Morris landed a pair of All-NEC second team members in Garrett Browning (Imperial, PA/West Allegheny) and Matt Gurska (Hermitage, PA/Kennedy Catholic).
Browning’s repeat second team appearance comes after he registered four top-10 finishes on the season and averaged a 75.0 per round. The junior’s best placing came at the Leo Keenan Invitational, carding a 139 (74,65) to tie for third place overall. Browning came out firing in the opening round of the NEC championship, shooting a 67 that tied for the lowest opening round in championship history. He finished fifth at the event, shooting a seven-over 223 (67-81-75) over three rounds.
Gurska saved his best golf for his final campaign. The senior carded a 75.0 average per round and had the top overall finish for the Colonials at the NEC Championship, carding a 222 (75, 75, 72) to earn fourth place overall. Gurska’s top performance came at the Wagner Seahawk Invitational, where he earned medalist honors for the first time in his career after shooting a 139 (69, 70), the best 36-hole round in Colonial history. Gurska was tabbed NEC Player of the Week on April 8.
A two-time All-NEC first teamer and a former NEC Rookie of the Year, Kyle Buschmann (East Haddam, CT/Xavier) claimed a spot on the second team after a solid junior campaign for Bryant. Buschmann posted a 75.2 average per round and registered five top-10 finishes on the season. Buschmann started the year off strong at the Rhody Fall Invitational, carding a three-round total of 220 (74, 72, 74) to finish second, his best showing of the 2014-15 campaign. The NEC Player of the Week on March 25, he finished 10th at the NEC Championship.
Fairleigh Dickinson’s Tom Barnes (Oradell, NJ/River Dell) carded a 75.1 per round average on the season to earn a spot on the second team. Barnes’ best finish came at the Patriot Intercollegiate in which he carded a three-round total of 213 (70, 71, 72) to tie for fifth overall. Barnes earned NEC Golfer of the Month for his hot play back in September, posting a 72.3 round average, the lowest amongst all NEC golfers in the season’s opening month.
Wagner’s
Anton Frondelius (Munkedal, Sweden/The Gunnery) nabbed his first career All-NEC honor after posting a 75.5 round average in his sophomore season. Frondelius came away with two top-five finishes on the season, including a third place finish at the Rutgers Invitational, carding a 208 (70, 65, 73). The sophomore’s six-under par second round score of 65 was the lowest round in school history and the lowest of the Invitational.