July 10, 2008

NORMAN, Okla. - Western Washington University men's golfer Sean Packer has been named a Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar, one of just 26 NCAA Division II student-athletes to receive the honor, according to an announcement by Golf Coaches Association of America.

The criteria for selection are some of the most stringent in college athletics. The honoree must be a junior or senior academically and have competed at least two full years at the collegiate level. He must have participated in 70 percent of his team's competitive matches or in the NCAA Championships, have a stroke average under 78.0 and maintained a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.2 (4.0 scale). The recipient must also be of high moral character and be in good standing at his college or university.

A fifth-year senior, Packer was Western's 2007-08 Male Athlete of the Year, having the second highest finish in school history as he tied for third place at nationals, just one stroke behind the co-leaders.

Packer, a 2003 graduate of Auburn-Riverside High School, received GCAA third-team All-America and first-team West Region and GNAC all-star honors, finishing with a 72.3 scoring average.

At nationals, Packer had three rounds of par or better, finishing 1-under 279 for the four-day, 72-hole tournament. One shot off the lead with four holes to go and the leaders in the clubhouse, he gave himself two good birdie chances to tie or win.

Packer began the season with three top 10 performances in his first four tournaments. He did not have another until the GNAC Championships after fully recovering from a bout with pneumonia.

At the league tournament, which was won by Western, Packer placed seventh. He finished ninth at regionals as the Vikings placed second.

Packer maintained a 3.42 GPA while earning a bachelor's degree in business administration and marketing. He was a three-time GNAC academic all-star.

The national appearance was the third for Packer, who placed 35th in 2006 and 81st in 2004.

Cleveland Golf All America Scholars Announced

NORMAN, Okla. -- Cleveland Golf All-America Scholars for Divisions I and II have been announced by the Golf Coaches Association of America. A total of 96 players earned the honor in Division I and 26 in Division II. Additionally, nine honorees were added to the previously released released Divison III Cleveland Golf All-America Scholards. To be eligible for Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar status an individual must be a junior or senior academically and compete in at least two full years at the collegiate level, participate in 70-percent of his team's competitive rounds or compete in the NCAA Championships, have a stroke average under 76.0 in Division I, 78.0 in Division II and 79.0 in Division III and maintain a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.2. A recipient must also be of high moral character and be in good standing at his college or university.

Division I Cleveland Golf All America Scholars

Bill Alcorn, Baylor
Andrew Allenspach, Indiana
Pete Alminas, Winthrop
Paul Amess, Temple
Danny Amundson, Belmont
Andrew An, Mercer
Mark Anderson, South Carolina
Chris Baker, Iowa State
Ben Bastel, Miami (OH)
Michael Beausejour, Xavier
Barden Berry, North Carolina
Larry Blatt, Illinois
Cory Blenkush, Depaul
Jared Brader, Southern Utah
Tyler Brown, Florida
Zen Brown, Colorado State
Phillip Bryan, Oklahoma
Scooter Buhrman, Longwood
Jay Calvo, Liberty
Matthew Carvell, Southeastern Louisiana
Colin Clemente, Akron
Troy Coker, Bethune-Cookman
Will Cumberland, DePaul
Patrick Cunning, South Carolina
Andrew DiBitetto, Charlotte
Brad Doster, Kentucky
David Dragoo, Georgia Tech
Chris Gilliland, Furman
Noah Goldman, Mississippi State
Steven Groover, Auburn
Matt Grush, UC Santa Barbara
Adam Hadwin, Louisville
Timothy Hager, Georgetown
Taylor Hall, Georgia Tech
Brian Harmon, Georgia
Jonas Enander Hedin, Charlotte
Graham Hill, Eastern Michigan
Matt Hughes, Alabama
Justin Hull, Toledo
Matthew Hunsaker, Evansville
Zach Jecklin, Northern Illinois
Tim Johnson, George Washington
Patrick Kelley, IPFW
Matthew Kinsinger, UNLV
Walter Koelbel, Kansas
Jeffrey Koprivetz, Denver
Morgan Landry, Louisiana-Lafayette
Markus Leandersson, East Carolina
Trent Leon, Oklahoma State
Garrett Logan, Georgetown
Peter Malnati, Missouri
Nick Martin, DePaul
Ciaran McAleavey, Toledo
Matthew McArthur, Southern Utah
Conor McMahon, George Washington
Michael McRae, St. Mary's (CA)
Garrett Merrell, Texas Tech
Kyle Moore, Northwestern
Kyle Morris, Seton Hall
Jay Moseley, Auburn
Kurt Nino, San Francisco
Glenn Northcutt, Auburn
A.J. Oleksal, Hartford
Josh Oller, Mississippi State
Mikhial Pasic, Detroit Mercy
Brennan Payne, St. Bonaventure
Trent Peterson, South Dakota State
Michael Randle, Purdue
Lindsey Renolds, Coastal Carolina
Greg Rodgers, Notre Dame
Robert Rohanna, Penn State
Tim Schaetzel, Michigan
Michael Schnegelberger, UMKC
Will Shambley, UNC-Wilmington
Gareth Shaw, East Tennessee State
Mark Silvers, South Carolina
Michael Smith, Louisiana-Lafayette
Mark Sommerfield, Detroit Mercy
Mark Stevens, Rhode Island
Matthew Swan, Alabama
Ryan Swanson, St. Bonaventure
Joseph Sykora, Alabama
Andre Thorsen, East Carolina
Cameron Tringale, Georgia Tech
Jordan Utley, Richmond
Jurrian van der Vaart, Virginia Tech
Mike Van Sickle, Marquette
Matt Van Zandt, Texas A&M
Manuel Villegas, Florida
Zachary Vinal, Binghamton
Drew Weaver, Virginia Tech
Stefan Wiedergruen, Charlotte
Ben Wood, Miami (OH)
R.J. Zielinski, Fairfield
John Zur, Seton Hall

Division II Cleveland Golf All America Scholars

Eric Atsma, Findlay
Ryan Balley, UC San Diego
Brian Carlson, Lewis
Chase Carroll, Tusculum
Jeff Cox, Northeastern State
Adam Craig, Findlay
Matthew Galloway, West Florida
Rodolfo Gamiño, Lincoln
Robert Hamilton, Oklahoma Panhandle State
Patrick Hanauer, Abilene Christian
Jordan Holley, Lynn
Jeff Howard, St. Edward's
Mike King, Saginaw Valley State
Adam Kulczycki, Southwestern Oklahoma State
Jon Lodovico, California University of Pennsylvania
Thomas Moore, Bellarmine
Ted O'Brien, Southern Indiana
Sean Packer, Western Washington
Sean Rutherford, Saginaw Valley State
Scott Smith, West Liberty State
Wesley Smith, North Alabama
Peter Svajlen, Cameron
Pat Swanton, Northwood
Chance Tatum, Central Oklahoma
Marcus Williams, Lynn
Donald Zaruba, Grand Canyon
 

Additional Division III Cleveland Golf All America Scholars

Marc Fillari, Washington & Jefferson
Stephen Goodridge, Rochester
Michael Grasso, Washington & Jefferson
Drew Harker, Emory
Ben Jensen, St. Thomas
Keith Mattingly, Claremont McKenna
Jon Pecor, Rochester
Frank Steinberg, Denison
Kyle Travis, Alma