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Five C-USA Golfers Selected to PING All-Region Teams
East Carolina, Rice, SMU and UCF Each Represented

June 1, 2011

IRVING, Texas – Five C-USA men’s golfers were named Division I PING All-Region honorees, as announced by the Golf Coaches Association of America this week. East Carolina, Rice, SMU and UCF were each represented on the regional lists.

Earning All-East accolades were East Carolina juniors Harold Varner and David Watkins. Varner led the Pirates in eight of the 12 team tournaments, collecting 11 top-20 and seven top-10 finishes along the way. He was twice named the C-USA Golfer of the Week during the 2010-11 season.

Watkins, also a two-time C-USA Golfer of the Week honoree, earned All-East recognition following the season, where he logged four top-five performances. He was named to the Conference USA All-Tournament team as he placed third in the event with a five-under 211 tally.

UCF junior Connor Arendell was named to the All-Southeast Region team as he helped to lead the Knights to their third-straight C-USA Championship title and five-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Regionals. Holding a 72.6 stroke average, he posted four top-10 finishes throughout the season.

SMU’s Kelly Kraft and Rice’s Michael Whitehead were each selected to the All-Central Region squad. The honor is the third for Kraft, who earned All-Region compliments after both his freshman and sophomore campaigns. During his senior year, he was named the C-USA Golfer of the Week on four occasions.

Whitehead garnered All-Region honors after a breakout season on the links. He earned C-USA Golfer of the Week honors five times, one of which came after he took individual honors at the Border Olympics, where he established course and single-round records with his final-round 62.

A total of 152 players across six regions - Northeast, East, Southeast, Midwest, Central and West - earned all-region honors for 2011. Fans can view the entire list here.