June 23, 2011
NORMAN, Okla. - The Texas A&M men's golf team matched a school record by placing three on the Division I PING All-America Teams, announced Thursday by the Golf Coaches Association of America.
Junior Jordan Russell earned a spot on the second team, while senior Nacho Elvira was a third-team honoree and sophomore Cameron Peck an honorable mention pick. No school was more well-represented than A&M, which was one of just six nationally (UCLA, Oklahoma State, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech) to have three players each.
It marks the second straight season that three Aggies have been honored as All-Americans after having accomplished that feat just once before in program history (1983).
"It's easy to see why we had such an outstanding season when players establish themselves among the best in the country," head coach J.T. Higgins said. "We could not be prouder of them or happier for their success. Jordan and Nacho were among the most consistent players in the nation while Cam showed what he is capable of in the NCAA Tournament. All three were exceptional this year and deserving of this award."
Russell (College Station), who recently wrapped up his junior campaign, became the first Aggie golfer to earn All-America honors in consecutive seasons since 1995 (Anthony Rodriguez). He led this year's squad with a school-record 71.60 stroke average and finished in the top 20 in nine of A&M's 13 tournaments.
Elvira (Santander, Spain) earned the second All-America honor of his career after a strong senior season. An All-Big 12 and all-region golfer in 2011, he recorded eight top-20 finishes, two top-5 showings and a stroke average of 72.29, eighth all-time at A&M. Elvira participated on Team Europe a few weeks ago at the prestigious Palmer Cup.
Peck (Olympia, Wash.), who locked down several school records and flirted with others in the postseason, wrapped up his sophomore year with his second consecutive All-America honor. He carded a 1-under 215 en route to a third-place showing at the NCAA Championship, the highest finish at the finals in school history, after placing third with a near school-best 207 (-6) a few weeks prior at the NCAA Regionals.
Russell, Elvira and Peck bring the number of All-America accolades claimed by A&M players to 11 under Higgins in the last six years alone. Peck and Russell join David Ogrin, Danny Briggs, Gary Krueger and Rodriguez as the only back-to-back All-Americans in program history.
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First-Team
Patrick Cantlay, UCLA
Bud Cauley, Alabama
Luke Guthrie, Illinois
Morgan Hoffmann, Oklahoma State
John Peterson, LSU
Patrick Reed, Augusta State
Kevin Tway, Oklahoma State
Peter Uihlein, Oklahoma State
Bank Vongvanij, Florida
James White, Georgia Tech
Andrew Yun, Stanford
Second-Team
Blayne Barber, Auburn
Phillip Choi, Florida
Harris English, Georgia
J.T. Griffin, Georgia Tech
Jeff Karlsson, Kennesaw State
Henrik Norlander, Augusta State
Jordan Russell, TEXAS A&M
Kyle Scott, Georgia Tech
Cory Whitsett, Alabama
Chris Williams, Washington
Third-Team
Andres Echavarria , Florida
Ignacio Elvira, TEXAS A&M
Nils Floren, Texas Tech
Dylan Frittelli, Texas
Vince India, Iowa
Lion Kim, Michigan
Ben Kohles, Virginia
Gregor Main, UCLA
Jason Millard, Middle Tennessee
J.J. Spaun, San Diego State
Honorable Mention
Abraham Ancer, Oklahoma
Todd Baek, San Diego State
Evan Beck, Wake Forest
Lee Bedford, Wake Forest
Chris Brant, Iowa
Sebastian Cappelen, Arkansas
Albin Choi, NC State
Austin Cook, Arkansas
Chris DeForest, Illinois
John Hahn, Kent State
Matt Hansen, UC Davis
Russell Henley, Georgia
Kelly Kraft, SMU
Scott Langley, Missouri
David Lipsky, Northwestern
Jace Long, Missouri
Andrew Loupe, LSU
Alex Moore, Oregon State
Brinson Paolini, Duke
Cameron Peck, TEXAS A&M
Andrew Putnam, Pepperdine
Mitchell Sutton, NC State
Hudson Swafford, Georgia
Michael Weaver, California
Pontus Widegren, UCLA
Robin Wingardh, Tennessee