BRYAN, Texas – Friends and family of the Texas A&M men's golf program gathered Friday night at Traditions Golf Club as the program hosted Aggie Golf Day and honored its standouts with the team's annual awards.
Adrià Arnaus was named both Most Valuable Player and Most Improved Player after his break-out junior season. The native of Barcelona, Spain, lowered his scoring average more than two strokes during his third season in Aggieland to lead Texas A&M with a 72.11 average this season.
Arnaus also paces the team with seven top-20 finishes this season including a fourth-place showing at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate in late February and a second-place finish at the Talis Park Challenge later that month.
Newcomer of the Year was given to freshman Andrew Paysse who has played in all 13 events this season for the Aggies, compiling a 75.03 scoring average. The Temple, Texas, product carded five rounds of par or lower in competition this season and notched his highest finish of the year with a sixth-place effort at the Reveille Challenge.
Junior Ben Crancer received the Coach Bob Ellis Leadership Award, which is named for the long-time Aggie golf coach who oversaw the A&M program for 28 seasons. A 2014 All-American, Crancer played in 12 events for the Aggies this season, compiling a 75.12 scoring average with seven rounds of par or lower. His best showing of the season came at Traditions Club on April 4-5 when he finished in a tie for third at the 2015 Aggie Invitational.
The B.K. and Jane Watson Academic Achievement Award was presented to sophomore Dylan Siebenaler who maintains an impressive 3.68 GPA while majoring in finance. The Sugar Land, Texas, native has faced incredible adversity head on this year as he battled and overcame cancer while remaining diligent in the classroom and in his support of his Aggie golf teammates.