Correa, Bradley and Bulls Reel In Conference Honors
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, MAY 3, 2018 –
Claudio Correa and
Steve Bradley reeled in The American Player and Coach of the Year honors while Correa,
Cristian DiMarco and
Jimmy Jones earned spots on the all-conference team, the league announced on Thursday.
Correa, a senior from Santiago, Chile, was unanimously chosen as The American's player of the year after posting a three-shot victory at the American Athletic Conference Championship on April 24. The American's Freshman of the Year in 2015, Correa leads the Bulls this season with a 71.2 scoring average and six top-10 finishes ahead of USF's trip to the NCAA Regionals in Kissimmee, Fla. Correa has posted four of his five top-five finishes of the season this spring.
Bradley has earned The American's coach of the year honors in each of his first four seasons with the Bulls. Bradley led USF to its fourth consecutive American Athletic Conference Championship victory in wire-to-wire fashion. The Bulls also have matched the program's season wins record of five tournament title victories, a feat first accomplished by Bradley's 2014-15 team.
Correa received all-conference honors for the third time in his career and he's joined on the all-conference team by fellow seniors DiMarco and Jones.
DiMarco earned all-conference honors for the second straight season after tying for second place at the American Athletic Conference Championship. The Longwood, Fla., native captured a title at the Jim Rivers Intercollegiate on Sept. 19 and ranks second on the team with a 71.4 season scoring average and five top-10 performances. DiMarco is tied for the team lead with 10 top-25 finishes and he's placed in the top 13 in nine of 11 events this season.
Jones also earned all-conference honors for the second consecutive season after tying with DiMarco for second at the league championship. The Tampa native has been steady this season with a 72.4 season scoring average, four top-10 finishes and seven top-25 performances, including three in the past four tournaments.
USF is preparing to make its
sixth straight NCAA Regional appearance with a goal of advancing to the NCAA Championship rounds for the third time in the past four seasons. Bradley's Bulls tee off at the Kissimmee Regional May 14-16 at Reunion Resort's Watson Course.
Quotable
Head coach Steve Bradley on Claudio Correa earning player of the year and all-conference honors:
"It was a no-brainer in my opinion and well-deserved. Claudio has worked extremely hard to get himself in a situation where he could have earned these honors. All kudos and credit to him for his work ethic and what he's done to improve his game."
Bradley on Cristian DiMarco's latest all-conference selection:
"It was well-deserved. Cristian has continued to get better and he's had a better year than he had last year. He finished second at conference again and had a win earlier in the year. I'm proud of him because he's done a lot of it through his own hard work and figured out what he's needed to work on. It's been awesome to see him realize that, too."
Bradley on Jimmy Jones earning all-conference honors for the second straight season:
"It was huge for him to get that honor after finishing second at conference. Jimmy was a huge part of why we won and he's got all the ability in the world. He's played pretty well as of late, especially at Valspar and Old Waverly. This is a good reward for him."
Bradley on receiving conference coach of the year honors for the fourth consecutive season:
"It's a great honor. We have a really good bunch of coaches in our conference, so I'm certainly flattered and extremely appreciative of it. The truth is, the guys are the ones that got me this award. All credit goes to them for of their play throughout the entire year and especially at the conference championship."
All-Conference Team
(10 players and ties, as voted on by coaches. Any player who finished top seven at The American Championship and not voted to the team is also included):
Claudio Correa, USF*
Cristian DiMarco, USF*
Jimmy Jones, USF
Bobby Bai, UCF
Manuel Elvira, UCF
Kyler Tate, UCF
Davis Baxter, Cincinnati
Austin Squires, Cincinnati
Jimmy Hervol, UConn
Patrick Stephenson, ECU
Blake Taylor, ECU
Michael Perras, Houston
Zach Tracy, Houston
Mac Meissner, SMU
Gray Townsend, SMU
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Player of the Year: Claudio Correa, USF*
Freshman of the Year: Mac Meissner, SMU
Coach of the Year: Steve Bradley, USF*
Team Academic Award: Memphis (3.604 GPA)
* - denotes unanimous selection
About USF Men's Golf
USF men's golf returns six players from the 2016-17 team that captured the program's third consecutive American Athletic Conference Championship title. This season, head coach Steve Bradley guided the Bulls to their fourth straight conference tournament title in wire-to-wire fashion. The latest title victory helped USF match the program season wins record of five set in 2014-15. Follow @USFMGolf on Twitter for the latest information concerning the program.
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