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Dave Williams Award presented by Eaton Golf Pride Recipients Announced

NORMAN, Okla. – The GCAA in conjunction with diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton Corporation today announced the six outstanding collegiate golf coaches receiving the Dave Williams Award presented by Eaton Golf Pride as national coaches of the year. Eaton Golf Pride will present the coaches with their awards during the Hall of Fame Banquet at the GCAA Convention December 9.

Steve Desimone of California (Division I), Jimmy Stobs of Barry (Division II), King Campbell of UT Tyler (Division III), Kyle Blaser of Oklahoma City (NAIA), Dave Jennings of Central Alabama (NJCAA Division I) and Bill Gardner of Walters State (NJCAA Division II) earned coach of the year honors for 2013. Eaton Golf Pride Region and District Coaches of the Year were also named.

Desimone earned the 2013 Dave Williams Award presented by Eaton Golf Pride as the national coach of the year in Division I men’s golf and was the Pac-12 Coach of the Year. Cal finished the 2012-13 season as the nation’s No. 1 ranked team by Golfweek and Golfstat despite being defeated by Illinois in the NCAA Championship match-play semifinals. Cal was also the top-ranked team in the final Golf World/Nike Golf Division I Coaches Poll released prior to the NCAA Championship. Cal became the nation’s No. 1-ranked team in all three sets of rankings shortly after winning its first two events of the campaign in late September of 2012 and never dropped out of the top spot in any of them. Cal set a modern-era NCAA win record with 12 victories in 14 stroke-play tournaments, eclipsing the previously established record of 10 by the 1985-86 Oklahoma State team.

Also a 2007 Dave Williams Award recipient, Stobs led the Buccaneers to the Sunshine State Conference championship for the first time and the NCAA Division II National Championship for the second time. The Bucs won three other tournaments this season, and finished second in five others, out of 12 entries. Barry rookie Adam Svensson, who clinched the national title on the final hole, was named Freshman of the Year in the SSC and Phil Mickelson Award presented by the Phil and Amy Mickelson Foundation as the nation’s outstanding freshman. He was joined by teammate Scott Smyers on the GCAA PING All-America First Team, while Jared Dalga and Marcus Sgerstrom made the Third Team.

In 2012-13, Campbell led UT Tyler to three regular season tournament wins. The 2013 season finished with the Patriots winning the 2013 NCAA DIII National Championship which was held at the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Florida. UT Tyler finished as runners-up at the ASC conference tournament, and were selected as one of the last teams in the field for the NCAA championship tournament. Freshman Buddy Hallman helped lead the Patriots to a seven-stroke win, finishing as runner-up in the individual championship. Campbell has helped coach five PING All-Americans since 2006, including two this season with senior John Dukes and freshman Buddy Hallman garnering third-team honors. 2013 marked the final season as a head coach for Campbell, who announced his retirement earlier in the year.

In 2012-13, Blaser guided the Stars to their ninth NAIA championship, posting a 28-stroke victory. Blaser has notched more NAIA men’s golf championships (nine) and NAIA national coach of the year awards (eight) than any coach. He also picked up the Sooner Athletic Conference coach of the year. Oklahoma City captured four victories in 12 events, including the Sooner Athletic Conference Championships by 19 shots. OCU had four all-Americans, including the NAIA individual champion, Sondre Ronold; the Sooner Athletic Conference individual champ, Michael Palmer; and the NAIA Phil Mickelson Award winner, Anthony Marchesani.

Jennings earned the Dave Williams Award for the second time after also winning coach of the year honors in 2010. Central Alabama claimed the 2013 NJCAA Division I national championship overcoming a 19-shot deficit following the opening round and counting four birdies on the tournament’s final hole for a one-shot victory. The Trojans ended the regular season at the top-ranked team in the Golf World/Nike Golf Coaches Poll after winning seven tournaments. They also claimed two runner-up finishes and one third-place showing. Two Central Alabama golfers earned PING All-America honors while four were named PING All-Region.

Gardner lead Walters State to its most succesful season in program history. The golf team had a stellar season as they never finished lower than seventh in any of the tournaments in which they played. The Senators won the Wingate Invitational and followed that up with a second place finish in the Berry College Spring Fling. The Walters State golf team set a new program best with a second place finish in the NJCAA Division II National Tournament, ending the season on a run that saw them finish in the top two in their last three events. Brad Hawkins earned PING Second-Team All-America honors while Cody Johnson was named to the third team.

Eaton’s Golf Grip Division is the world’s largest manufacturer of golf grips, with manufacturing, sales and distribution facilities on five continents. The division’s Golf Pride brand is recognized globally as the number one choice in grips among tour and recreational players, competitive amateur golfers, club manufacturers and club repairmen. For more information, visit www.golfpride.com.

Dave Williams Award Presented by Eaton Golf Pride

  • Division I - Steve Desimone, California
  • Division II - Jimmy Stobs, Barry
  • Division III - King Campbell, UT Tyler
  • NAIA - Kyle Blaser, Oklahoma City
  • NJCAA Division I - Dave Jennings, Central Alabama
  • NJCAA Division II - Bill Gardner, Walters State

Eaton Golf Pride Region Coaches of the Year

 Division I

  • Northeast - Colin Sheehan, Yale
  • East - Bruce Heppler, Georgia Tech
  • Southeast - Jay Seawell, Alabama
  • Midwest - Mike Small, Illinois
  • Central - Mark Leroux, Missouri
  • West - Steve Desimone, California

Division II

  • East - Harry Jennings, Wilmington (Del.)
  • Atlantic - Pete Coughlin, CUP
  • Southeast - Mike Carlisle, USC Aiken
  • South - Jimmy Stobs, Barry
  • Midwest - Troy Halterman, Missouri-St. Louis
  • Central - Pat Bates, Central Oklahoma
  • South Central - Phil Trujillo, UC-Colorado Springs
  • West - Jason Owen, CSU Monterey Bay

Division III

  • Northeast - Fred Fruisen, Skidmore
  • Mid-Atlantic - Bob Simms, St. John Fisher
  • Southeast - Steve Conley, Methodist
  • Great Lakes - Brian Lane, Transylvania
  • Central - Jim Ott, Illinois Wesleyan
  • West - Ron Macosko, Schreiner

NAIA

  • North - Chris Winkle, Grand View
  • South - John Maupin, Lee
  • Central - Kyle Blaser, Oklahoma City
  • West - Greg Hutton, CSU-San Marcos

NJCAA Division I

  • District I - Dan Dersam, Scottsdale
  • District II - Vince Clark, McClennan
  • District III - Mike Hagen, Indian Hills
  • District IV - Dave Jennings, Central Alabama

NJCAA Division II

  • East - Bill Gardner, Walters State
  • Central - Ronny Ross, Copiah-Lincoln
  • West - Jake Harrington, South Mountain