Men's Golf Duo Earn All-BIG EAST Honors

NEW YORK – For the first time since joining the BIG EAST, Creighton had a pair of golfers named to the All-Conference Team. Junior Nate Vontz was selected as a First Team pick, while freshman Charlie Zielinski was chosen to the Second Team.

All of the conference honorees were chosen by the league's head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own players.

Vontz earns First Team honors after a consistent season, finishing in the top 11 in five of six tournaments. The junior's best finish was a tie for fifth place at the BIG EAST Championship. He compiled an average score of 72.06. Vontz, who joins Kade Brown (2015-16) as the program's lone First Team All-BIG EAST honorees, will return to the Bluejays in the fall as a graduate student. The Lincoln product shot par or better in 11-of-18 rounds this spring, with a low of 66. His 72.06 scoring average this season and 75.08 career scoring average are both the second-best marks in program history, trailing only John Sutko in each category (71.76 in 2006-07; 74.19 from 2004-08).

Zielinski was the top Bluejay contributor after teammate Vontz. Zielinski compiled a 73.56 score average and took 15th at the BIG EAST Championship. The Omaha native is Creighton's first player to be named Second Team All-BIG EAST, and also gives CU multiple honorees for the first time. Zielinski shot between a 69 and 77 in all 18 rounds, including six rounds of par or better.

Marquette's Hunter Eichhorn was named BIG EAST Player of the Year in men's golf for the second time in his career. Connecticut's Caleb Manuel was tabbed BIG EAST Freshman of the Year and the UConn coaching staff has been selected BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year.

Eichhorn, a redshirt junior, earned Player of the Year honors in 2018 when he also was chosen Freshman of the Year. This spring, Eichhorn was a co-medalist at the BIG EAST Championship and was the highest rated league player in the GolfStat rankings. He posted two top-five finishes among Marquette's five tournaments prior to the Championship and owns a 71.78 stroke average. A native of Carney, Mich., he received an invitation to play in next week's NCAA Championship to compete as an individual.

UConn's Manuel compiled a 72.67 stroke average and ended the spring season with three top-five finishes, including a fourth at the BIG EAST Championship. His Championship performance included a 6-under-par 66 in the second round. A native of Topsham, Maine, Manuel was the top player for the league champion Huskies.

The UConn coaching staff, led by head coach Dave Pezzino, won the BIG EAST Championship and earned the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. It is the Huskies' first NCAA trip since 1999. Pezzino is in his 14th season at the helm for UConn. The Huskies returned to the BIG EAST after last competing in the conference in 2012-13.

In addition to Eichhorn and Manuel on the All-BIG EAST First Team, Butler's Michael Cascino was chosen after a stellar spring season that included being a co-medalist at the BIG EAST Championship. The senior won a playoff with Eichhorn to secure the BIG EAST's automatic bid to compete as an individual in the NCAA Championship. Cascino finished in the top 10 of all four Butler tournaments prior to the league Championship and owns a 71.71 stroke average.

UConn's Jared Nelson earned All-BIG EAST First Team honors. The junior took ninth place at the BIG EAST Championship. In the regular season, Nelson won the Bash at the Beach in South Carolina and had another top-10 finish, tying for seventh in the Connecticut Cup.

The All-BIG EAST Second Team includes two seniors, a junior, sophomore and freshman. The seniors are Butler's Logan Sabins and Seton Hall's Andres Acevedo. Sabins, a graduate student, earns second-team honors for the third time in his career. He won the Pinehurst Intercollegiate and tied for 18th at the BIG EAST Championship. Acevedo emerged as a key contributor for the Pirates. He tied for fifth at the conference tournament and recorded a 74.17 stroke average.

St. John's junior Jack Simon put together a 73.20 stroke average for the spring that included only one finish outside of the top 20. He won the Doc Gimmler Tournament and tied for second in the Wildcat Invitational and Red Storm Invitational.

Marquette's Nicolas Evangelio, a redshirt sophomore, tied for 10th at the BIG EAST Championship and helped the Golden Eagles to a runner-up team finish. He compiled a 74.56 average score for the season.

All-BIG EAST First Team                Cl.          Hometown
Michael Cascino, Butler                 Sr.          Palos Park, Ill.
Caleb Manuel, Connecticut           Fr.          Topsham, Maine
Jared Nelson, Connecticut            Jr.           Rutland, Vt.
Nate Vontz, Creighton                    Jr.           Lincoln, Neb.
Hunter Eichhorn, Marquette         R-Jr.       Carney, Mich.

All-BIG EAST Second Team          Cl.          Hometown
Logan Sabins, Butler                       Gr.          Spring Lake Heights, N.J.
Charlie Zielinski, Creighton            Fr.          Omaha, Neb.
Nicolas Evangelio, Marquette      R-So.     Logrono, Spain
Jack Simon, St. John's                     Jr.           Sparta, N.J.
Andres Acevedo, Seton Hall          Sr.          San Antonio, Texas

Players Mentioned

Nate Vontz

Charlie Zielinski

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