June 11, 2009
NORMAN, Okla. - The final accolade that could have come the way of Barton College senior Jonathan Burke (Goldsboro, NC) became a reality on Wednesday when he was named an NCAA D-II All-American by the Golf Coaches Association of America.
Burke, a two-time All-Conference and All-Region selection, was the Southeast Region champion and South/Southeast Super Regional runner-up in 2009 and finished 29th of 108 players in the DII National Championships. He was the top-rated player in the Southeast and had a national ranking of 16th heading into Nationals. He finished the season with a scoring average of 73.0 in 25 rounds, shooting par or better 16 times. Burke was the 2007 Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference Champion and the 2008 Conference Carolinas Player of the Year. He was also Barton's Kiwanis Male Athete of the Year in 2008 and 2009.
The GCAA released its All-Region teams at the same time, and Burke and teammate Tom Muto Jr. (Wolcott, NY) were selected All-Southeast. Muto, who will be a senior next season, was also an all-conference choice and was a D-III All-American at St. John Fisher College in New York for two seasons before transferring to Barton. He averaged 73.05 this season.
"I am thrilled that the nation's coaches recognized Jonathan as an All-American," 12th-year Barton head coach John Hackney said. "He put together one of the best seasons in school history and had us in contention in virtually every tournament. This is the perfect end to an excellent career with the Bulldogs."
Burke is the seventh All-American during Coach Hackney's tenure. He joins 2004 National runner-up Courtney Faircloth (a First-Team choice) as the only Bulldogs to earn a spot on one of the first three teams. Five other Barton players have earned Honorable Mention All-America acclaim: Faircloth (2003), Josh Talton (2004), Jon Wetton (2004, 2005) and Daniel Castleberry (2008).
"I am also excited that the regional selection committees recognized the contributions Tom Muto Jr. made to our program this season," Hackney said. "He and Jonathan were our leaders from beginning to end, and their numbers were very comparable. Both Jonathan and I were sorry that our entire team didn't get to make the trip to Washington state for Nationals, because we thought we had a team that could win it all. Unfortunately, we just didn't quite get it done in an unbelievable regional field that included 15 teams ranked in the top 25. "
Barton was credited with four victories and finished the season 17th in the Nike/Golf World Coaches' Poll and 20th in the Golfstat poll. The Bulldogs will return eight players from that 2008-09 squad.
Steve Cuzzort of Wayne State, Florida Southern's Jude Eustaquio, Matt Ewald of Washburn, Indianapolis Justin Hueber, Jake Koppenberg of Western Washington, IUP's Gavin Smith, Will Wilcox of Clayton State, Valdosta State's Brent Witcher and Central Missouri's Justin Yoder were previously named to the PING All-America First Team following the conclusion of the NCAA D-II National Championships at Loomis Trail Golf Club in Blaine, WA.
Patrick Bauer and Jarin Todd of Sonoma State, USC-Aiken's Roberto Diaz, Andrew Georgiou of Columbus State, North Alabama's Brett Munson, Kyle Scott of West Florida, Central Oklahoma's Colby Shrum and CSU-San Bernardino's Gene Webster comprise the second team.
Third-team honorees include Abilene Christian's Cyril Bouniol, Lynn's Steven Brame, Burke, CSU-San Bernardino's Micah Burke, Niclas Johansson of Georgia College, Ferris State's Kelbi Lee, Greg O'Mahony of Nova Southeastern and Florida Southern's Matt Stauch.
A total of 21 golfers were named honorable mention All-America.
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May 28, 2009
Barton College senior outfielder Zach Boyette (Marion, VA) has been named to the NCAA D-II All-Southeast Region Gold Glove baseball team for his fielding prowess.
Boyette, a center fielder with excellent speed, had 106 putouts, eight assists and committed just one error for the 30-17 Bulldogs. His fielding percentage was a sparkling .991.
Boyette was one of three outfielders selected by the Southeast Region coaches to the elite nine-player team.
The rest of the lineup includes UNC Pembroke first baseman Seth Kivett, Armstrong Atlantic second baseman Carlos Cardoza-Oquendo, UNC Pembroke third baseman Tom Porricelli, Francis Marion shortstop Barrett Kleinknecht, Augusta State outfielder Shannon Wilkerson, UNC Pembroke outfielder Kevin Dietrich, North Georgia catcher Daniel Petitti and starting pitcher Davidi Walters of Francis Marion.
Boyette was also a first-team All-Conference Carolinas choice after leading the Bulldogs as high as No. 26 in the national baseball poll. He batted .362 and led the team with 55 runs, 63 hits and 21 stolen bases (out of 25 attempts). He also had nine doubles, five homers and 35 RBI.
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May 26, 2009
Barton College third baseman Aaron Watkins has signed to play with the Wilson Tobs summer collegiate baseball team this summer.
He is one of five Barton baseball players who have been selected to play on summer collegiate wooden bat squads. Pitchers Kramer Sneed and Hunter Meekins will suit up for Outer Banks, and pitcher/outfielder Wes Francis will play for Martinsville, VA, in the Coastal Plain League. Pitcher Matt Watson will play for Morganton in the Southern Collegiate League.
Former Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference Player of the Year Tara Davis, who graduated this weekend, has already begun her professional women's soccer career with the Hampton Roads Piranhas of the W-League. She and her teammates will play the Cary Lady Clarets on June 28 at 8:00 p.m. at Cary's Middle Creek Park.
Watkins, a 6-foot-1, 170-pound sophomore third baseman, batted a team-best .380 with 14 doubles and 45 RBIs this season for the Bulldogs.
"We like what Aaron brings to the table on and off the field," Tobs manager Jeff Steele said in a release. "We think he'll be someone we can count on this season."
At Denbigh High in Newport News, Va., Watkins was named to the 2006 All-Peninsula District team and All-Eastern Region first team.
The Tobs begin the 2009 Coastal Plain League season Wednesday night in Fayetteville before taking on Asheboro in their home opener in Fleming Stadium on Thursday night.
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May 22, 2009
BLAINE, WA — Barton' College senior Jonathan Burke (Goldsboro, NC) was the early topic of conversation on Friday in the the final round of the NCAA D-II Men's Golf National Championships at the Loomis Trail Golf Club.
Starting on No. 10, Burke birdied three of his first five holes to jump up the leaderboard. However, a missed short par putt on the 15th hole was followed by three straight more bogeys. He made eight pars and one bogey on the last nine holes of his college career to finish at 2-over 73. For the tournament, Burke, a two-time all-confernece and all-region performer for the Bulldogs, shot 71-79-76-73–299 (+15) to finish tied for 29th among 108 golfers.
Burke, who was tied for second after the first round, hit eight fairways, 11 greens and needed 31 putts. Over the course of the 72-hole event, the two-time Barton Kiwanis Male Athlete of the Year did not make a putt from outside of 10 feet.
"I thought was finally going to put a decent round together," Burke said of his hot start on Friday. "I just hit some good approach shots, which gave me short birdie putts."
He hit it to seven feet on No. 10, to five feet on 13 and to two feet on No. 14, causing a couple of NCAA officials to come out in their carts to watch him play. He stroked a sensational putt through the fringe from off the 15th green that trickled just two feet from the cup for an apparent easy par 4, but his short putt broke under the hole, leading to his first bogey.
On 16, his hybrid approach from 225 yards rolled over the green into a patch of thick rough, leaving him no shot. He hacked it out onto the green and couldn't convert from 20 feet for par. On the tough 17th, his approach came up just short, he chipped to five feet and missed the putt. On 18, his drive found the lip of a fairway bunker and he had to chip out. He hit his third shot to 15 feet, but missed the putt, finishing the first nine at 1-over 36. His lone bogey on his back nine came on No. 6, when he hit a wedge shot that bounced over the back of the green.
"Jonathan played some sensational golf today," Barton coach John Hackney said. "He just never made any putts from outside 10 feet…today or any day. He hit some great iron shots today and drove the ball real well. When he missed fairways, he still had clear shots to the green. He even made a nice par save from a bunker on No. 4."
"I wish I would have played better (overall), but I can't be too upset," Burke said, "because I had a pretty solid career. You can't base your whole career on one tournament."
Burke was the Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference medalist his sophomore season, then won Conference Carolinas Player of the Year as a junior. He earned all-conference and all-region honors his junior and senior seasons. He finished runner-up in an incredible South/Southeast Super Regional two weeks ago at -3 for three rounds, moving up to 16th in the national individual rankings. Barton, ranked 17th, just missed a bid to Nationals as a team.
"Jonathan had a sensational career at Barton," Hackney said. "He led his team to the National Championship in West Virginia as a freshman and returned to the pinnacle event as an individual as a senior. He turned into one of the country's best Division II players, which is an awesome accomplishment, especially since we were the only school to recruit him out of high school.
"We will look for Jonathan, who is an education major, to do great things in the future."
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May 22, 2009
BLAINE, WA — Barton College senior Jonathan Burke (Goldsboro, NC) shot a 5-over par 76 on Thursday and moved up two spots to 34th place amid 108 players in the NCAA D-II Men's Golf Championships at the Loomis Trail Golf Club.
Burke has shot 71-79-76 in his first three rounds. He will tee off in the fourth and final round at 8:10 PST (11:10 EST) on Friday. Burke was tied for second after the first round on the 6,995-yard, par 71 layout, but fell to 36th after round two. Results of the final round can be followed at www.golfstat.com.
On Thursday morning, the two-time all-conference and all-region pick started his round with a tap-in birdie on the 10th hole (he started on the back nine) after stiffing a 7-iron to 10 inches from 166 yards. However, the slick greens got the best of him the rest of that nine holes. He three-putted for bogey twice and needed 18 putts as he made the turn at 3-over 38.
On his 11th hole (No. 2), his second shot from the deep rough found a water hazard and he made double bogey to go to 5-over. He played even-par the rest of the way, making birdie after reaching the par-5, 6th hole in two, then recording a bogey on No. 8 after his approach shot came up short.
He hit 8-of-14 fairways and 11-of-18 greens and finished with 33 putts.
Cal-State San Bernardino's Gene Webster continues to lead the medalist race at even par through three rounds. He has shot 70, 71 and 72 and has a two-stroke lead over Wayne State's Steve Cuzzort and Indiana University of Pennsylvania's Gavin Smith. Only three players broke par on Thursday.
CSUSB leads the team race at 27-over par (298-286-295-879) and have an 8-shot over Barry (Fla.) and a 9-shot cushion over Columbus State and Sonoma State. Georgia College & State University is 10 shots back.
"I just putted bad early," Burke said. "I hit the ball fine, so hopefully tomorrow I will drop some putts. I would just like to have a solid round to finish off my career."
"Jonathan only made a few bad swings today," 12th-year Barton head coach John Hackney said. "He just struggled on the greens early, but he found a groove with his putter on the back nine, so that bodes well for the final round. He is a great player who has had a tremendous career for the Bulldogs, so I would love to see him play superb golf tomorrow and finish on a high note."
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May 20, 2009
BLAINE, WA — Barton College senior Jonathan Burke (Goldsboro, NC) never got anything going in the second round of the NCAA D-II National Men's Golf Championships on Wednesday and slipped to a tie for 36th place among 108 players.
Burke, a two-time first-team all-region and all-conference player, carded seven bogeys, a double bogey and one birdie en route to an 8-over 79 on the par-71, 6,995-yard Loomis Trail Golf Club layout. He entered the second round in a five-way tie for second place at even par 71, but four bogeys and one double bogey on his first nine holes Wednesday dropped him down the leaderboard.
Burke bogeyed the par-3 12th hole (his third hole of the day) after a chip raced across the green. Errant tee balls on 13 and 14 led to two more bogeys. On the difficult 17th hole, his tee shot came down just off the fairway, but hit a stump and caromed into the woods, resulting in an unplayable lie. He had a seven-foot putt for bogey, but missed it.
On his back nine, he bogeyed No. 1 with his lone 3-putt of the day on the lightning-fast greens (12.5 on the stimpmeter) to go 7-over. He nearly recorded a hole-in-one on the fifth hole as his ball settled just a foot past the cup, leading to his only birdie. He bogeyed 7 and 8 and missed seven-foot birdie putt on his final hole.
He hit nine fairways and nine greens and had 34 putts.
"Jonathan battled hard, but just couldn't convert key par-saving putts today like he did in the first round," Barton head coach John Hackney said. "He had a few tee balls early that hurt him, and he just never made up any ground because he couldn't get any putts to drop. He is disappointed, but there are still two days left, and he has the talent to go really low, so we'll just see if he can made a big move toward the top on Thursday and Friday."
Burke tees off on No. 10 at 8:10 a.m. Thursday. Hole-by-hole results can be followed at www.golfstat.com.
Steve Cuzzort of Wayne State and Gene Webster of Cal-State San-Bernardino lead the event at 1-under 141. They are the only two players in the field under par after two rounds.
Barry University of Florida leads the team chase at 15-over par, with CSUSB just one shot back.
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May 19, 2009
BLAINE, WA — Barton senior Jonathan Burke registered two birdies and two bogeys in the first round of the NCAA D-II National Men's Golf Championships for an even-par round of 71 Tuesday at the Loomis Trail Golf Club, leaving him in a five-way deadlock for second place.
Leading the pack in the 20-team, 108-player field is Gene Webster Jr. of Cal-State San Bernardino with a 1-under round of 70 on the 6,966-yard layout. Burke (Goldsboro, NC), ranked 16th nationally and No. 1 from the Southeast Region, was one of eight at-large individuals to earn a berth to the National Championship.
Burke had the last tee time off No. 1 on Tuesday and quickly birdied No. 2 to go 1-under. He made superb par saves after missing the green on holes 3, 7 and 8 around a bogey on No. 4 to finish the front nine at even par 36. He three-putted 11 from 25 feet for a bogey, but countered that with a birdie on No. 15, where he stuck a wedge t0 10 feet and made the putt.
For the round, he hit 12 of 14 fairways, had 31 putts and hit 13 greens.
"I've hit it better, but I can't really complain with the score," Burke said. "Obviously, the course played tough today because a lot of really good players struggled, so for me to shoot a 71 was a good score. I just need to play my game the rest of the way. If I keep hitting good shots and make more putts, I like my chances."
"He had a solid, rather uneventful round today," 12th-year Barton head coach John Hackney said. "He made some great par putts and stayed away from trouble. That's key on a course where water comes into play on every hole."
Burke tees off at 8:10 PST (11:10 EST). Results can be followed at www.golfstat.com. The tournament is a four-day, 72-hole event.
He is bidding to become the first golfer in school history to win a National Championship. Courtney Faircloth was national runner-up in 2004 in Orlando, Fla., where the Bulldogs finished fifth as a team.
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May 15, 2009
Senior golfer Jonathan Burke and junior women's basketball player Esty Flores won the Kiwanis Male and Female Athlete of the Year awards to highlight the Barton College Athletic Awards Ceremony on Thursday afternoon, May 14, in Hardy Alumni Hall.
Burke, who qualified as an individual to play in the NCAA D-II National Championships, won the Kiwanis Award for the second straight year after averaging 72.67 for the Conference Carolinas champs. He was a first-team all-conference pick and all-region for the second consecutive season. Flores, a speedy 5-3 point guard, powered the Lady Bulldogs to the Conference Carolinas regular-season championship and was named first-team all-conference, first-team All-Southeast Region and all-state.
Baseball catcher Barrett Martin won the Edward L. Cloyd Scholarship Award presented to the senior student-athlete with the highest GPA through seven semesters. Basketball guard Greg Mammel received the Ernest Brewer Memorial Scholarship, which is given to the non-senior student-athlete best combining academic and athletic success. Baseball pitcher Kramer Sneed secured the Ned Liggon Memorial Scholarship Award as the non-senior student-athlete best combining athletic and academic success, along with contributions to student-life.
Garnering MVP awards in their respective sports were: Corey Winner, men's cross country; Gina Castro, women's cross country; Jessica Galasso, women's soccer and women's tennis; Mel Ritter and Liz Strange, volleyball; Sara Fleming, women's basketball; L.J. Dunn, men's basketball; Jonathan Burke, golf; Zach Boyette, baseball; Claire Severt, fastpitch softball; and Cesar Grobel, men's tennis. Melissa Von Hoene was the Most Outstanding Athletic Trainer. Men's soccer awarded no MVP plaque.
Sportsmanship winners were: Saybah Reed, women's cross country; Max Kubatz, men's cross country; Harris Smith, men's soccer; Cassie Blackmon, volleyball; Jannetta Robinson, women's basketball; Errol Frails, men's basketball; Tom Muto Jr., golf; Kevin Carty, baseball; Casey Strickland, fastpitch softball; Lindsey Toth, women's tennis; and P.A. Desilets, men's tennis.
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May 14, 2009
BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Western Washington University will host the school's first national tournament next week when the 47th annual NCAA Division II National Men's Golf Tournament takes place on May 19-22 at the Loomis Trail Golf Club in Blaine.
Twenty teams and eight individuals from non-qualifying teams will take part in the four-day, 72-hole event.
Jonathan Burke, Barton's senior captain from Goldsboro, N.C., will represent the Bulldogs at the National Championships after finishing 3-under par and taking second place in the South/Southeast Super Regional last week in Alabama. Burke, the 2007 Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference medalist and 2008 Conference Carolinas Player of the Year, is the No. 1-ranked player out of the Southeast Region and is ranked 16th nationally in NCAA D-II. Burke sports a 72.67 scoring average and has shot par or better in 15 of 21 rounds this season. He has finished in the top five in six of 10 tournaments and is a first-team all-conference and all-region performer.
Burke and 12th-year Barton head coach John Hackney will fly out Saturday morning. Practice rounds are scheduled for Sunday and Monday, with the competition slated for Tuesday-Friday. Burke begins his first round off the No. 1 tee at 1:30 p.m. (Pacific time) and will start his second round on Wednesday at 8:10 PST off the 10th tee. Fans can follow all the action on www.golfstat.com.
Representing the East and Atlantic regions are super regional titlist Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP), Fayetteville State, Concord, Fairmont State and St. Thomas Aquinas.
From the Midwest and South Central regions are super regional champion Wayne State, Northeastern State, Central Missouri, Ferris State and Indianapolis.
Qualifying from the South and Southeast regions are super regional winner North Alabama, Lynn, Barry, Columbus State and Georgia College (GCSU).
Representing the Central and West regions are super regional champion Colorado-Colorado Springs, Cal State Stanislaus, Sonoma State, Cal State San Bernardino and Grand Canyon.
Last year, West Florida won the title in a three-way playoff, the first in the history of the event, after tying with North Alabama and St. Edwards at the end of regulation play. West Florida and St. Edwards were eliminated in Super Regional play this season. The 2007 champion, Barry, is back in the field again.
The top individual back is Sonoma State's Jarin Todd (Sr., Redmond/Woodinville), the NCAA II Player of the Year in 2007 and 2008. Todd tied for third at nationals last spring and 20th in 2007.
Colorado-Colorado Springs' Tyler Bishop took medalist honors at the NCAA II National Preview Tournament on Sept. 29-30 at Loomis Trail, shooting a 54-hole total of 5-under 208. Washburn's Matt Ewald was second at 3-under 210.
Ewald is one of the eight individuals from non-qualifying schools in the field. The others are Brant Kummerfeld from Adelphi, Jared Schmader from Clarion, Brooks Harrick from Bellarmine, Burke, Brian Richey from Florida Southern, Brandon Harkins from Chico State and Jake Koppenberg from host Western.
In the West/Central Super Regional, Koppenberg had a birdie on the first extra hole of a five-person playoff to earn the second and final berth granted to players not on a qualifying team.
There will be a special award presentation at the tourney banquet on Monday, May 18, at the Semiahmoo Resort.
Former Western golfer Bill Wright, one of the first seven inductees into the WWU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1968, will receive a scroll from Jim Vernon, President of the United States Golf Association. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Wright winning the 1959 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship, becoming the first African American to capture a USGA-sponsored national title.
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May 13, 2009
Sophomore Barton center fielder Jessica McFadden (Wilmington, NC) added Daktronics Second-Team All-Southeast Region player to her resume this week. McFadden, who batted leadoff for the Lady Bulldogs, missed the last eight games of the season after fracturing her ankle but still had an outstanding year that included a .458 batting average, team-highs of 24 runs scored and 44 hits. She also was 22-of-27 in stolen-base attempts.
Earlier, she was named first-team All-Conference Carolinas. The complete Daktronics team, which is voted on by Sports Information Directors of schools in the Southeast Region, follows:
Pitcher of the Year
Sarah Phillips, North Georgia
Player of the Year
Sherquita Bostick, Georgia College
First Team
Catcher
Jessica Strickland, USC Aiken
First Base
Ashley Seawell, Mars Hill
Second Base
Kat Hammond, Newberry
Third Base
Katie Knapp, Erskine
Shortstop
Jesse Howard, Carson-Newman
Utility
Debra Grijalva, Wingate
Designated Player
Leslee Smith, North Georgia
Outfield
Sherquita Bostick, Georgia College
Courtney McGuire, North Georgia
Jasmine Dobbin, St. Andrews Presbyterian
Pitchers
Sarah Phillips, North Georgia
Toni Flessate, USC Aiken
Mandy Chandler, Georgia College
Second Team
Catcher
Sarah Atkins, Lenoir-Rhyne
First Base
Sarah Little, Carson-Newman
Second Base
Allie Marshall, Catawba
Third Base
Hallie Pettigrew, Wingate
Shortstop
Ashley Harber, Mars Hill
Utility
Noel Belk, Lenoir-Rhyne
Designated Player
Amanda Huckstein, Newberry
Outfield
LaRonda McClain, Wingate
*Jessica McFadden, Barton
Pilar Harden, North Georgia
Pitchers
Amanda Huckestein, Newberry
Brittany Blankenship, Wingate
Michaela Wolf, Francis Marion
Stephanie Templeton, Carson-Newman
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