Hoffmann, Aboff, Cohen earn conference player of the year honors

 

May 8, 2009—An outstanding group of Met Area collegiate golfers is wrapping up another successful season, with a few in position to achieve postseason triumphs. The awards and victories came in bunches, and the Met Area can boast three conference players of the year and the top-ranked player in the country, Morgan Hoffmann of Oklahoma State. With many of these soon returning home to compete locally, it is shaping up to be another exciting year of MGA competition. A brief recap of the college season follows:

 

Morgan Hoffmann of Saddle Brook, N.J., has been a dominant player on the college circuit all season long. The Oklahoma State freshman and former Carter Cup champion won the Big 12 Championship, and thus was named Big 12 Player of the Year and Big 12 Newcomer of the Year. Hoffmann also garnered recognition as the Big 12 Player of the Month (April) as well as the Southern Golf Association’s Amateur of the Month (April). He was one of ten semifinalists for the Ben Hogan Award, which goes to the top college player in the country, and was named to the Palmer Cup team. Currently, Hoffmann is the top-ranked college player in the country and the Cowboys were ranked No. 2 heading into the NCAA Tournament.

 

Susannah Aboff of Huntington, N.Y., and a senior at Princeton, won the individual title at the Ivy League Championship. Aboff qualified for the NCAA Tournament as an individual based on that win and her strong play all season. Aboff was named to the All-Ivy Team and awarded the inaugural Ivy League Women’s Player of the Year.

 

Andrew Cohen of Mamaroneck, N.Y., and Bucknell University, fresh off his first college win at the Caves Valley Intercollegiate, finished in first place at the Patriot League Championship. The Bucknell star won the league title by eight strokes with the best total score in conference tournament history. His play earned Cohen the Patriot League Player of the Year Award, First-Team All-Patriot League honors, and Golf World Magazine’s College Player of the Week.

 

Chris DeForest of Cottekill, N.Y., and a sophomore at Illinois, finished tied for third at the Big Ten Championship and helped Illinois to the team victory. DeForest, a former Carter Cup champion, was named First Team All-Big Ten.

 

Kevin Foley of Somerville, N.J., and a junior at Penn State, finished second at the Big Ten Championship and helped Penn State to a fourth-place finish. The 2008 Ike champion was named to the First Team All-Big Ten.

 

Brian Bartow of Rye Neck, N.Y., a teammate of Cohen’s at Bucknell, finished ninth at the Patriot League Championship and helped Bucknell earn an NCAA Tournament bid. Bartow was named to the Second Team All-Patriot League.

 

Robert Cronheim of Watchung, N.J., and Cornell University, finished 14th at the Ivy League championship.

 

Nannette Hill of Pelham, N.Y. and a senior at Wake Forest, was named to the All-ACC Women’s Golf Team and helped Wake Forest to their first ACC Women’s title in 14 years.

 

Jimmy Arbes of Westfield, N.J., and Rutgers University, placed first as an individual at the Princeton Invitational, helping the Scarlet Knights to a team victory.

 

Mike Ballo Jr., of Stamford, Conn., and St. Johns University, finished in ninth place at the Big East Championship.

 

For more information contact Bob Nielsen (bnielsen@mgagolf.org) or Greg Midland at (gmidland@mgagolf.org) at 914-347-4653.