MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. – Senior Mitch Thomas has been selected to the 2016 All-Ohio Valley Conference Men's Golf Team and rookie Matthew Giles has landed a spot on the OVC All-Newcomer Team for their performances during the 2015-16 seasons.
The two Golden Eagles received their awards Monday night during the annual Awards Dinner as part of the 2016 OVC Championships.
For Giles, who was named OVC Male Golfer of the Week three times during the fall season, it is obviously the first post-season award, capping off a stellar freshman season for coach Polk Brown's squad.
For Thomas, however, accepting awards at the OVC Championships has become a tradition. He was named to the OVC All-Newcomer team in 2012-13, and earned a spot on the All-OVC team following the 2013-14 season.
Thomas led the Golden Eagles during the season with a 73.1 average, posting three Top 10 finishes and exhibiting consistent play, week-in and week-out. IT's been a trademark of his career, which has now included 120 rounds in tournament play and a career average of 73.8. He posted Tech's low round of the year in September with a career-best 67.
Giles, who owns the fourth-best average on the team at 74.7, shot a career-low 69 during that same week in September.
The All-OVC team features 10 names, while the All-Newcomer Team includes six plays.
Joining Thomas on the all-OVC team are Ashton Van Horne and Noah Trenkler of Belmont, Hunter Richardson and Ben Reeves of UT Martin, Preston French, Brock Simmons and Jared Gosser of Murray State, Will Sallee of Eastern Kentucky, and Logan Hogge of Morehead State.
In addition to Giles, the All-Newcomer Team includes Daniel Booker of Belmont, Erick Lindwall of Eastern Kentucky, Benedikt Thalmayr of Jacksonville State, Ross Redmont of UT Martin and Gabe Wheeler of Murray State.