By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Heading into the weekend's Ohio Valley Conference Championships, the Tennessee Tech men's golf made some history with a chance for more, as the league announced its postseason honors Saturday afternoon.
For the first time in his 11-year tenure, head coach Polk Brown was named the OVC Coach of the Year, taking home an honor last won in Cookeville by his former coach, Tennessee Tech Sports Hall of Famer Bobby Nichols, in 2005. Nichols claimed the award twice on the men's side (also in 1990).
Entering the league's postseason tournament, the purple and gold paced the league with a 288.9 scoring average, as well as the top GolfStat national ranking (No. 169), nearly three full strokes better than second-place Morehead State. The mark would represent the lowest average in program history as well.
On the year, Tech has delivered three runner-up finishes, six top-five finishes, and five of the league's top-10 individual scoring averages. The Golden Eagles turned in the second-lowest, 36-hole score in program history at the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate (563) and the fourth-lowest round in school history with a 276 at the same event. The team has also seen four players combine for seven OVC Male Golfer of the Week accolades, a program record.
Like his head coach, rookie Jackson Skeen collected a top honor, named the OVC's Freshman of the Year after finishing the regular season fourth in scoring average. The redshirt freshman became the first Golden Eagle to pick up the award that got its start in 2005.
Skeen was one of three members of the Tech squad to earn a place on the All-OVC First Team as well, the team's most members on an All-OVC Team in school history and the first with multiple since Braxton Hunter and PGA Tour Pro and TTU Sports Hall of Famer Scott Stallings earned honors in 2006. Joining him on the squad were Nick Sutton and Bracton Womack.
A Jonesborough, Tenn. native, Skeen was also selected as a member of the All-OVC Newcomer Team. The youngster finished second on the team and tied for fourth in the league with a scoring mark of 72.6, earning three top-10 finishes on the year. He picked up OVC Male Golfer of the Week honors on Mar. 23 after a two-round 143 at the Twin Oaks Intercollegiate.
Sutton picked up his first career postseason accolades with the All-OVC nod, boasting Tech's top scoring average and the league's third-best with a mark of 71.67. The sophomore earned medalist honors at the Battle at Black Creek with a 12-under 204, tying for the fourth-lowest 54-hole score in program history with Stallings and boasting a career-low round of 66.
He also picked up a runner-up finish and four total top-10 performances. Sutton became the first Golden Eagle to collect three Golfer of the Week awards in one season (and semester) since Matthew Giles did so in 2015-16.
Womack added his first All-OVC honor to his resume, one that also includes a spot on the 2017-18 All-OVC Newcomer Team. The senior was named OVC Male Golfer of the Week twice during the season, bringing his career total to three.
The Golden Eagle veteran finished the regular season third on the squad and tied for fourth in the OVC in scoring average, posting a mark of 72.6. His career scoring mark of 73.32 would currently rank as the second-best in program history. He delivered three top-10 showings on the year with one All-Tournament nod.
Tech will compete in the OVC Championships starting Sunday morning at 8:00 a.m. CT at Dalhousie Golf Club in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
