The University of Akron Athletics
Men's Golf Places Three on Academic All-MAC Squad
May 19 | Men's Golf
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CLEVELAND, Ohio – The University of Akron men's golf program placed three team members on the 2016 Men's Golf Academic All-MAC team, the Mid-American Conference announced on Thursday.
Seniors Louis Birchall (Ingestre Park, England) and Ryan Harris (Carlisle, Mass.) as well as sophomore George Baylis (Ascot, England) earned the MAC honors for excelling in the classroom and on the course. The Zips' trio was among 23 student-athletes named to this year's MAC All-Academic squad.
"Louis, Ryan, and George are student-athletes that make our program great," Zips' head coach David Trainor said. "All three work extremely hard in the classroom and on the course. I'm very proud of their accomplishments."
Birchall, a geography and planning major, earned his third Academic All-MAC honor and appeared on the Dean's List six times in his academic career with one semester remaining. He maintains a 3.832 GPA while playing in seven of 11 events this season.
Birchall finished in the Top 25 and was Akron's low scorer at the Wexford Intercollegiate with a 24th-best 221 (+5) performance. During that tournament, he recorded a season-low 18-hole round of 1-under par 71 strokes. In 20 rounds of golf, Birchall posted a 75.85 stroke average and carded five rounds of par or better. He fired a season-low 54-hole score at the Zips' Firestone Invitational and finished 31st overall.
Harris, a sports management major, also earned his third Academic All-MAC award. He appeared on the Dean's List six times throughout his academic career with a 3.462 GPA.
Harris played in eight of the Zips' 11 events this season. He finished in the Top 15 twice and made four appearances in the Top 25. Harris posted a third-best 75.04 stroke average, carding five rounds of par or better. Harris fired a pair of 3-under par season-low scores of 68 (-3) and 69 (-3) while finishing in the MAC's Top 25 in scoring at 21st overall.
Baylis, a psychology major, makes his first appearance as an Academic All-MAC honoree. He made one appearance on the Dean's List and maintains a 3.267 GPA while leading the Zips' men's golf team.
Baylis became Akron's first MAC Champion in school history and made the program's third appearance in the NCAA Men's Golf Championships this season. He appeared in all of the Zips' 11 events and participated in the Kohler Regional in Kohler, Wis. Baylis posted a team-low 73.25 scoring average over 36 rounds and carded 14 rounds of par or better. He fired a career-low 4-under par 67 to win the MAC Championship and posted 68 scores three times. He had a team-high five Top 25 finishes with three Top 5 appearances, earing 1st at the MAC Championships (283, -1), 4th at the Furman Intercollegiate (209, -7), and 5th at the Firestone Invitational (211, -5). Both, 209 and 211, are UA's top two 54-hole performances of the season. Baylis was Akron's low scorer in 7-of-11 tournaments, including the last 4-of-5. He ranked in the Top 10 in overall scoring in the MAC (7th).
The Academic All-MAC honor is for a student-athlete who has excelled in athletics and academics. To qualify, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests for that particular sport.
Complete Academic All-MAC Team
Akron
George Baylis, Sophomore, 3.267, Psychology
Louis Birchall, Senior, 3.832, Geography and Planning
Ryan Harris, Senior, 3.426, Sports Management
Ball State
Michael VanDeventer, Sophomore, 3.378, Exercise Science
Johnny Watts, Sophomore, 3.412, Finance
Bowling Green
Mitchell Kontak, Sophomore, 3.372, Finance
Jose Narro, Junior, 3.453, Supply Chain Management
Eastern Michigan
Kyle Rodes, Junior, 3.64, Exercise Science
Nic Ross, Sophomore, 3.64, General Business
Brett White, Senior, 3.50, Supply Chain Management
Kent State
Ian Holt, Sophomore, 3.33, Business Management
Chase Johnson, Sophomore, 3.47, Marketing
Miami
Patrick Flavin, Sophomore, 3.22, Quantitative Economics
Bud Radis, Senior, 3.70, Finance
Daniel Schwarz, Senior, 3.99, Finance
Jack Sparling, Senior, 3.23, Sport Leadership and Management
Northern Illinois
Pierrick Fillon, Junior, 3.216, Mechanical Engineering
Joo-Young Lee, Junior, 3.279, Finance
Ohio
Grant Engel, Sophomore, 3.701, Finance
Peyton White, Junior, 3.655, Finance
Toledo
Colin Joseph, Sophomore, 3.67, Pre-Marketing
Thomas Shindler, Senior, 3.66, Accounting
Stephen Watts, Sophomore, 3.37, Pre-Finance
