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A Pair Of ECU Men's Golfers Tabbed PING All-Region
 
Juniors Harold Varner and David Watkins named to the All-East Region squad
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Harold Varner
 
Harold Varner
 
 

June 1, 2011

Division I PING All-Region Teams

GREENVILLE, N.C. --- East Carolina junior men's golfers Harold Varner and David Watkins have each been named to the Division I PING All-East Region team, the Golf Coaches Association of America announced late Tuesday evening. The duo becomes the first Pirates to be recognized since the award was first handed out in 2008.

ECU was one of seven schools to have multiple players named to the All-East Region team along with Clemson, Duke, Georgia Tech, NC State, Virginia and UNC Wilmington. Overall 13 schools were represented in the East, while 152 total players were honored across six regions - Northeast, East, Southeast, Midwest, Central and West.

A Gastonia, N.C. native, Varner played in all 12 of the team's tournament during the season and carded the team's lowest score in eight events. He logged 11 top-20 finishes, including seven in the top 10, posted the lowest stroke average (71.3) in school history and was named First-Team All-Conference USA. He won his initial career intercollegiate event at the Outer Banks Collegiate in October when he became the first Pirate to break the 200-barrier in a 54-hole tournament with his 20-under 196. Varner was named C-USA Golfer-of-the-Week twice during the year.

A two-time first-team all-league honoree, Watkins also recorded 11 top-20 finishes in 12 events played this season, including four in the top five. He earned Conference USA all-tournament accolades with a third-place finish at five-under 211. He finished the year with the third-lowest stroke average (72.22) in ECU history, shooting par or better in 50 percent of his rounds. Watkins was twice selected Conference USA Golfer-of-the-Week and was also named to the league's all-academic team for a second consecutive season.

 

 

East Carolina, under fifth-year head coach Press McPhaul, earned its first-ever at-large bid to the NCAA Regional Championships where it finished ninth at the Virginia Tech Regional. It was the Pirates' first NCAA appearance since 1991 and second overall.