FMU Golf Team honored with GCAA academic award
For the seventh year, the Francis Marion University golf team has received a Golf Coaches Association of America All-Academic Team Award, this time for the 2019-20 academic year.
To be eligible for GCAA team recognition, a school must register a team grade point average of 3.00 or higher for the entire academic year.
Francis Marion was one of 142 NCAA Division I members nationwide to earn this honor, and the Patriots were one of nine Palmetto State institutions.
The 12-member FMU squad posted a 3.371 GPA for the 2019-20 academic year. Head coach Mark Gaynor’s team consisted of seniors Mark Goodall (Edinburgh, Scotland, UK), and Justin Prozzi (Hartsville); juniors Haakon Andersen (Stabekk, Norway), John Burghardt (Oakville, Ontario, Canada), Jacob Morris (Charleston), and Michael Rials (Florence); sophomores Pierre De Caevel (Glabais, Belgium), Grainger Howle (Darlington), Grant Sellers (McBee), and McClure Thompson (Little River); and freshmen Casper Kennedy (Tjome, Norway) and Mitchell Vance (Hartsville).
On the course, the Patriots finished their abbreviated (due to COVID-19) 2019-20 schedule with a pair of Top-10 finishes, including a season-best third-place showing at the 2020 Invitational at Savannah Harbor. Burghardt led FMU with a 74.15 stroke average, while the team registered a 298.25 stroke average for the year.
