GCAA All-Region Press Release

GCAA All-Freshman Press Release

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.— The Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) announced that MCLA freshman golfer Mat Gover has been named to the organization's 2024 NCAA Division III PING All-Region Team and All-Freshman Team.

Gover in his first year with the Trailblazers finished first in seven golf events, including the MASCAC Tournament. He earned individual medalist honors, shooting a 76 on day two to go with a 71 (-1) on day one for a +3 (147) for the two day tournament. In the first round of play, he finished with three birdies while collecting two during the second round to help clinch the MASCAC individual title. His efforts not only gave him Player of the Year honors but also MASCAC Rookie of the Year accolades as the top first time performer in the conference. The Trailblazers had their highest team showing ever with a runner-up finish in the team standings.

Gover is one of 15 players named to the team for Region I. He is joined by Babson College's Tomas Amaya, John Baldwin, Evan Eichenlaub, Sean Fitzgerald, and Shane Quinn, Endicott College's Brady Burke, Hamilton College's Ramon Aroca Gonzalez, and Tyler Tornoe, Middlebury College's Colin McCaigue, Trinity College's Benjamin Boyd, Thomas Chalfant, and Cooper Yaccino, and Tufts University's Nick McCabe and Cooper Yaccino.

Joining Gover on the All-Freshman team are the 2024 NCAA Division III Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman Award winner Jonathan McEwen from Washington & Lee University, Ryan Dannegger of Carnegie Mellon University, Benjamin Garcia of Swarthmore College, Sam Higaki of Carleton College, Mason Remington of Whitman College, and Thomas Wang of the University of Rochester.

Established in 1958, the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) is the professional organization of men's collegiate golf coaches. The GCAA's mission is to support its member coaches from six divisions, including the NCAA, NAIA and NJCAA, by creating educational opportunities, providing resources, and promoting its members with the purpose of enhancing their overall performance as coaches, mentors, and teachers. The GCAA also recognizes the excellence and achievements of its members and their student-athletes in academic, athletic and civic endeavors.

PING designs, manufactures, and markets a complete line of golf equipment, including metal woods, irons, wedges, putters, and golf bags. The family-owned company was founded in 1959 in the garage of the late Karsten Solheim, a mechanical engineer with an extensive background in the aerospace and computer industries. His frustration with his putting inspired him to design his own putter, which created a "pinging" sound when striking a golf ball. This sound was the source of the name now synonymous with innovation, quality and service throughout the world of golf. Solheim and his company are credited with numerous innovations that became industry standards, including perimeter weighting, custom fitting, and the use of investment casting in the manufacturing of golf clubs.  His insistence on adhering to strict engineering principles and tight manufacturing tolerances raised the level of product performance and quality throughout the golf industry.  Solheim is the only person to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame as a golf club manufacturer. Today, the Phoenix-based company is under the direction of Solheim's grandson, John K. Solheim, who leads a team of more than 800 dedicated employees committed to helping improve the games of golfers around the world.