Dartmouth Claims Three New England Golf Coaches Awards

HANOVER, N.H. - The 2012 New England Division I Golf Awards were announced Friday afternoon with Dartmouth men's team claiming three of the four major honors.

Senior Peter Williamson (Hanover, N.H.) was named the Player of the Year, while coach Rich Parker was tabbed as the region's Coach of the Year. The Big Green were also recognized as a whole with the 2012 Team of the Year distinction as voted on by head coaches from teams across the six states.

Williamson finished his collegiate career on top as the Ivy League Player of the Year for the third straight spring. His stellar play in 2012 also earned him his fourth All-Ivy honor, becoming just the ninth player in history to receive the distinction all four seasons. Even more rare was his third individual Ivy title, becoming just the second player to accomplish the feat in league history.

Williamson can also now add the Player of the Year award to his resume along with Dartmouth's first All-America recognition since 1983 when he was named to the third team in June.

In addition to being named the area's top individual, Williamson was honored with a spot on the All-New England Team.

Joining Williamson on the All-New England Team is junior James Pleat (Nashua, N.H.). The soon-to-be senior finished April's Ivy event in a four-way tie for 11th place, missing out on all-league honors by one stroke. Pleat was also named to the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) Division I PING All-Northeast Region Team in late May.

Parker was voted the Coach of the Year after guiding the Big Green to a second-place finish at the Ivy League Championships in April. Although Dartmouth fell to Penn on the third playoff hole on Sunday afternoon, the team earned its highest finish at the league championship since 1995.

Parker's team also saw freshman Charlie Edler (Fair Haven, N.J.) finish in the top 10 at the conference championship event, tying for seventh (81-72-77-230) to earn Second-Team All-Ivy honors.

The fourth and final major award was given to Boston College's Andy Mai as New England's Rookie of the Year.

2012 New England Division I Golf Awards
Team of the Year:  Dartmouth College
Player of the Year:  Peter Williamson, Dartmouth
Rookie of the Year:  Andy Mai, Boston College
Coach of the Year:  Richard Parker, Dartmouth College

All-Rookie Team
Jared Adams, University of Rhode Island
Will Davenport, Yale University
Wally Gonzalez, Hartford University
Andy Mai, Boston College
Justin Miller, Brown University

All-New England Team
Sam Bernstein, Yale University
Jeb Buchannan, University of Connecticut
Branden Chicorka, University of Rhode Island
Leo Garcia, Sacred Heart University
Tony Grillo, Harvard University
Kevin Josephson, Central Connecticut State University
James Pleat, Dartmouth College
Josh Salah, Sacred Heart University
Matt Smith, Hartford University
Peter Williamson, Dartmouth College