The Kenyon College student-athlete scholarship hit parade keeps on playing as the Owls’ men’s golf team earned academic recognition for individuals and the team as a whole. Team members Andrew Kotler and Nick Lust earned All-America scholar status, and the men’s team received an all-academic team award.
The list of 2021-22 Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholars for NCAA Division III was announced by the Golf Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) this week, and among the honorees were recent Kenyon College graduates Andrew Kotler and Nick Lust.
To be eligible for Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar consideration, a student-athlete had to be a sophomore, junior or senior both academically and athletically. In addition, the nominee had to participate in 50% of his team’s competitive rounds, had to have a stroke average under 79.0 and had to maintain a minimum cumulative career GPA of 3.2. Additionally, the nominee must also be of high moral character and be in good standing at his college or university.
Kotler and Lust were two key golfers in one of Kenyon’s best seasons ever. They helped the Owls win the first North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) championship in program history and capped off the season with a program-best 15th-place showing at the NCAA Division III Championship.
Kotler, who is now a two-time GCAA All-America Scholar, played all 24 rounds for Kenyon during the 2021-22 season and carved out a 76.73 scoring average. He logged a pair of top-10 individual finishes, tied for 11th at the NCAC Championship and tied for 48th at the NCAA Division III Championship.
Lust also played all 24 rounds for Kenyon and posted a 74.91 scoring average, the second-best mark on the team. He had a trio of top-10 individual finishes, including taking medalist honors at the NCAC Championship, where he carded both a Kenyon and course record score of 64 in the second round of play. He went on to tie for 19th place among the 221 golfers at the NCAA Division III Championship. Lust is now a three-time recipient of the GCAA All-America Scholar award.
Owls recognized by GCAA as top academic team
A few days after honoring the academic achievements of individual golfers, the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) released Monday its list of 2021-22 team academic award winners. The Kenyon College Owls were not only included among the winners of the All-Academic Team Award, but also earned GCAA Presidents Special Recognition.
To be eligible for the GCAA All-Academic Team honor, a college or university had to submit the grade point averages for each player on its official roster. The team’s combined GPA had to be 3.0 or better. Kenyon surpassed that mark by a lot.
While there were just 19 NCAA Division III men’s golf programs that earned the All-Academic Team Award, there were only eight, including Kenyon, that earned Presidents Special Recognition for having a team GPA of 3.50 or better.
Kenyon had 13 players on its 2021-22 roster, and together they combined for a 3.54 GPA for the season.
The All-Academic Team Award was the Owls’ ninth in as many years, while the team earned the President's Special Recognition for the third time in the past three seasons.
