Andrew Bennett Named to 2023-24 LSWA All-Louisiana Golf Team
Centenary senior Andrew Bennett (Bossier City, La.) was named to the 2023-24 Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA) All-Louisiana Men's College Golf team, the organization announced on Wednesday.
NEW ORLEANS – Centenary senior Andrew Bennett (Bossier City, La.) was named to the 2023-24 Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA) All-Louisiana Men's College Golf team, the organization announced on Wednesday.
The LSWA announced its Men's and Women's Golf All-Louisiana Teams on Wednesday, honoring LSU's Connor Gaunt and Ingrid Lindblad as the men's and women's Players of the Year. Bennett earned a spot on the First Team, joined by three LSU players and one from Louisiana Tech, as he made the team for the first time in his career.
Ten total men were recognized on either the First Team or Second Team, while five golfers made up the women's All-Louisiana squad.
Lindblad has now earned Player of the Year honors five straight years, finishing her collegiate career as No. 1 in Women's World Amateur Golf Rankings for 53 consecutive weeks with a school-record 69.42 stroke average and four wins during her final campaign. Gaunt was the 62nd-ranked men's golfer in the Clippd Scoreboard rankings, finishing his season with three Top 3s and a 71.05 scoring average, which is the second-lowest in program history.
LSU led the way with seven total selections with seven total schools representing the teams. Tigers' student-athletes Gaunt, Jay Mendell and Drew Doyle were all three voted on the Men's First Team, and Ingrid Lindblad, Latanna Stone, Carla Tejedo and Aine Donegan made it four of a possible five honorees on the women's team.
Nilo Maki-Petaja (Louisiana Tech) and Bennett joined the three LSU golfers on the First Team, with Maki-Petaja being voted the Men's Freshman of the Year. Daniela Campillo (ULM) became the fifth selection on the Women's All-Louisiana Team, and she was also honored as the Women's Freshman of the Year.
Melan Dhaubhadel (ULM), Kyle Bennett (New Orleans), Grayson Glorioso (Southeastern), Malan Potgieter (Louisiana) and Matt Weber (New Orleans) were all Men's Second Team selections.
The New Orleans men's coach, Jeff Lorio, and the LSU women's coach, Garrett Runion, were each voted Coach of the Year.
Bennett was the story of the season for the Gents as he became the first Centenary men's golfer to qualify for the NCAA Championships in the division III era (2013-present) and was named the SCAC Men's Golfer of the Year after he claimed the individual title at the SCAC Championships in Whitney, Texas in April. Bennett posted under par scores (71, 71 and 70) in each of his three rounds at the conference championships, becoming just the third player in conference championship history to do so, and his three-day total of 212 is tied for the third-lowest finishing score in conference history.
Bennett, one of six individuals selected to participate in the NCAA Division III Championships in Boulder City, Nev., and played one round before he was forced to withdraw due to illness. Bennett was also named a 2024 Division III PING All-American by the Golf Coaches Association of America after earning a spot on the PING All-Region Team, landing on the Third Team, and is the first Centenary men's golfer to be named an All-American since Hal Sutton in 1980. He earned First-Team All-SCAC honors this season, was named SCAC Men's Golfer of the Week once, and claimed two individual wins, three top-five finishes, and a top-15 finish during the season. He helped lead the Gents to a fourth-place team finish at the conference championships, which is their best at the event since finishing fourth in 2014.
Bennett is the first Centenary golfer to be named All-Louisiana since former Gent Richard Polan earned Honorable-Mention honors in 2022.
The 2023-24 LSWA All-Louisiana Men's and Women's Golf teams were selected by a statewide vote of school sports information directors.
Men
Player of the Year: Connor Gaunt, LSU
Freshman of the Year: Nilo Maki-Petaja
Coach of the Year: Jeff Lorio, New Orleans
First Team
Connor Gaunt, LSU
Nilo Maki-Petaja, Louisiana Tech
Jay Mendell, LSU
Drew Doyle, LSU
Andrew Bennett, Centenary College
Second Team
Melan Dhaubhadel, ULM
Kyle Bennett, New Orleans
Grayson Glorioso, Southeastern
Malan Potgieter, Louisiana
Matt Weber, New Orleans
Women
Player of the Year: Ingrid Lindblad, LSU
Freshman of the Year: Daniela Campillo, ULM
Coach of the Year: Garrett Runion, LSU
Ingrid Lindblad, LSU
Latanna Stone, LSU
Carla Tejedo, LSU
Aine Donegan, LSU
Daniela Campillo, ULM
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