June 4, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Four Nittany Lions have earned Division I PING All-Region, as announced this week by the Golf Coaches Association of America. Senior All-American Kevin Foley (Somerville, N.J.), senior Jim Markovitz (Bridgeville, Pa.), redshirt-junior T.J. Howe (Osceola, Pa.) and junior Tommy McDonagh (Norwalk, Conn.) were all named to the All-Northeast Region team.
Penn State's four selections this year ties a program-high from 2007-08 when Foley, Howe, Robert Rohanna and Harvin Groft were named All-Region.
A two-time All-American and the program's only three-time All-Big Ten selection, including back-to-back first team nods, Foley finished his Nittany Lion career on a strong note. This spring, Foley won the Kepler Intercollegiate after posting an unprecedented 69-68-68, 205-tournament total. Foley's 8-under-par tournament-total, 205, set the Kepler individual scoring record by five strokes and earned him his second Big Ten Golfer of the Week honor of his career. Foley was fourth at NCAA Regionals this year, helping propel the Nittany Lions to NCAA Nationals, which are being held in Chattanooga, Tenn. The regional honor is the fourth of his career. Foley joins Dirk Akers (1992-93 through 1995-96), Matt Abbott (1997-98 through 2000-01) and Rohanna (2004-05 through 2007-08), as the only Nittany Lions to be named All-Region each year of their Penn State careers.
Redshirt-junior Howe earned Golfweek's National Golfer of the Week after tying for the top spot at NCAA Regionals this year. Howe was the first golfer in program history to finish at the top of an NCAA Regional. He blazed through the final 18 holes posting a career-low 4-under par, 66. The Pennsylvania native shot rounds of 69-68-66 (203) to trump the highly ranked field and help earn Penn State a fourth-place finish. Howe has qualified for a U.S. Open sectional qualifier next week after competing at the Quicksilver Golf Course outside of Pittsburgh, Pa., where he carded a 2-under par 70 to tie for third and advance. Howe will now take to the links at the Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md., for his sectional tournament. The 2010 U.S. Open sectional qualifiers are set for June 7. This year's Regional honor is Howe's second of his career after also earning honors in 2007-08.
McDonagh, one of only three players at NCAA Nationals from the Northeast, led Penn State through the first two rounds at Nationals. Earlier this season, McDonagh was named Big Ten Golfer of the Week after his performance at the Pinehurst Intercollegiate where he guided Penn State to a third-place finish. The Connecticut native led the Nittany Lions with an eighth-place finish at 4-over par. He sunk nine birdies and finished with a card of 73-71-76 (220). His efforts were just two strokes shy of third-place honors and seven back of the tournament champion. This year's Regional honor is McDonagh's first.
Markovitz was a steady presence in the line-up all season long, helping push the Nittany Lions to the program's fourth appearance at NCAA Nationals and second in the past three years. The regional honor is the second for the senior, who has also earned All-Region accolades last year. Markovitz has also been named an Academic All-Big Ten selection during his Penn State career.
The Nittany Lions made their second appearance in three years at NCAA Nationals this year, finishing 29th.
--NITTANY LIONS--