NORMAN, Okla. – UNCG freshman Carter Jenkins and Western Carolina junior J.T. Poston have been named to the PING All-Region East Team, the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) announced Thursday.
A total of 157 players across six regions – Northeast, East, Southeast, Midwest, Central and West – earned all-region honors for 2014.
Jenkins was named the Southern Conference Freshman of the Year as well as earning first-team All-SoCon accolades this season. He helped the Spartans place third at the SoCon Championship and advance to their first-ever NCAA Regional, where they finished seventh overall, just two shots out of advancing to the NCAA Championship.
Jenkins was second in the SoCon with a 72.47 stroke average in 34 total rounds of golf. He posted eight top-20 finishes, including six in the top 10 during his rookie campaign. He won his third career collegiate event, taking home the title at the Wolfpack Intercollegiate with a 13-under-par 203 score. He tied the UNCG single-round low score with a 9-under 63 in the second round of the Wolfpack Intercollegiate.
Jenkins also advanced through the local qualifying for the 2014 U.S. Open, placing fourth with a 4-under-par 68 at the Pinewild Country Club in Pinehurst, N.C. He heads to the sectional qualifying on June 2 at the Ansley Golf Club Settindown Creek Course in Roswell, Ga., one of 10 sites in the country to hold events that day.
Poston earns his second All-East Region recognition in as many years, joining former Catamount standout Matt Cook, who was named to the All-Southeast Region honorary team in 2008.
The 2014 SoCon Men’s Golfer of the Year, Poston claimed this spring’s SoCon Men’s Golf Championship in Pinehurst, N.C., garnering All-SoCon plaudits and the league’s automatic bid in to the NCAA postseason. He finished tied for 38th individually at the 2014 NCAA Men’s Golf Raleigh Regional, matching his first-ever NCAA appearance from a season ago.
A product of Hickory, N.C., Poston recorded nine top-10 finishes, including placing in the top five eight times with four individual medalist honors in his 11 seasonal events. He recorded WCU's all-time best single-season scoring average at 70.27 and will enter his senior year atop the career stroke average chart at 71.97.
The three-year starter was listed on two national player of the year watch lists this season – the Ben Hogan and the Haskins Award – while also appearing on the Palmer Cup watch list this spring, capping the year with the PING All-East Region honor.