GCAA Release
NORMAN, Okla. – A program-record five Fighting Illini men's golfers were honored as Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholars, as announced Wednesday (June 17) by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA).
Seniors Bryan Baumgarten and Giovanni Tadiotto each earned the designation for the second consecutive season to become just the eighth and ninth student-athletes in program history to earn multiple GCAA All-America Scholar awards. They are joined on the list by junior Brendan O'Reilly; sophomores Adrien Dumont de Chassart and Tommy Kuhl were also honored, as 2020 marks the first season in which sophomores are eligible for the award.
To be eligible for Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar status, a Division I student-athlete must have a stroke-average under 76.0 and maintain a minimum cumulative career grade-point average of 3.2. For 2019-20 only, they must have also participated in 40 percent of the team's competitive rounds.
Baumgarten, a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, played in 15 of 18 tournament rounds for the Illini in his senior campaign, which was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. He posted a 72.87 average including a career-low-tying round of 65 at the Maui Jim Intercollegiate. Baumgarten graduated in May with a degree in Management: Entrepreneurship and will pursue his professional career.
Tadiotto, also a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, played 15 of 18 tournament rounds while posting a 72.60 stroke average overall in 2019-20. In two spring tournaments, prior to the season's cancellation in March, Tadiotto averaged a team-best 69.67 in six rounds with back-to-back top-five finishes at the Mobile Sports Authority Intercollegiate and the John A. Burns Intercollegiate. He will have an opportunity to pursue an unprecedented third All-America Scholar nod in 2021 after announcing his return for a fifth season.
O'Reilly, who has earned a pair of Academic All-Big Ten awards, saw action in 12 rounds for the Illini with an average score of 73.08. Kuhl (15 rounds) and Dumont de Chassart (18 rounds) notched season stroke averages of 72.53 and 73.55, respectively, while each earning their first Academic All-Big Ten selections.
In all, 16 different Fighting Illini have now earned 24 All-America Scholar awards from the GCAA in program history, with 11 golfers garnering 18 of those nods under the guidance of head coach Mike Small.
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