NEW ORLEANS – University of South Alabama seniors Michael Garretson and Tyler Klava were honored Friday by the Sun Belt Conference with the announcement of this season's all-league teams.
The former earned first-team accolades for the third year in a row, while the latter was selected to the second-team; Klava joins Heath Slocum (1993-96) and Jonny Caldwell (2005-08) as the only Jaguars ever to receive all-Sun Belt honors all four seasons with the program.
Garretson — who hails from Acworth, Ga. — paced the Jags during the 2014-15 campaign with a 73.38 scoring average and six top -20 performances in 11 outings. He shot par or better on 12 occasions, a total matched by Klava, in 32 rounds while leading the squad at five tournaments. Garretson's best finish of the year was a tie for fourth, accomplished twice — in a field of 75 individuals at the AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic hosted by Georgia State, where he carded a 4-under-par 140 total over 36 holes including a season-low round of 68, and at the Mobile Sports Authority Intercollegiate after posting a 1-under-par 215 score at USA's home event. He also carded a 68 at the Sam Hall Intercollegiate, and he closed out his career with a 1-under-par 70 on the final day of the conference championship to finish tied for eighth at the tournament.
Klava's 73.44 stroke average was second on the squad, while he led the Jaguars with four top-10 results — all recorded during the spring campaign — tied for their lowest 18-hole score of the year with a 5-under-par 67 at Auburn's Tiger Invitational and had the best three-round total after firing a 5-under-par 211 at the Old Waverly Collegiate Championship to close out the regular season. A native of Pace, Fla., he opened the spring tying for ninth at the Mobile Sports Authority Intercollegiate after shooting par or better in each of the last two rounds of the event, going on to match that performance at Auburn with a 3-under-par 213 score over 54 holes. His best finish of the year was a tie for fifth at the league championship, where he shot below par in two of three rounds — including a 2-under-par 69 to open the championship — en route to an even-par 213 total.
Garretson and Klava ranked 13th, and 14th, respectively, in the conference in scoring average against par.
The Jags have had 62 all-Sun Belt selections in men's golf since 1982, with multiple members recognized by the league 10 of the last 13 years including each of the last three seasons.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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