O'Grady And Ellison Nab Men's Golf All-Northeast Conference Recognition

EMMITSBURG, Md. – Devin O'Grady (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township), a member of the Mount St. Mary's men's golf team, has been named to the All-Northeast Conference (NEC) first team, announced on Tuesday. Kevin Ellison (Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt) has been selected to the All-NEC second team.

O'Grady paced the team with a 75.5 strokes per round average on his way to his first conference honor with his first-team recognition. The sophomore, who finished fifth in the NEC Championships on May 6 with a score of 224, registered four Top-10 finishes this season. O'Grady's best finish came at the ECAC Championships after placing third with a two-round score of 146. He placed fourth at the Rehoboth Beach Invitational on Sept. 26 with a two-round total of 146 and finished 10th at the Holiday Inn Pittsburgh Airport Colonial Classic on Oct. 12 with a two-day score of 154. The sophomore notched a career-low round of 67 in the second round of the Towson Fireline Invitational on Mar. 31 and ended the event in 11th place with a season-best three-round score of 218. O'Grady earned NEC All-Tournament honors for the second season in a row after placing ninth in the NEC Championships as a freshman.

Ellison nabbed a second-team nod after posting the fourth-best strokes per round average (76.6) on the team this season. The sophomore was the Mount's top golfer at the NEC Championships after finishing the three-day event in third place with a score of 222 to earn a spot on the All-Tournament team. The third-place standing was the highest finish at the league championships since Nick Montemarano was fourth in the 1998 NEC Championships. Ellison won the ECAC Championships with a two-round score of 143 to become the first individual medalist since Andrew Hill in 2003.

The duo becomes the Mount's first All-NEC selections since current head coach Kevin Farrell was named to the All-NEC team in 2008. It also marks the fourth time in team history the squad placed two players on the All-NEC team and the first since the 1998 campaign. Prior to the 2009 season, players who finished in the Top-10 of the NEC Championships were named to the all-conference team. In the last four years, the coaches voted on the All-NEC team with the Top-10 being selected to the All-Tournament team.  Mount St. Mary's had four players finish in the Top-10 at the 2012 NEC Championships for the first time in program history.

Farrell was named the 2012 NEC Coach of the Year at the NEC Championships after guiding the Mountaineers to its first NEC Championship title on May 6. Farrell, who is in his third season as head coach of the men's golf program, became the first person in league history to be named to the All-NEC as a player and NEC Coach of the Year. Farrell was selected to the 2007 and 2008 All-NEC team after finishing eighth both campaigns.

Mount St. Mary's will now make its first appearance in the NCAA Regional in Greensboro, N.C. on Thursday. Along with Ellison and O'Grady, senior Danny Michalek (Mount Airy, Md./Mount St. Joseph), sophomore Tonny Aizpun (Barc elona, Spain/ Lycee Francais De Barcelone) and freshman Ryan Triller (Pylesville, Md./North Harford) will also be competing for the Mountaineers . The Mount will start the three-day tournament with an 8 a.m. tee time on Thursday.