GRIFFIN, BALL NAMED CAA’S BEST
5-11-09

RICHMOND, Va. - Virginia Commonwealth University junior Lanto Griffin (Blacksburg, Va.) was named the Colonial Athletic Association’s Men’s Golfer of the Year Monday in a vote of the league’s head coaches.

VCU’s Matt Ball and James Madison’s Jeff Forbes were also honored as CAA Co-Coaches of the Year.

Griffin led the Rams to their first CAA Men’s Golf Championship title since 2002 and their eighth overall. The junior tied for third place in the conference championship, shooting 69-73-76=218 (+2) in the 54-hole event. Griffin placed among the top five in four events and the top 14 in six tournaments, highlighted by a second-place finish at the Rutherford Intercollegiate (76-70-70=216) in his first outing of the 2008-09 season. He shot a season-low 66 at the Rams’ own VCU Shootout in September. Heading into the NCAA Tournament, Griffin owns the league’s second-best scoring average of 72.34 after 11 tournaments.

Griffin’s citation marks the fifth time a Ram has earned the league’s highest honor. John Rollins (1996, 1997) and Reg Millage (1999, 2000) each won the award twice, while Donny Lee collected the trophy in 1998.

Ball earned CAA Men’s Coach of the Year honors for the second straight season after guiding the Rams to their fourth conference title during his tenure. VCU erased a 12-stroke deficit on the final day and won on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to take the title. With the win, the Rams advance to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in school history. The Rams won three tournaments during the 2008-09 season and finished among the top three in eight tournaments.