May 1, 2006

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. –

University of South Carolina golfers Eirik Johansen (Stavanger, Norway) and Florian Fritsch (Wiesloch, Germany) have been selected to the 2006 All-Southeastern Conference Golf Teams, the league office announced on Monday. Johansen, a senior, made the All-SEC first team for the third time in his career while Fritsch has been named to the second team in his freshman season at South Carolina.

After earning first-team honors as both a freshman and sophomore, Johansen received the nod again as a senior. He becomes the third USC golfer to collected first-team All-SEC honors in three seasons, joining David Seawell (1994, 1995, 1996) and Kyle Thompson (1998, 1999, 2001). Johansen’s play has led the Gamecocks throughout the season as he owns five top-10 finishes and has been Carolina’s top finisher six times. The team captain sports a 72.73 stroke average, the best of any Gamecock this season and No. 10 among SEC golfers. He has 19 top-10 performances during his career.

Fritsch owns Carolina’s second-best stroke average and No. 14 among SEC golfers at 72.89. The rookie has three top-10 finishes and four top-20 showings this season. Fritsch has been the Gamecocks’ best finisher in four events, including a second-place effort at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate as Carolina captured the team title. He is one of four freshmen to make the all-conference teams.

South Carolina has had at least one player on the All-SEC team in every season since joining the league in 1992. Gamecocks have collected a total of 21 all-conference honors during that span.

The Gamecocks are currently awaiting the announcement of the NCAA Regional field on May 8. USC also has one more scheduled event, the Linger Longer Invitational in Greensboro, Ga., May 14-15.

2006 All-SEC Golf Teams
SEC COACH OF THE YEARChris Haack, Georgia
SEC SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEARJoseph Sykora, Alabama
SEC PLAYER OF THE YEARChris Kirk, Georgia
SEC FRESHMAN OF THE YEARBrian Harman, Georgia
FIRST TEAM ALL-SECMatt Every, FloridaBilly Horschel, FloridaBrett Stegmaier, FloridaBrian Harman, GeorgiaChris Kirk, GeorgiaBrendon Todd, GeorgiaEirik Johansen, South CarolinaLuke List, Vanderbilt
SECOND TEAM ALL-SECMatthew Swan, AlabamaMatt Bortis, ArkansasStuart Moore, AuburnJames Vargas, FloridaKevin Kisner, GeorgiaBrad Doster, KentuckyFlorian Fritsch, South CarolinaJonathan Mount, Tennessee