Three Blue Devils Garner All-America Honors

June 10, 2005

KOHLER, Wis. - The Golf Coaches Association of America has announced the complete All-America selections for 2004-05 and three Blue Devils were recognized. Ryan Blaum, as announced immediately following the NCAA Championship, has earned First-Team All-America honors. In an announcement made today, freshman Michael Schachner and junior Nathan Smith garnered honorable mention accolades.

Blaum was largely responsible for Duke's stellar season, compiling a stroke average of 71.9 and winning two tournaments. His crowning achievement for the year was his eight-shot victory at the ACC Championship, the second-largest margin of victory ever. The junior from Coral Gables, Fla. posted five top-five finishes this season. This his second straight All-America nod, as he earned honorable mention accolades last season. The 2003 ACC Rookie of the Year, Blaum is also a two-time All-ACC pick, having earned the conference's Player of the Year award this season.

Schachner, a freshman from Libertyville, Ill., turned his game on down the stretch of the season to earn his honorable mention status. The rookie posted two top-fives in the second half of the year, including a fifth-place showing at the NCAA East Regional. He fired a 63 in the second round, the best round by a Blue Devil all year, and then made two key birdies down the stretch in the third round to secure an NCAA Championship berth for the Blue Devils. He also posted a 68 in round two at the NCAA Championship, Duke's low round for the event.

Smith, a third-team selection a season ago, just completed his second straight year of earning both All-ACC and All-America accolades. The junior from Santa Cruz, Calif. had Duke's second-best stroke average this season at 72.7 and posted four top fives and six top-10 performances. He won the Azalea Amateur in Charleston in March and tied for second at two collegiate competitions.

Of Note: Ryan Blaum is Duke's first All-America first-team honoree since John Karcher and Jason Widener in 1990 ... this is the first time Duke has had three men's golf All-Americans in the same season ... this marks the first time two Duke players have repeated as All-America honorees ... Michael Schachner is the third Duke freshman to earn All-America accolades (Widener, Matt Krauss).