COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Carrying the lowest scoring averages in the Mountain West this season, Fresno State's Matthew Manganello and Matthew Sutherland were named to the All-Mountain West Team on Wednesday afternoon. It is the first career postseason honor for both juniors.
The No. 84-ranked golfer according to GolfStat, Manganello led the conference this year with a 69.93 scoring average during 29 rounds. He was the only golfer in the MW to average below 70 on the year. He became the first Bulldog to capture two tournament wins in the same season since Nick Watney accomplished the feat in 2002. The junior from Las Vegas was just one of two golfers in the MW to win two medalist honors this year. Manganello also finished with the second-most Top 10 finishes in the conference with five.
At the Mountain West Championship, his 13-under par was the lowest score by a Bulldog at a conference championship in over 30 overs. En route to that he became the second Bulldog to shoot a 66 at a MW Championship, and first to do it twice. It was the second time this season that he shot a career-low 13-under par 203.
Sutherland, who ranks No. 110 in GolfStat, held the second-best scoring average in the MW at 70.24. Like his teammate, the Sacramento product also earned five Top 10 finishes on the season. He finished in the Top 5 a team-best four times with a third-place result at the El Macero Classic being his highest. The junior's best 54-hole score of the year came in the season opening as he shot a career-low 11-under par 202 to begin a stretch of three consecutive Top 5's.
At the Mountain West Championships, he finished at 1-under par, the first time he had been under par in his career at the conference tournament.
Manganello and Sutherland are the fourth and fifth Fresno State golfers to earn All-Mountain West honors. They are the first Bulldogs to be placed on the postseason team in the same season year.
Both Bulldogs will compete next week as the No. 1 and No. 2 seeded individuals at the NCAA Morgan Hill Regional.
MOUNTAIN WEST MEN'S GOLF ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
Christoph Bleier, Colorado State
Davis Bryant, Colorado State
Connor Jones, Colorado State
Matthew Manganello, Fresno State
Matthew Sutherland, Fresno State
Bastien Amat, New Mexico
Albert Boneta, New Mexico
Justin Hastings, San Diego State
Shea Lague, San Diego State
Caden Fioroni, UNLV
Golfer of the Year: Caden Fioroni, Jr., UNLV
Freshman of the Year: Dylan Oyama, San Diego State
Coach of the Year: Ryan Donovan, San Diego State