University of Minnesota Athletics
Pisani Named First Team All-Big Ten
5/4/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
The Big Ten Conference today announced that Gopher senior Ben Pisani has been named to the 2010 men's golf All-Big Ten First Team. Also, Pisani is Minnesota's honoree for the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
Pisani is the 24th Gopher player to be named to the All-Big Ten First Team and the first since Victor Almstrom and Clayton Rask were named following the 2008 season. He was a member of the All-Big Ten second team as a junior.
A senior from Brisbane, Australia, Pisani led the Gophers in the fall and spring seasons in stroke average at 70.14 and 73.78, respectively. His combined stroke average of 72.24 this season is the fifth-lowest in the history of Minnesota golf and is his lowest in the four seasons he has been at the U. Pisani's current career average of 74.35 falls just outside of the program's top-10.
Pisani finished the regular season having posted five top-10 and eight top-20 finishes in 11 attempts, including a runner-up finish at the 2009 Gopher Invitational. His senior campaign may not be over, however, as he could be chosen to compete in an NCAA Regional as an individual. Pisani will learn his NCAA fate on Monday, May 10.
The conference office also announced that Pisani is Minnesota's honoree for the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. All student-athletes that are chosen for the award are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. In addition, the student-athletes must be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.
Complete awards list is below.
ALL-BIG TEN FIRST TEAM | ALL-BIG TEN SECOND TEAM |
Ben Pisani, Minnesota | Zach Barlow, Illinois |
Scott Langley, Illinois | Alex Martin, Indiana |
Chris DeForest, Illinois | Lion Kim, Michigan |
Luke Guthrie, Illinois | Matt Thompson, Michigan |
David Lipsky, Northwestern | Jack Newman, Michigan State |
Kevin Foley, Penn State | Erich Johnston, Purdue |
| | |
PLAYER OF THE YEAR | COACH OF THE YEAR |
Scott Langley, Illinois | Mike Small, Illinois |
| | |
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR | |
Jack Schultz, Michigan | |



