Two Detroit Golfers Receive All-America Scholar Recognition

July 15, 2008

DETROIT, Mich. - Two Detroit Titans - 2008 senior co-captains Mikhial Pasic and Mark Sommerfeld - have been named Cleveland Golf All-America Scholars by the Golf Coaches Association of America.

A total of 96 Division I players earned the honor and the two Titans were the lone Horizon League golfers recognized by the GCAA for the prestigious award in 2008. It's the first time that two UDM players received the award in the same year.

To be eligible for Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar status, a Division I golfer must be a junior or senior academically and compete in at least two full years at the collegiate level, participate in 70 percent of his team's competitive rounds or compete in the NCAA Championships, have a stroke average under 76.0 and maintain a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.2. A recipient must also be of high moral character and be in good standing at his college or university before being selected by the GCAA All-America Scholar voting committee.

Pasic was already named a second-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV Men's At-Large Team honoree earlier this summer by the College Sports Information Directors of America. He graduated summa cum laude with a 3.99 grade point average, majoring in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance. He was the College of Business' Finance Award winner and also received the Financial Executives International Award for outstanding academic achievement in the field. Additionally, Pasic was a UDM valedictorian finalist.

On the golf course, Pasic was a four-year starter for the Titans, and was a member of two Horizon League Championship teams that went on to compete in the NCAA Regionals. He finished fourth at the League Championships as a junior to be named to the All-Tournament Team, and ended his senior year with a career-best 75.2 stroke average. He matched his career-low round of 67 at the IPFW Classic in the fall.

Like Pasic a member of Detroit's NCAA Regional competitors in 2005 and 2007, Sommerfeld was a four-time All-Horizon League golfer and three-time HL Player of the Year during his Titan career. A current member of the Canadian National Amateur Team, Sommerfeld was the individual medalist in three tournaments during his college career, including the 2008 Detroit Titans Invitational. He shares the school 18-hole scoring record with a round of 65, and had eight Top 10 finishes in 11 tournaments as a senior. Sommerfeld led the Horizon League in scoring for four straight years, topping out with a 72.3 stroke average in 2007-08.

He also won the 2008 President's Award as UDM's most outstanding senior male student-athlete, and was Vice President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee as a senior. He graduated magna cum laude with a 3.45 grade point average, majoring in International Business.

"I couldn't be happier than now with Mikhial and Mark receiving this honor from the golf coaches," Titans coach Mark Engel said. "Considering the fact that there are strict grade-point and playing performance requirements just to be nominated, and then the players have to be voted on by the committee, I've always thought this is among the most difficult honors to achieve from any of the college coaches associations. That we had both of them receive the award says a lot about our two seniors from last season.

"Mark and Mikhial had great careers at UDM and we'll miss them. These awards give our players something else to shoot for and match in the future."

--Story provided by the Detroit office of sports information