Ball State University Athletics
Men's Golf Announces Award Winners
May 10, 2010 | Men's Golf
Ball State men's golf head coach Mike Fleck announced Eric Steger was named the team's Travis J. Smith Most Valuable Player, while TJ Carpenter was named Most Improved Player and Ross Cosat received the Earl Yestingsmeier Student-Athlete Award.
Steger led the Cardinals with a 73.00 average while competing in all 12 events this season. He managed four top-10 and eight top-20 finishes on the season, including a second place showing at the Cincinnati Bearcat Invitational and the Dayton Fall Invitational. Steger, who tied for 19th at the Mid-American Conference Championships, was named to the All-MAC Second Team.
The Travis J. Smith Most Valuable Player Award is named in memory of the Ball State golfer who tragically died in an automobile accident in 2007.
Carpenter was named the team's Most Improved Player after averaging 77.31 on the season, while competing in five events. He managed a tie for ninth in the MAC Championships and was Ball State's top competitor at the event. Carpenter tallied a career low 71 at the Ball State Cardinal Collegiate at Sultan's Run Golf Course in March, where he tied for 14th while playing as an individual.
Cosat, the lone senior member of the 2009-10 golf team, was second for the Cardinals with a 74.41 average while competing in 11 events. He posted three top-10 finishes and had four top-20 showings. Cosat owns a 3.495 grade-point average on Ball State's 4.0 scale as a marketing major.
The Earl Yestingsmeier Student-Athlete Award is named in honor of the coach of the Ball State men's golf team from 1962-98. Coach Yestingsmeier amassed 104 tournament titles in his stint as the Cardinals head coach.
