MELBOURNE, Fla. – Saint Leo men's golf freshman, Alberto Castagnara, was tabbed as the Sunshine State Conference men's golf freshman of the year following his first year of action in the Green and Gold on the links. Castagnara was the lone freshman on the All-SSC teams where he earned Second Team honors.
 
A total of 11 golfers were honored on the All-SSC teams with five First Team and five Second Team selections including one Honorable Mention. Castagnara becomes just the second Saint Leo men's golfer to be named the Freshman of the Year, joining Nick Brothers who was tabbed the freshman of the yea rin 2009-10. 

"I am proud of him," Head Coach Chris Greenwood stated. "He has played great this year, and hopefully we see some more awards come in for him this year. We still have more golf to play."
 
Castagnara leads the Green and Gold on the year having played in all 30 rounds with a 71.60 average. The Pordenone, Italy native, has finished inside the top-10 at five events with two top-5 and one-medalist honors. He is tied for the team lead for low round of the year at 66 where he holds a two-stroke advantage on the low-54 hole score.
 
Saint Leo will hit the links on May 7-9 when the Green and Gold travel to Conover, N.C. to participate in the South/Southeast Super Regional held at the Rock Barn Country Club by Lenoir-Rhyne.
 
For the latest news, updates, and information on the Saint Leo men's golf team visit SaintLeoLions.com.  Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Lions news by following Saint Leo Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
 
Golfer of the Year: John VanDerLaan, Florida Southern
Freshman of the Year: Alberto Castagnara, Saint Leo
Coach of the Year: Chris Saltmarsh, Florida Tech
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2018 All-SSC First Team	School	Year	Hometown
John VanDerLaan*$^Δ	Florida Southern	Sr.	Southbury, Connecticut
Juan Jose Guerra	Nova Southeastern	Jr.	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Jorge Garcia	Barry	Jr.	Miami, Florida
John Coultas*~%	Florida Southern	Sr.	Valrico, Florida
Max O'Hagan	Florida Tech	So.	Surrey, England
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2018 All-SSC Second Team	School	Year	Hometown
Tomas Gana	Lynn	So.	Santiago, Chile
Manuel Torres*~	Lynn	Sr.	Caracas, Venezuela
Alberto Castagnara	Saint Leo	Fr.	Pordenone, Italy
Finlay Mason	Nova Southeastern	Jr.	Birmingham, England
Niclas Weiland*^!	Barry	Jr.	Linkoping, Sweden
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2018 All-SSC Honorable Mention	School	Year	Hometown
Han Xue	Florida Tech	So.	Guangdong, China

$ = 2017 Golfer of the Year
* = 2017 All-SSC First Team
% = 2016 Golfer of the Year
~ = 2016 All-SSC First Team
^ = 2016 All-SSC Second Team
! = 2016 All-SSC Freshman of the Year
= 2015 All-SSC Second Team
Δ = 2015 Freshman of the Year