Freshman Clay Merchent and Senior Ethan Shepherd earned Big Ten individual awards for IU men’s golf Wednesday afternoon.
Merchent became the program’s third ever Big Ten Freshman of the Year alongside being named First Team All-Big Ten. Merchent has been at the top of the Hoosiers’ depth chart since the General Hackler Championship from March 14-16 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
The Hoosiers haven’t had a golfer named to the men's First Team since Brant Peaper in 2013.
Earning for top-10 finishes and two top-five finishes, Merchent’s average of 72.29 is on track to beat out the freshman season record of 72.67 by Jorge Campillo, IU’s last Big Ten Freshman of the Year, in 2006.
Shepherd’s Second Team All-Big Ten honors comes after leading the Hoosiers with a ninth place individual finish at this past weekend’s Big Ten Championship in Carmel, Indiana. The senior’s career average, 73.93, ranks eighth in IU history.
