St. Thomas Pair Snags National Recognition

St. Thomas Aquinas College golfer Chris Gentle was tapped as a Division II All-American Honorable Mention by PING Golf and the Golf Coaches Association this year.

Gentle was the top finisher at the NCAA Atlantic/East Super Regional Championship and helped lead his team to the program’s second Regional Title in school history. He was also selected to the PING Golf Division II All-East Region Team.

Gentle and his teammates competed in the NCAA Division II National Championships, where the Spartans finished tied for sixteenth place at Green Valley Ranch Golf Course in Denver, Colorado.  Gentle fired 2-under on the back nine with birdies on the 12th and 15th holes. The senior shot even par in his final round as a Spartan and finished tied for 72nd place in a field of 108 players. 

Gentle, who hails from Lowell, Mass., had eight top-10 finishes (five of those in the top five) in scoring this season and graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas College this past May with a degree in Business Administration.

His teammate, Michael Miranda, extended his own winning ways this summer by coming out victorious in the MGA’s Public Links Championship at Spook Rock Golf Club.  His victory was assured with a spectacular 5-under 67 in the tournament’s final round.

St. Thomas Aquinas golf coach Stephen Ferrara also won recognition this spring. He was named East Region Coach of the Year and a Division II finalist for the Dave Williams National Coach of the Year Award.

Ferrara led St. Thomas Aquinas to five tournament victories this year, including the Atlantic/East Super Regional. The team also earned three runner-up finishes and placed third three times. St. Thomas Aquinas set multiple records this season, including an 18- and 36-hole team score.