June 2, 2008

USC second-year men's golf Head Coach Chris Zambri was named national coach of the year while sophomores Jamie Lovemark and Rory Hie were both tabbed as All-American first team selections, the Golf Coaches Association of America announced on Monday (June 2).

Zambri, who earlier this year was tabbed as the 2008 Pac-10 and 2008 Pacific Region Coach of the Year, earned the Dave Williams Award as the NCAA's top Division I men's head coach after directing USC to four tournament victories - the USC Invitational, United States Collegiate Championship, U.S. Intercollegiate and the NCAA West Regional.

He also guided USC to a tie in regulation at the Pac-10 Championships (before falling in a playoff) and a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships, where the Trojans lost by just two strokes, their closest NCAA finish ever.

Lovemark and Hie's All-American first-team nods marks the first time USC boasts a pair of first teamers in one season. Lovemark was also an All-American first teamer as a freshman in 2007, making him just the eighth Trojan to earn first team honors at least twice. Only Sherman Finger (1964-66) and Sam Randolph (1984-86) have earned it three times.

Joining Lovemark and Hie on the All-American first team list were Jonas Blixt of Florida State, Indiana's Jorge Campillo, Kevin Chappell of UCLA, Oklahoma State's Rickie Fowler, Stanford's Sihwan Kim, Webb Simpson of Wake Forest, Georgia State's Joel Sjoholm and Michael Thompson of Alabama. Second- and third-teams, as well as honorable mention selections, will be named Friday.