Vetica, Klaric Earn AMCC Top Honors; Five Named All-Conference

ERIE, Pa. – For the second straight year, the Penn State Behrend men's golf team earned the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Men's Golfer of the Year and Newcomer of the Year Awards, while five out of eight golfers were recognized on the All-Conference Team.

Dante Vetica (Hermitage, PA/Kennedy Catholic) repeats as AMCC Player of the Year and a first-team choice.  The junior won his second straight AMCC Championship, earning individual medalist honors by posting a two-day score of 144. Vetica had his best round at the championships on the final day, carding one-under par with a 71 to take home the individual title. During the season, he won two of the six invitationals the team competed in.

Roman Klaric (West Middlesex, PA/West Middlesex) won Newcomer of the Year and was an All-AMCC second-team selection. The freshman took fourth overall at the conference championship and third on the team. Klaric shot a 74-78 to finish with a 152. During the year, he finished in the Top 10 four times and Top Five twice.

Sophomore Nicholas VanDamia (Erie, PA/Fort LeBoeuf) joined Vetica on the first team, after earning second-team honors a year ago. He shot two low rounds of 73 on the season, winning a pair of individual titles at Pitt-Bradford and Mt. Aloysius.

Scott Klein (Fairview, PA/Fairview) repeats on the All-AMCC second team. The junior had the team's third best score on the final day of the AMCC Championships. Klein finished with a 161 for the conference championships.

Brian Ropiecki (North East, PA/North East) is the fifth golfer to be named to the All-Conference team, earning third-team honors.  The freshman won the Hilbert Invitational this fall with a low round of 76 and he tied for 11^th at the Behrend Invitational (80).

Behrend returns in the spring to represent the conference at the NCAA Championships May 13-16 in Greensboro, North Carolina.