VanDamia Named AMCC Golfer of the Year; Four Selected All-Conference

ERIE, Pa. – Junior Nicholas VanDamia (Erie, PA/Fort LeBoeuf) has been named the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Men's Golfer of the Year and is one of four Penn State Behrend golfers to be recognized on the 2014 All-Conference Team.

Senior and first-year golfer Casey Courneen (Sewickley, PA/Quaker Valley) was named Co-Newcomer of the Year, while head coach James Bowen was voted Coach of the Year for the fourth time after guiding the Lions to their fourth straight AMCC Championship.

In addition to being Golfer of the Year, VanDamia repeats as a First-Team All-AMCC choice. He won the individual medalist honors at the conference championship, placing first with a two-day score of 145. The junior carded his career low of 72 on the final day of the AMCC Championships. VanDamia led the Lions this season with a 76 average for seven rounds. He finished in the Top 5 four times, while winning two invitationals.

Senior Dante Vetica (Hermitage, PA/Kennedy Catholic) is earning his third All-Conference honors on the first team. Vetica, a two-time Player of the Year and AMCC Champion, was the runner up at the AMCC Championships with a score of 147. He was the only golfer at the conference championships to par any round with a 71 on day one. Vetica's average for eight rounds this season was 76.5.

Scott Klein (Fairview, PA/Fairview) was selected to the All-AMCC first team after earning second-team honors the last two seasons. Klein shot the best round of golf this season, carding a team-low 68 at the Pitt-Bradford Invitational. The senior averaged 76.9 strokes for eight rounds.

Courneen is the fourth golfer on the team to shoot in the 70's for the season. He finished with a 77.6 average for five rounds. His season best was a 72 to win the Hilbert Invitational.

Behrend returns in the spring and will represent the conference at the NCAA Championships May 12-15 in Greensboro, North Carolina.