Ten student-athletes have been honored as part of the 2021-22 Men’s Golf All-Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Team, as announced Monday.
Headlining the All-SIAC Team are Miles’ Christian Copen, the SIAC Player of the Year, and Spring Hill’s Nicholas Couchard, the SIAC Freshman of the Year. Miles College’s Leonard Smoot garnered SIAC Coach of the Year accolades.
The All-SIAC Player, Freshman, and Coach of the Year was selected by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors, while the all-conference teams were decided by conference rankings with a minimum of 12 rounds.
Copen has been the top golfer this season for the Golden Bears, averaging 75.33 per round over 15 rounds in six tournaments. He has four rounds of even-par or better, including a 5-under 67 at the Bulldog Bash and a 2-under 69 at the Matt Dyas Invitational. The Alabama native also has two more rounds under 75. Copen has finished in the top-20 at three of his tournaments, including a fifth-place finish at the HBCU D2 Invitational.
Nicholas Couchard, a redshirt freshman from Brussels, Belgium maintained an average of 76.17 over 6 rounds with a low round of 74 (+5 relative to par).
In his seventh season with the Golden Bears, head coach Leonard Smoot has earned Coach of the Year accolades five times. Under his helm, Miles has entered six tournaments this season, winning the HBCU D2 Invitational in the fall. The Golden Bears have averaged 303.8 strokes per round over 16 rounds, with seven of those rounds coming in under 300.
In its inaugural season, the Elite 14 award recognized the student-athlete who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the SIAC championship level in his or her sport while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. Yannik Wessel of Spring Hill was the first recipient of this award in his respective sport.
The 2022 SIAC Men’s Golf Championship is set for April 11-13 at the Flat Creek Golf Course in Peachtree City, Ga.
Player of the Year
Christian Copen, Miles
Freshman of the Year
Nicholas Couchard, Spring Hill
Coach of the Year
Leonard Smoot, Miles
Elite 14 Honoree
Yannik Wessel, Spring Hill
All-Conference Teams
First Team
| Rasmus Malmborg | Spring Hill | R-Sophomore | Jonstorp, Skane, Sweden |
| Peter Schilli | Spring Hill | R-Junior | Birmingham, Ala. |
| Christian Copen | Miles | Senior | Northport, Ala. |
| Brayden Seguin | Spring Hill | R-Sophomore | Zachary, La |
| Alex Heib | Spring Hill | R-Junior | St. Louis, Mo. |
Second Team
| Micah Stangebye | Kentucky State | Sophomore | Montrose, Co. |
| Jackson Maniscalco | Spring Hill | R-Sophomore | Metairie, La. |
| Brennan Dolnick | Spring Hill | R-Sophomore | Webster Groves, Mo. |
| Britton Khalaf | Miles | Sophomore | Metarie, La. |
| Magne Chamber-Wilson | Miles | Senior | Lawrenceville, Ga. |
