LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Five Trojans were named to the 2022-23 All-Ohio Valley Conference Men's Golf Team in Little Rock's first year in the league. Jansen Smith was named the OVC Golfer of the Year and Trojans Head Coach Jake Harrington earned OVC Coach of the Year honors. Jansen Smith was joined on the All-OVC team by Matteo Cristoni, Anton Albers, Magnus Lomholt, and Archie Smith. Matteo Cristoni was also selected for the All-OVC Newcomer Team which features the top freshmen or transfer students in the conference.
A San Angelo, Texas, native, Jansen Smith spent his first two years at Texas Tech before transferring to Little Rock. Smith quickly has made a name for himself with the Trojans, earning all-conference honors last year in the Trojans' stellar final season in the Sunbelt Conference. He currently holds the second-best career scoring average in program history with a 72.44 and is in the top-15 in program history for career par-or-better rounds. He has finished runner-up in 2 events for the Trojans this year and leads the team in ttop-20 finishes this season (7). Smith entered the conference championship ranked number 105, making him the highest nationally ranked player in the OVC according to GolfStat.
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Head Coach
Jake Harrington earns his second-straight Coach of the Year title as he was also the Sunbelt Conference Coach of the Year last season. Harrington led Little Rock to its third Sun Belt Conference title in 2022, joining the 2000 and 2001 teams, and has the Trojans ranked 51st nationally, the best ranking of any OVC team. Harrington has guided the Trojans to three tournament titles in 2022-23, winning the Olympic Club Intercollegiate, Trinity Forest Invitational, and the Lake Las Vegas Intercollegiate. The Trojans also had three runner-up finishes and 27 individual top-20 finishes on the season. Harrington's leadership also transfers to the classroom as his team posted a department-best 3.629 GPA in the Fall of 2022.
Sophomore Cristoni is in his first season with the Trojans after competing for Grand Canyon last year. Cristoni's 71.88 scoring average this season leads the Trojans and ranks second in the conference. Cristoni's best performance came in a second-place finish at the Desert Mountain Collegiate where he shot aa 5-under 211. His 6-under 65 at the Olympic Club Intercollegiate is tied for lowest round of the season. At number 119, Cristoni is one of two Trojans currently ranked in the latest GolfStat rankings, and is the second-highest ranked played in the OVC.
Albers, a fifth-year from Buchholz, Germany, was the 2022 Sunbelt Conference Golfer of the Year and brought that momentum into the 2022-23 season. Albers' first place finish at Louisiana Classics back in March marked his fourth career win, tying him for most career wins in program history. Albers then played his 121
st round as a Trojan at The Goodwin, breaking the school record for career rounds played and now holds the record with 126. Albers continued his record breaking season today as his 2-under 70 in the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference Championship tied the program record for career par-or-better rounds. He carries his winning work ethic into the classroom, as well, and was recently named a finalist for the 2023 Byron Nelson Award, recognizing the best scholar-athlete in collegiate golf each year. Â
Lomholt has appeared in nine events for the Trojans this year, boasting a 73.10 scoring average. One of three Little Rock seniors to be named to the All-OVC team, he has contributed three top-20 finishes and 10 par-or-better rounds this season. His 73.21 career scoring average ranks him fifth all-time in the Little Rock record books and his 31 career-par-or-better rounds places him in the top-10 in program history.
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Archie Smith, a sophomore from Reading, England, has earned five top-20 finishes this season, his best coming from the Little Rock Invitational where he tied for eighth. His impressive 72.71 season scoring average is highlighted by two 4-under 68 rounds one from the Little Rock Invitational and the second in the Lake Las Vegas Intercollegiate. Smith has appeared in nine events for the Trojans this season and is also in the lineup for the OVC Championship.
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The All-OVC Trojans were recognized at an awards banquet on Sunday evening after round 1 of the OVC Championship. Little Rock (11-under 277) is currently in first place with a powerful ten stroke lead over second-place SIU-Edwardsville (1-under 287). Three Trojans are among the individual top five, led by
Archie Smith's 6-under 66 which has him tied for first.
Round 2 of the OVC Championship will begin at 9:00 a.m. Monday morning, an hour later than initially planned due to frost warnings in Cape Girardeau. The Trojans are paired with SIU-Edwardsville and UT Martin and will tee off beginning with Lomholt at 10:40 a.m. leading up to Smith at 11:20 a.m. Live stats can be found at GolfStat.com.
2022-23 OVC Men's Golf Awards
OVC Player of the Year:
Jansen Smith, Little Rock
OVC Freshman of the Year: Brady Kaufmann, SIUE
OVC Coach of the Year:
Jake Harrington, Little Rock
2022-23 ALL-OVC TEAM
Jansen Smith, Little Rock
Jackson Skeen, Tennessee Tech
Matteo Cristoni, Little Rock
Anton Albers, Little Rock
Nolan Piazza, Morehead State
Zach Williams, Southern Indiana
Magnus Lomholt, Little Rock
Archie Smith, Little Rock
Anthony Ruthey, SIUE
Anders Larson, Tennessee Tech
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2022-23 ALL-OVC NEWCOMER TEAM
Matteo Cristoni, Little Rock
Brady Kaufmann, SIUE
Anders Larson, Tennessee Tech
Alex Eickhoff, SIUE
Dax Isbell, UT Martin
#LittleRocksTeam
