April 15, 2007

Spartanburg, S.C. - USC Upstate men's golfer Baxter Culler capped off a tremendous year by earning All-Conference honors in the Peach Belt Conference at the league's annual awards banquet preceding the Peach Belt Championships Sunday evening in Greensboro, Ga.

Culler, a sophomore from Hartsville, S.C., earned his first All-Conference nod after leading the Peach Belt in stroke average throughout the season. He enters the 2007 Peach Belt Conference Championships with a 72.5 stoke average. He started the year by winning the individual title at the Kiawah Island Invitational in September against some of the nation's best teams and individuals with a 7-under-par total. He turned in four top five performances in 10 tournaments this season and finished 10th or better on six occasions. He failed to finish in the top 20 just once in 10 events.

Culler had a third-place finish at the Johnny Palmer Memorial in September, helping Upstate win its first team title in the history of the program. He also turned in a third-place finish at the NSU Fall Classic in October, finished fifth at the AASU/Southbridge Pirate Invitation in February, was sixth in the Coker College Invitational in September, and finished seventh at the Bobcat Invitational in March.

Culler's consistent performances helped Upstate maintain its high level of play and momentum throughout the season. The Spartans won one tournament, the aforementioned Johnny Palmer Memorial, and finished in the top seven in nine of 10 tournaments this year. Upstate enters the Peach Belt Conference Championships ranked 15th in the nation and have finished no lower than fifth in five tournaments this spring. The Spartans have two second-place and two third-place finishes this spring.

Culler's selection to the All-Conference Team in the first All-Conference nod received by a Spartan golfer since the program was reestablished last year after a 14-year hiatus from competition. Upstate earned a trip to the NCAA Regionals last year in its first season of NCAA competition and is currently ranked fourth in the Southeast Region.

Joining Culler on the All-Conference Team are Lander's Jake Amos and Billy Belair, Georgia College & State's Johan Cronvall, USC Aiken's Roberto Diaz, Columbus State's Andrew Georgiou and Christian Ries, and Armstrong Atlantic State's Chris Wolfe and Andrew Workman. Georgiou was named the Player of the Year, while Amos earned Freshman of the Year honors. Columbus State's Mark Immelman was named the league's Coach of the Year.