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BOULDER – Senior John Souza has been named as the Pac-12 Men's Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the conference office announced Friday. He is the first CU men's golfer to be honored with the award. Souza owns a 3.32 grade point average and is majoring in Economics at Colorado, and is earning a minor in Communication. He is on schedule to graduate next month. Those eligible for the honor must be a senior in athletic eligibility, on track to receive a degree, have a minimum cumulative GPA of at least 3.0, participated in at least 50 percent of the scheduled contests in the sport and have attended the institution for at least one year. "It means a lot to be recognized from a golf standpoint as well as academically," Souza said. "I think a lot of people don't realize that in golf, we miss full weeks at a time, especially early in the spring semesters. We're constantly away from class and are always catching up on schoolwork. So to be recognized for competing, maintaining in the classroom and having a good grade point average is a great honor and I am very appreciative for it." "What an incredible award and honor for John," CU head coach Roy Edwards said. "He really epitomizes everything about a highly successful student-athlete. He's a great student, a really good player and an exceptional teammate. I look at this award as one of the premier awards that you can get in the Pac-12, if not in college golf, and John is certainly deserving." As a junior, Souza was named to the Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar team, while also earning honorable mention Pac-12 All-Academic team honors as a junior. He was a member of the National Honor Society at Thunderbird High School in Phoenix. He has been a regular member of CU's travel squad since he transferred in 2015 from Phoenix' South Mountain Community College. He has played in 88 career rounds, with a 73.53 stroke average and 31 rounds of par or better; this year, he has played in all 10 tournaments and has career-best 72.90 average, with 14 of his 30 rounds below or at par. Souza and his teammates depart Friday for the seventh annual Pac-12 Championships at Rolling Hills Country Club in Rolling Hills Estates, Calif., which is just due south of Los Angeles. The 72-hole event begins Monday (April 23) with two rounds, followed by a single round each on Tuesday and Wednesday.
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