JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (March 5, 2008) - Senior Gareth Shaw (Lisburn, Northern Ireland) opened the spring golf season with a pair of top-10 finishes against elite fields while shooting par or better golf in all six rounds. In recognition of his stellar play to start the season, Shaw, a two-time First-Team All-Atlantic Sun performer won his first Golfer of the Month Award, the conference office announced on Wednesday.

            Shaw, a senior accounting major who was a PING All-America honorable mention last year , has posted top-10 finishes in the Bucs' first two events of the spring season, both of which came against fields comprised of the nation's best teams. In all six of those rounds, Shaw posted par or better scores - including three rounds of sub-70 golf. At the Ping Intercollegiate Championship, he rallied in the final round with a 68 to improve from 15^th to ninth. Earlier this week, he led ETSU to fifth-place finish at the Puerto Rico Classic, played at the Rio Mar Country Club by tying for fourth. He opened with rounds of 70 and 69 en route to his top-five finish. For the year, he has four top-nine finishes in six events, including a sixth place finish in the prestigious Western Refining College All-America Golf Classic.

Along with Shaw's honor, the ETSU men's team - on the strength of strong back-to-back fifth place finishes in its first two events of the spring - moved to No. 22 nationally in the Golfstat computer rankings and No. 25 in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings. The Bucs are also currently No. 24 in the Golfworld/Nike coaches poll.

The Bucs will be in action again Sunday, March 9 in the first round of the General Hackler Invitational hosted by Coastal Carolina. ETSU won that event during the 2006 season.