All-County Golf

Best of the Best

By BRYAN BURNS
Published December 13, 2006

Matt Cooney, Gaither, Senior

Why we picked him: Cooney had the top finish of any Hillsborough County golfer at the state tournament, shooting 1-over 145 (72-73) to place 13th at the Class 2A meet. He also earned medalist honors at the District 10 tournament and won a playoff to finish second at the Region 4 tournament.

Most impressive accomplishment: Cooney says it's his consistency, which according to him, was at its peak this season. "I broke 40 every time," he said. "I had five or six matches in a row where I didn't shoot over 36." We say it's the way he elevated his game in the postseason with his district tournament victory, second-place region finish and strong showing at state.

College plans: Cooney recently signed with the University of South Florida, where he hopes to step right into the starting lineup for the Bulls and coach Jim Fee. He plans to major in business marketing.

Did you know?: From ages 6 to 12, Cooney was a child model and actor but stopped to concentrate solely on golf. "I did 17 commercials. Two were national commercials - one for Disney and one for American Blue Cross/Blue Shield," he said. "But it started taking too much time away from golf."

First Team

Charles Martin, Plant, So. Region champ led Panthers to eighth-place finish at state

Chris Biuso, King, Jr. District champ had 35.7 nine-hole average in regular season

Matt Cooney, Gaither, Sr. USF signee posted area's best finish at state tournament

Jack Twomey, Jesuit, So. 14th place at Class A tourney led Tigers

Brad Schneider, Bloomingdale, Sr. 2A, District 14 runnerup

Second Team

Paul Crochet, Jesuit, Sr.

George Letson, Plant, So.

Dylan Malafronte, Jesuit, Jr.

Kris Shane, East Bay, Jr.

Matt Hebert, Tampa Prep, Sr.

Robby Carl, Bloomingdale, Sr.

Honorable Mention

Berkeley Prep - Robert Campbell, Charles Silverfield; Bloomingdale - Kyle Simpson, Kyle Turko; Chamberlain - Matt Powell; East Bay - Michael Berkhahn; Freedom - David Lappano; Jesuit - Jack Compton, Nick Leppert; Newsome - Blue Kurtz, Brad Little, Duston Pachoud; Plant - Carter Ilgenfritz, Benjamin Powers; Plant City - Chad Ballantyne, Spencer Baldwin; Riverview - Ian McConnell, Michael Sanabria; Tampa Catholic - Tom Spitale; Tampa Prep - Dale Miller, Matt Vann; Wharton - Harrison, Kowiak, Kirtan Patel

Coach of the Year Mike James, Plant

Bryan Burns, Times correspondent

[Last modified December 13, 2006, 05:28:09]