Longwood Athletics

May 20, 2008

FARMVILLE, Va. -- Longwood University men's golf head coach Kevin Fillman has announced his 2008 recruiting class that includes Ross Sumner/Callao (Northumberland), Stewart Surratt/Harrisonburg (Harrisonburg), Kenny Leech/Boca Raton, Fla. (Grandview Prep), and Austin Gray/Midlothian (Monacan).  Sumner, Surratt, and Leech have each signed national letters of intent while Gray is an invited walk-on to the program.
   
“I’m really excited about this recruiting class,” said Fillman.  “We were certainly able to address what we needed to be successful this coming year, but I also believe we were able to ensure our continued success into the future.  All four are great kids both on and off the golf course.  That’s the most important thing for me.  Each has also done a fantastic job in the classroom throughout high school, so helping us sustain the high academic standards we’ve set as a team over the past few years shouldn’t be a problem.  As a whole, they are the type of blue-collar workers I like very much, and that will allow them to fit in extremely well with the solid core of team members we have returning.”
   
Sumner (6-4, 185) has been among the Top 10 of the Virginia Group A State Championships during all four years of his high school career, finishing fourth in 2007 (77-71), second in 2006 (80-72), and third in 2005 (76-73).  A four-time All-Northern Neck District choice, winning two District titles, he was the Region A Champion once while runner-up three times.  In junior/amateur events, Sumner won the 2008 Plantations Junior Tour-Nansemond River (75-71), and was second at the 2007 Future Collegians World Tour-French Creek Open (76-69).  He was fourth at the VSGA Foundation Invitational (73-69), 34th at the 2007 Virginia Junior (80-72-75), and 37th at the 2007 North-South Junior (74-76-78).  Sumner is the son of Dean and Joan Sumner of Callao, and plans to major in business.
   
“I’ve been able to watch Ross play quite a bit of competition over the past few years,” said Fillman.  “He can really strike the golf ball.  With his father being a PGA professional, Ross has very solid golf skills, and, as his short game develops and he continues to learn how to play, I believe his potential to be unlimited.”
   
Surratt (5-9, 130) was runner-up at the 2008 Virginia Group AA State Championships (72-68), and qualified for three state tournaments.  A three-time All-Valley District selection, he was the 2007 Valley District Player of the Year (68.7).  In junior/amateur events, Surratt was runner-up at the 2007 Virginia Junior Match-Play after qualifying as the #12 seed (74).  He tied for 39th at the 2007 Virginia Junior (75-78-76), was a member of the winning Virginia team in the 2007 Virginia-West Virginia Junior Matches, and won the 2006 Middle Atlantic PGA Spring Fling (75-74).  Surratt is the son of Todd and Susan Surratt of Harrisonburg, and plans to major in business.
   
“Like a lot of the players we’ve had, Stewart is a late bloomer,” said Fillman.  “He increased his stock greatly with some really solid play over the past year.  Stewart’s one of those guys I really like who always works hard and gets the most he can out of every round.”
   
Leech (6-0, 155) is a three-time All-Palm Beach County choice and a three-time District 21 medalist (2005, 67; 2006, 70; 2007, 72).  He tied for 13th at the 2005 Florida High School Championships (75-70), tied for third at the 2007 Region 7 Tournament (71), and tied for fourth at the 2006 Region 7 (73).  In junior/amateur events, Leech tied for sixth at the 2008 AJGA-Cliffs Championship (73-71), tied for seventh at the 2008 Florida Junior Tour-Rio Pinar (71-72), and tied for 16th at the 2008 AJGA-Innisbrook Junior (76-74-76).  He tied for 14th at the 2007 AJGA-Heritage Junior (75-68-73), and won both the 2006 South Florida PGA?Tour Championship (67-68) and the 2006 X-Factor Junior Tour Championship (73-69).  Leech is the son of Ken and Donna Leech of Boca Raton, Florida, and plans to major in business.
   
“Kenny has as much experience as anybody I’ve ever recruited,” said Fillman.  “He’s been winning high-level junior tournaments for half of his life, and he has a bit more amateur tournament experience than most others his age.  I’d expect Kenny to step in and immediately make us much better.”
   
Gray (5-11, 165) finished eighth at the 2007 Virginia Group AAA State Championships (73-74) after a third-place effort at the 2007 Central Region Championships (76-77).  A three-time All-Dominion District selection, he was runner-up at the 2007 L.C. Bird Skyhawk Invitational (71), and is a two-time Richmond Times-Dispatch All-Metro choice.  In junior/amateur events, Gray tied for eighth at the Future Collegian World Tour-Tanglewood Junior (76-76), was 19th at the 2007 AJGA-Smithfield Junior (77-73), and 54th at the 2007 Virginia Junior (78-76-80).  He was fifth at the 2007 U.S. Junior Qualifier (73-74), a quarterfinalist at the 2007 Bobby Bowers Junior, and third at the 2006 Virginia Amateur/Open Qualifier (74-68).  Gray is the son of Brian and Theresa Gray of Midlothian, and plans to major in business.
   
“Another hard-working, blue-collar player, Austin has shown glimpses of what I see as his true ability,” said Fillman.  “I believe that with added consistency in all areas of his game, Austin will develop into the type of player who gives us a score we need every day.”
   
Longwood completed its recent 2007-08 season with a new school-record scoring average of 296.53 while winning three tournaments this spring to go along with three runner-up efforts during the fall portion of the schedule.  Overall, the Lancers enjoyed nine top five team placings while finishing among the top 10 in all 12 tournaments this year.  Coach Fillman could return as many as five letterwinners for the 2008-09 campaign.