May 30, 2012

DEKALB, Ill. -- Junior Paul Hammerschmidt (Westerville, Ohio/Westerville Central) of the Northern Illinois men’s golf team was named to the Academic All-Mid-American Conference team announced on Wednesday by the league office.

“We are very proud to see Paul receive another honor for his hard work on and off the golf course,” said NIU head coach Tom Porten. “Paul has all of the qualities you could ask for in a student-athlete, he had a good spring on the course and continued his strong work in the classroom. Paul has grown a great deal in his time at NIU and I could not be more pleased to see him earn this recognition.”

Hammerschmidt, who holds a 4.0 GPA, earned three top-25 finishes while recording a 76.9 scoring average this past season. The Westerville, Ohio, native earned a season-best finish of 18th at the COG Mizzou Intercollegiate, carding a 54-hole total of 223. Hammerschmidt claimed 20th at the MAC Championship at Rich Harvest Farms with a 54-hole score of 226 and finished tied for 25th in the Northern Intercollegiate, also at Rich Harvest Farms, with a three-round total of 227.  

A mechanical engineering major, Hammerschmidt is combining golf and engineering in his senior project as he works on developing a new system for raking bunkers. In addition to the conference academic recognition, Hammerschmidt was also named to the Capital One Academic All-District At-Large team earlier this spring.

To qualify for Academic All-MAC honors, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests for that particular sport. First-year students and junior college transfers in their first year of residence are not eligible for the award.


2012 Men’s Golf Academic All-MAC Team
Tyler Merkle, Ball State
Alex Stinson, Ball State
Corey Connors, Kent State
Mackenzie Hughes, Kent State
Kevin Miller, Kent State
Paul Hammerschmidt, Northern Illinois
Paul Grauer, Ohio