June 16, 2003
FAIRFAX, Va. - George Mason University golfer Craig Mason (Lorton, VA/Hayfield) was named to the 2003 All-Colonial Athletic Association second team, in voting conducted by the league's 10 head coaches, the association announced last Thursday.
The junior has been George Mason's most consistent golfer over the past three years and was selected to the golf All-CAA first team as a sophomore and the All-CAA second team as a freshman.
Old Dominion University head coach Murray Rudisill garnered CAA Coach of the Year honors and ODU golfer Geoff Harris earned the Player of the Year award for the second straight year. UNC Wilmington's Tony DiBitetto received CAA Rookie of the Year accolades.
Mason, a Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) PING Mid-Atlantic All-Region selection for two consecutive seasons, led the Patriots with a combined 72.88 stroke average over the fall and spring campaigns, and finished in the top-10 in five of the 10 events in which he competed. He was also GMU's top golfer in seven of those tournaments.
His best finish this season was a tie for second out of 95 individuals at the William & Mary Invitational, held March 24-25 in Williamsburg, Va, where he fired a 72-74-73=219 total. His second round of 66 at the Pirate Fall Intercollegiate tied former Patriot Carlos Rosario for the lowest round score in school history. Mason participated in every tournament for George Mason, completing 26 rounds. Both his fall and spring averages were also tops for the Patriots.
For his career, Mason has won four individual titles and has placed in the top-10 in 15-of-30 career tournaments. He has a career stroke average of 73.1, recording a school-record 72.5 average in 2001-02. As a junior, he garnered first-team All-State honors from the Virginia Golf Coaches Association, won the River Landing Intercollegiate, and won the Duquesne/Champion Lakes Invitational for the second straight year.
The Patriots finished in the top-five two times and placed in the top-ten nine times during the 2002-03 campaign. George Mason finished seventh at this year's CAA Championships after carding a 903 (309-301-293).
2003 CAA Men's Golf
| First Team All-CAA | Second Team All-CAA |
| Derek Brown, UNCW, Jr. | Gary Barton, W&M, So. |
| Ted Brown, VCU, Sr. | Adam Gee, UNCW, Sr. |
| Tony DiBitetto, UNCW, Fr. | Brian Joyce, UNCW, So. |
| Geoff Harris, ODU, Sr. | Craig Mason, GMU, Jr. |
| Billy Wingerd, TOW, So. | Jay Woodson, JMU, Jr. |
Player of the Year: Geoff Harris, ODU
Rookie of the Year: Tony DiBitetto, UNCW
Coach of the Year: Murray Rudisill, ODU
