Elon’s DiIanni Earns CAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award

RICHMOND, Va. – Elon University senior Jonathan DiIanni has been named the Colonial Athletic Association men’s golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the league announced on Thursday, June 23.

The conference honors one Scholar-Athlete in each of its 21 championship sports. Nominees for the award must be a starter or important reserve on their team and must have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.25. The winners were selected by a vote of the media relations directors at each CAA institution.

DiIanni, who carries a 4.0 GPA as a finance major, claims his first-career Scholar-Athlete of the Year award from the league. The Kernersville, N.C., native adds the honor to his numerous awards earned this season, including his CoSIDA Academic All-America accolade on June 9. He became the first Elon men’s golfer to earn Academic All-America honors since John Marshall was named to the first team in 2001.DiIanni also was awarded a spot on the CoSIDA Academic All-District 3 Men’s At-Large Team for the second consecutive season.

In addition, DiIanni was selected to the All-CAA Men’s Golf Second Team and also tabbed a spot on the league’s all-academic team. He recently earned Elon’s male recipient of the A.L. Hook Scholar-Athlete award for the second consecutive year. The award is given to the junior or senior student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA.

DiIanni led the Phoenix with a 72.41 stroke average over 27 rounds in 10 events. His season average of 0.67 score vs. par ranks first in the program’s Division I era for a single season and his stroke average was the second lowest for a single season during the golf program’s time as a Division I program. For the first time in his career, DiIanni earned a spot on the Conference All-Tournament team after finishing tied for fifth individually at this year’s CAA Championships.

DiIanni finished the season with three top-10 finishes and placing in the top-five twice at the Pinehurst Intercollegiate and the CAA Championships.

Nine of 11 recipients earned All-CAA honors in their respective sports this season, three were Academic All-Americans and six have cumulative grade point averages over 3.8.