News Release

For Immediate Release: November 6, 2006

Headline: Frank Vana, Jr. Named Massachusetts Golf Association Player of the Year for 8th Time

Norton, MA – With each passing year, Frank Vana, Jr. (Boylston, MA) reaffirms his status as the most dominating amateur golfer in Massachusetts since the days of Francis Ouimet and Frederick Wright. For the sixth straight year and eighth time overall, (1994-95, 2001-06), Vana has been crowned the 2006 Richard D. Haskell MGA Player of the Year. Vana will be honored at the MGA's Annual Salute to Champions Dinner, which will be held on Thursday, January 4 th at Wellesley Country Club. Also being honored that evening will be Jim Ruschioni (Leominster, MA) and Antonio Grillo (Vineyard Haven, MA) as the MGA Senior and Junior Players of the Year, respectively.

Richard D. Haskell MGA Player of the Year – FRANK VANA, JR.:
Vana, the 1990s MGA Player of the Decade, continues to strengthen his case for another such award as he posted 937 MGA Player of the Year points this past season which represents the fourth most points ever recorded by an amateur player in this state. In addition to his record eight MGA Player of the Year awards, Vana is the most prolific amateur golfer this state has ever seen as he has captured 12 MGA Championships over the course of his career. The closest players to Vana in that category are Ruschioni (10), Frederick Wright (9) and Francis Ouimet (7).

This past year, Vana – a 13-time club champion at Marlborough Country Club – added more hardware to his trophy case by capturing his record seventh Massachusetts Mid-Amateur Championship. With his victory, Vana joined Wright as the only two players in the 103-year history of the organization to capture seven of the same MGA Championship titles. Earlier in the summer, Vana made Ouimet Fund history as well when he won his fourth Ouimet Tournament. He stands as the only golfer to win more than two such titles. In addition, Vana won his fourth Worcester County Amateur title, advanced to the quarterfinals of the Massachusetts Amateur Championship and finished sixth and ninth at the Massachusetts Open and New England Amateur Championships, respectively. On the national front, Vana qualified for his 27th USGA Championship when he was medalist at U.S. Amateur Qualifying. Capping off the season in fine form, Vana led Team Massachusetts to third straight victory at the Tri-State Team Matches at The International in Bolton.

George M. Cohen MGA Senior Player of the Year – JIM RUSCHIONI:
Ruschioni is now four-for-four when it comes to the George M. Cohen MGA Senior Player of the Year award as he collected the honor again in 2006. Ruschioni, who became eligible to compete on the local senior amateur circuit in 2003, has dominated ever since. This past season will perhaps go down as the sweetest yet, however, because Ruschioni was able to capture what had been an elusive Massachusetts Senior Championship title. After finding himself in a three-way tie for first place after two rounds, Ruschioni gutted out the all-important victory on the fourth play-off hole. Just one week earlier, Ruschioni made waves on the national scene by advancing to Match Play at the U.S. Senior Amateur Championship. Ruschioni, who edged Paul Murphy (Belmont, MA) by 52 points for MGA Senior Player of the Year honors, also earned points for finishing second – with partner Paul Nunez, Jr. – at the MGA State Senior Four-Ball. Ruschioni, who plays out of Indian Meadows Golf Course, tacked on bonus points for qualifying for match play at this year's Massachusetts Amateur Championship.

Christopher Cutler Rich MGA Junior Player of the Year – ANTONIO GRILLO:
One year ago, Grillo turned heads by winning the Pre-Junior Division of the Massachusetts Junior Championship by six strokes. Fast forward 15 months and Grillo can now call himself the Christopher Cutler Rich MGA Junior Player of the Year after collecting 370 points, 145 more than second place finisher Taylor Fontaine (Southbridge, MA). The 16-year-old Grillo set himself apart from the rest of the junior field at the 2006 Massachusetts Junior Championship where he prevailed by a remarkable 10-stroke margin and was the only player in the field to post three sub-par rounds. Excelling on the national stage as well, Grillo collected points for finishing third at the AJGA's Smithfield Junior Championship and qualifying for the 2006 World Series of Junior Golf Championship. As a result of his strong play, the junior at Martha's Vineyard Regional High School who plays out of Farm Neck Golf Club was selected as one of seven players to compete for Team Massachusetts at the 2006 New England Junior Championship at Cohasset Golf Club. Grillo helped the host team finish second to Connecticut at the weather-shortened event.