News Release

For Immediate Release: September 11, 2007

Headline: Vana, Drohen & Quinn to Represent Massachusetts at USGA State Team Championship

Norton, MA – The MGA today announced that three local amateur golfers – Frank Vana, Jr. (Marlborough CC), Bill Drohen (Bradford CC) and Kevin Quinn (Charles River CC) – will represent "Team Massachusetts" at the 2007 USGA State Team Championship, which will be held on September 18-20 at The Club at Carlton Woods (The Woodlands, TX).

The three golfers earned the right to compete at this biennial event after accumulating the highest State Team points – a variation of the MGA 's Richard D. Haskell Player of the Year Points System – as of August 15, 2007 . Vana led the way with 2,631 points, while Drohen and Quinn finished with 1,184 and 877 points, respectively. Although Burgess Houston (Maplegate CC) finished third in the points standings after a season in which he captured the Massachusetts Amateur Championship, he is not eligible as he is a collegian and participation in the USGA State Team Championship is prohibited by NCAA bylaws.

While Vana will be making his record seventh appearance at the USGA State Team Championship, Drohen and Quinn are no rookies when it comes to this USGA competition. Quinn has played in four championships (1999, 2001, 2003, 2007), while Drohen will be competing in his second consecutive event (2005, 2007).

Upon arrival at The Club at Carlton Woods, Vana will be in select company as two years ago he was one of only three players nationally who had competed in all seven USGA State Team Championships. That elite list is sure to shorten this time around following team announcements that will soon be made by other state golf associations.

Since its inception in 1995, Team Massachusetts has never won the USGA State Team Championship. Two years ago, Vana competed alongside Drohen and Andy Drohen (St. Anne CC) at Berkeley Hall in South Carolina and led his team to a seventh-place finish. The best finish to date for Team Massachusetts came in 2003 when it claimed fifth place at Charles River Country Club.

The Women's Golf Association of Massachusetts (WGAM) recently announced that the Massachusetts women will be represented by Tara Joy Connelly (Cohasset GC), Susan Choi (Nehoiden GC) and Lisa Anderson (Ferncroft CC). Connelly, a three-time WGAM Player of the Year, will be making her fifth appearance at the USGA State Team Championship. Choi, a two-time NCAA All American, captured low amateur honors at the 2007 Massachusetts Women's Open and is coming off a 10-shot victory at last month's Tarlow Invitational. Anderson will be making her debut at this year's event.