News Release
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For Immediate Release: September 11, 2007
Headline: Introducing Team Massachusetts... Frank Vana, Jr., Bill Drohen and Kevin Quinn
Team Notes of Interest
Frank Vana, Jr. will be making his record seventh appearance at the USGA State Team Championship (1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007). Two years ago, he was one of only three players nationally who had competed in all five USGA State Team Championships.
The three golfers earned the right to compete at this 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 Bill Drohen and Kevin Quinn finished with 1,184 and 877 points, respectively. Although Burgess Houston 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. After posting a 36-hole scoring record, Team Massachusetts finished in sixth place at the 2004 USGA State Team Matches.
Click the names below for individual player profiles:
Frank Vana, Jr. • Kevin Quinn • Bill Drohen
Individual Accomplishments:
Personal Background
• Resides in Boylston and is a member at Marlborough Country Club
• Lives with wife Becky; has one daughter Erin (14) and one son Jake (2); has four younger sisters
• Serves as the vice president of sales and marketing for Shrewsbury-based First Choice Remarketing and fleet manager for Foley Motorsports
• Is a 1986 graduate of Assumption College where he played football, hockey and golf
Playing Highlights:
• At the 2005 USGA State Team Matches, Vana finished tied for fifth in the individual stroke play competition.
• Has advanced to nine U.S. Amateur Championships (1993, 1995-96, 1999, 2001-05) and 10 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championships (1995-98, 2000-01, 2003-04)
• Qualified for match play at the 2004 U.S. Amateur Championship where he was defeated in the Round of 32 by Spencer Levin
• Qualified for and competed in the 2004 PGA Deutsche Bank Championship
• Qualified for match play at the 1997 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship where he was defeated in the first round
• Eight-time Massachusetts Player of the Year honoree (1994-95, 2001-06)
• Two-time Massachusetts Amateur Champion (2004-05)
• Was the 1990s Massachusetts Golf Association Player of the Decade
• Seven-time winner of the Massachusetts Mid-Amateur Championship (1999-2006)
• Four-time winner of the Francis Ouimet Invitational (1998, 2000, 2002, 2005)
• Lowest competitive 18-hole score was a 63 posted during the final round of the 2005 Northeast Amateur Invitational at Wannamoisett Country Club (RI)
Personal Background
• Resides in Needham and is a member at Charles River Country Club and Nantucket Golf Club
• Lives with wife Sheila, son Kevin, Jr. (8), Clare (6) and Rose (1)
• Is a partner in a commercial real estate fund
Playing Highlights:
• Will be competing in his fourth USGA State Team Championship (1999, 2001, 2003, 2007)
• Has qualified for seven U.S. Amateur and five U.S. Mid-Amateur Championships
• Qualified for the 2007 U.S. Amateur Championship at The Olympic Club in San Francisco
• Advanced to the Round of 32 at Cog Hill Golf and Country Club (IL) in 1997
• Competed in five British Amateur Championships; advanced to the Round of 16 in 1999 at The Royal County Down Golf Club
• 2002 New England Amateur Champion
• Captured the 1999 Massachusetts Open Championship title and currently stands as the last amateur golfer to win that Championship
• Two-time winner of the Norfolk County Classic (2000, 2006) and one-time Southeastern Amateur champion
• Four-time Massachusetts Amateur Championship semifinalist
Personal Background
• Resides in Stoughton and is a member at Bradford Country Club
• Is a mathematics teacher at Greater Lawrence Regional Vocational School
• Is a 1995 graduate of the University of Hartford
Playing Highlights:
• Will be making his second straight appearance at the USGA State Team Championships (2005, 2007)
• Advanced to the 2007 U.S. Amateur Championship at The Olympic Club in San Francisco
• Qualified for match play at the 2004 British Amateur Championship at St. Andrews before losing in the first round, in 22 holes, to Korey Mahoney
• Qualified for match play at the 2003 U.S. Amateur Championship where he was defeated in the first round by Casey Whitenberg
• Three-time champion of the Massachusetts Public Links Championship (2004, 2006-07)
• Captured the 2007 Eastern Massachusetts Amateur Championship
• Three-time winner of the North Shore Amateur
• Winner of the 2004 Massachusetts Four-Ball Championship with brother Andy
• Advanced to the semifinals of the Massachusetts Amateur Championship in 1993, 2004 and 2005 and to the Round of 16 in 2005 and 2006