Norman, Okla. - St. Thomas Aquinas College golfer Donte Groppuso has been recognized as a Division II All-American by PING Golf and the Golf Coaches Association for his outstanding work on the links during the 2022-2023 season.
Groppuso, who was also selected to the PING Golf Division II All-East Region Team, was the top finisher at the NCAA Atlantic/East Super Regional Championship and became only the second Spartan in program history to earn an individual bid (Niklas Koerner - 2015) to the NCAA Division II National Championship.
At the Super Regional, Groppuso took a first place victory in the tournament shooting a -4 (212) over the three rounds, including an -3 (69) on both day one and day two and a +2 (74) in the final round. The triumph put Donte in the record books for a second time, as he now sits in the same company as former Spartan Chris Gentle, who took home his own individual win back in 2016. (Team also qualified in the same season).
The junior from Kingston, N.Y. then placed 40th on leaderboard at the National Championship, finishing at +5 overall with five other collegiate competitors, after 54 holes of stroke play. Groppuso shot rounds of 76, 70 and 75 in the tournament held at the Avalon Lakes Golf Club in Warren, Ohio.
Looking back at 2022-2023 regular season action, the Kingston, N.Y. native opened the fall with four straight top-10 finishes, placing third (SUNY Farmingdale George Cangero Invitational), ninth (Southern New Hampshire Penmen Invitational), sixth (Columbia University Autumn Invitational) and sixth (Post University Invitational). Groppuso closed first half action with a 25th place finish in a very competitive Lenoir-Rhyne Invitational.
When spring play got underway in March 2023, Groppuso, along with many golfers, had to shake off the winter rust and get reacclimated to ever-changing weather and course conditions. Donte and his Spartan teammates made their way south to open the second half of their campaign, competing in a pair of North Carolina tournaments, the Wingate University Ralph Hargett Invitational and University of Mount Olive "The Trojan". Groppuso placed 54th and 20th respectively, but despite the leaderboard finishes, the junior linksman put in the work necessary improve his score by seven strokes over a one week period.
The adjustments to Donte's game continued as the season rolled on and they were noticeable, as he moved up the leaderboard with each event. At the Barry University Battle at the Shores, Groppuso finished 19th among a very strong field of northeast and southern schools, but once again lowered his score. Then, when STAC returned home to host their own tournament, the Spartan Shootout, Donte got within striking distance of the top ten for the first time since October 10, as he finished 11th and was only 10 strokes from the top spot.
A weather-shortened Columbia University Roar-EE invitational put a temporary wrench in Groppuso's climb back to the top, as he finished 30th in a field of Division I golfers. However, a 1-over par 73 showed that Donte could hang with the elites and that there were still plenty of great moments on the links to come. In the regular season finale, coincidentally held on the same course as the Super Regional (Iron Valley Golf Club), Groppuso played his way back into the top of the field, finishing second and setting himself up for his outstanding performance at the Atlantic/East Tournament.