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Charlottesville, VA – Virginia men’s golf coach Bowen Sargent announced the signing of a three-player class today that includes one competitor who was ranked as the nation’s top junior last summer. The three players signing with Virginia who will be freshmen next fall are Denny McCarthy (Rockville, Md.), Nick Tremps (Williamsburg, Va.) and Ji Soo Park (Clifton, Va.).

“We are very fortunate to have signed such a talented group in Denny, Nick, and Ji Soo,” Sargent said. “I suspect this class will be ranked as one of the best in the country. I’m looking forward to assisting all three in their goals both on and off the course. With four graduating fourth-years there will be opportunity aplenty for Denny, Nick, and Ji Soo to impact Virginia golf in the Fall of 2010. It will definitely be an exciting time for our program.”

McCarthy, who was ranked by Golfweek as the nation’s top junior at one point last summer, heads up the class. He is currently ranked the No. 3 junior player by the American Junior Golf Association, No. 4 by Golfweek and the No. 5 player in the class of 2011 by Junior Golf Scoreboard.

McCarthy’s resume features a number of top performances this year. He won the 2010 Junior PGA Championship, shooting 9-under 207. Last summer he helped the U.S. Junior Ryder Cup team to a 13.5-10.5 victory in Scotland against the rival European squad. He qualified for the U.S. Amateur Championships for the second consecutive year. In 2009, as a 16-year-old, he was the youngest player ever from the Washington, D.C. area to advance to the U.S. Amateur.

Last summer he became the youngest person (17) to ever win the Maryland Open championship in its 89-year history. He also won the Maryland Junior title and was the runner-up at the AJGA Thunderbird International. He was named Golfweek’s national junior player of the week for Aug. 9.

At Georgetown Prep, McCarthy was named the All-Met Player of the Year for 2010 and has earned All-Met honors the past three seasons. He has won back-to-back Interstate Athletic Conference and Washington Private Schools championships. He also plays guard for the school’s basketball team.

Tremps is ranked No. 44 by Junior Golf Scoreboard for the class of 2011. He has qualified for the past three U.S. Junior Championships and has seven top-15 finishes at AJGA events.

Nick was the runner-up at the Texas State Junior Championships the past two years and runner-up in the Texas Junior Golf Tour Championship. While attending Ronald Regan High School he led the Rattlers to the state championships as a junior after winning the Region IV-5A individual title. He tied for seventh at the 5A state championships. In 2009 Nick finished third overall while leading his team to the Bart Granger Memorial (Ft. Worth) title at the nation’s largest high school tournament.

His family moved from San Antonio to Williamsburg, Va. this past summer. This fall Nick placed second at the Virginia Group AA high school championships in October by shooting 63-71 and in the process helping Jamestown High School to the team title.

Park is ranked No. 54 for the class of 2011 by Junior Golf Scoreboard. He has posted five top-10 finishes in AJGA events during his junior career including a runner-up finish at the 2010 AJGA New Jersey Open.

Park is the top ranked 2011 recruit in the state of Virginia. Ji Soo is a two-time Virginia AAA Northern Region Champion while competing for Chantilly High School. He has finished third at the state championships three years in a row. This fall he also won three regular season tournaments and the Concorde District title. In 2009 he helped the Virginia team to a victory in the annual Virginias-Carolinas Junior Matches.

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