June 4, 2004

Duke sophomores Ryan Blaum and Nathan Smith were named to the PING All-South Region team after leading the Blue Devil men's golf team in 2003-04. The duo previously received All-ACC honors.

A native of Coral Gables, Fla., Blaum followed up his 2003 ACC Rookie of the Year campaign with a solid showing in 2004. Despite battling a back injury for most of the spring, Blaum is ranked 25th nationally in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index. He led Duke with a 71.5 stroke average and recorded four top-10 finishes and six top-20 finishes in eight tournaments this year. He claimed co-medallist honors at The Nelson in Stanford, Calif., in October and tied for 12th at the NCAA East Regional last month.

Smith was second on the team with a 72.2 stroke average. The Santa Cruz, Calif., native led the Blue Devils with four top-five finishes, six top-10 showings and 10 top-20 finishes in 12 tournaments. He ranks 33rd nationally in this week's Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index. Smith shared individual medallist honors at the Cleveland/Augusta State Invitational April 3-4 and tied for 14th at the NCAA East Regional May 20-22.