TOLEDO, Ohio -- Praise keeps coming in for the Huskies as Nick Taylor was named to the Division I PING All-America First Team, and head coach Matt Thurmond was named the West Regional Coach of the Year.

The news came at the 2009 NCAA Championship at Inverness Golf Club last week, where the No. 4-ranked Huskies reached the second round of match play and finished in a tie for fifth. This year's finish was third-highest in program history and the seventh result in the top 11 under Thurmond.

Earlier this year, Thurmond was tapped to coach the U.S. Palmer Cup team, which is the college equivalent of the Ryder Cup. He was also named the 2009 Pac-10 Coach of the Year -- his second such honor in his eight seasons at Washington. Thurmond was one of six coaches chosen as finalists for the Dave Williams Award, which is voted by the Golf Coaches Association of America and given to the country's top coach.

Improving upon his Honorable Mention in 2008, Taylor became the fourth Husky in history named to a First Team All-America. Taylor's junior season was arguably the best in program history, as he set or tied UW records for most medals won in a single season (4), lowest 54-hole score (198), lowest third-round score (63) and was Washington's first Pac-10 Player of the Year. Taylor is ranked No. 8 nationally by Golfweek among amateurs and college players. He also was runner-up at the World Amateur Team Championship while playing for Canada. Taylor was one of 10 semifinalists for the Ben Hogan Award, given to the nation's top golfer, and finished inside the top 10 in eight of 11 college tournaments this season -- including a ninth-place effort at the NCAA Championship.