CRANSTON, RI – Saint Joseph's College finished in a tie for sixth with a 653 team card in the 2013 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Golf Championship, hosted by Johnson & Wales University at the Cranston Country Club over the weekend. Senior Kevin Richardson (Coventry, Conn.) led the Monks with a 154 (77-77) card and placed 10th individually.
With three golfers in the top seven, including medalist Tim Leigh, Rhode Island College captured the team title for the third-consecutive season with a 609 card, 14 strokes ahead of runner-up UMass.-Dartmouth. University of Southern Maine placed third (624), Johnson & Wales was fourth (625) and Suffolk University finished fifth (636) in the 36-hole event.
Emmanuel College and Saint Joseph's finished in a tie for sixth (653) while Worcester State was eighth (696) and Anna Maria College failed to score in the event.
Leigh eclipsed the field with a 147 (71-76) score, four strokes ahead of USM's Aidan Boyce, who claimed runner-up accolades with a 151 (71-80) card. With the title, Leigh earns GNAC Golfer of the Year award while he, Boyce, JWU's Juan Fernandez (151, 74-77), RIC's Jonathan Cooper (152, 77-75) and UMD's Brendan Kelleher (152, 76-76) earned All-Conference honors.
For the Monks, freshman Michael Caron (Gorham, Maine) placed 20th (162, 83-79), sophomore Ryan Berard (Millville, Mass.) was 23rd (166, 86-80) and senior Colin Finn (North Easton, Mass.) finished 32nd (171, 86-85). Senior Jake Brown (Lewiston, Maine) notched an 86 card on Saturday but withdrew from the competition on Sunday.
Richardson's 154 score is the second-lowest GNAC Championship card posted by an SJC golfer. Only Francois Renaud '08, who shot a 153 (77-76) and placed fifth overall in the 2007 title match, has fared better in the conference championship.
All teams return to action on Sunday, October 27th when they travel to the Captain's Course in Brewster, Mass., for the New England Intercollegiate Golf Association Championship.
Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 430-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.